The Expanding Universe, SpaceX's Starship Milestone, and Hubble's Decade of Discovery: S03E228

0:00 Speaker 1: Welcome to Astronomy Daily. I'm anna, We've got an incredible

0:03 Speaker 1: show lined up for you today, packed with fascinating stories

0:07 Speaker 1: from across the cosmos. We'll journey from the mind bending

0:10 Speaker 1: concepts of our expanding universe to the mysterious black holes

0:14 Speaker 1: competing for dominance in a distant galaxy. Plus, we'll check

0:19 Speaker 1: in on SpaceX's latest preparations for their next starship launch,

0:22 Speaker 1: and celebrate a remarkable decade of NASA's observations of our

0:26 Speaker 1: Solar System's giant planets. Stay with me as we explore

0:29 Speaker 1: these amazing developments in space and astronomy. So let's get started.

0:34 Speaker 1: Have you ever wondered what the universe is expanding into.

0:37 Speaker 1: It's a question that might seem simple at first, but

0:40 Speaker 1: actually touches on some of the most profound mysteries in

0:43 Speaker 1: modern cosmology. Let me try to break this down in

0:47 Speaker 1: a way that might help us wrap our minds around it.

0:50 Speaker 1: Think about baking a loaf of bread. As it bakes,

0:53 Speaker 1: the dough expands into the space of the baking pan.

0:56 Speaker 1: But here's where our everyday experience fails us. Unlike that

0:59 Speaker 1: bread dough, the universe isn't expanding into anything it's simply

1:03 Speaker 1: expanding into itself. The universe began about thirteen point eight

1:06 Speaker 1: billion years ago with the Big Bang, but contrary to

1:09 Speaker 1: what the name suggests, it wasn't a giant explosion. Instead,

1:13 Speaker 1: it was a moment when every point in the universe

1:15 Speaker 1: began expanding outwards simultaneously. Scientists can actually track this expansion

1:20 Speaker 1: by observing how other galaxies are moving away from our

1:23 Speaker 1: own milky Way. What's even more fascinating is that this

1:26 Speaker 1: expansion is actually speeding up. This acceleration puzzles astrophysicists because

1:31 Speaker 1: it seems to defy gravity itself. Something mysterious is pushing

1:35 Speaker 1: everything apart with increasing force, and we call this invisible

1:39 Speaker 1: force dark energy. It's mind boggling to think that this

1:43 Speaker 1: dark energy makes up about sixty eight percent of all

1:45 Speaker 1: the energy in the universe, while the matter we can see, stars, planets,

1:50 Speaker 1: and galaxies accounts for only about five percent. When scientists

1:54 Speaker 1: try to understand what might lie beyond our expanding universe,

1:58 Speaker 1: they run into some remarkable challenges. Some theories suggest there

2:02 Speaker 1: could be multiple universes out there, which might help explain

2:05 Speaker 1: some of the puzzling aspects of quantum mechanics. And gravity

2:08 Speaker 1: that currently don't quite fit together in our models of physics.

2:11 Speaker 1: But for now we can say with certainty that the

2:14 Speaker 1: universe continues its relentless expansion, with galaxies drifting further apart

2:19 Speaker 1: as time goes on, all driven by this mysterious dark

2:22 Speaker 1: energy that we're still working to understand. It's a humbling

2:25 Speaker 1: reminder of just how much we still have to learn

2:28 Speaker 1: about our cosmic home. For those who dream of exploring

2:32 Speaker 1: the outer reaches of our Solar System, NASA's Hubble Space

2:35 Speaker 1: Telescope has been providing us with an incredible window into

2:39 Speaker 1: the dynamic worlds of our giant neighbors. This year marks

2:43 Speaker 1: an impressive milestone ten years of the OPAL program, which

2:47 Speaker 1: stands for Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy. Back in nineteen eighty nine,

2:52 Speaker 1: the Voyager missions gave us our first close up views

2:54 Speaker 1: of Neptune, completing their grand tour of our Solar System's

2:58 Speaker 1: giant planets that just the beginning. Since then, Hubble has

3:02 Speaker 1: been taking up the torch, conducting annual observations of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus,

3:08 Speaker 1: and Neptune that rival the detail of those historic Voyager flybys.

3:13 Speaker 1: What makes OPAL particularly special is its consistency and comprehensive approach.

3:18 Speaker 1: Unlike ground based telescopes, Hubble's position above Earth's atmosphere allows

3:23 Speaker 1: it to capture incredibly sharp, stable images of these distant worlds.

3:27 Speaker 1: It can observe everything from ultraviolet to near infrared wavelengths,

3:32 Speaker 1: giving us a complete picture of how these massive planet's

3:34 Speaker 1: atmospheres behave. Each of these giant worlds is a cosmic

3:39 Speaker 1: weather laboratory. They don't have solid surfaces. Instead, they're wrapped

3:43 Speaker 1: in deep atmospheres with stunning displays of cloud bands and

3:47 Speaker 1: long lived storms. Their years are much longer than Earth's,

3:50 Speaker 1: which means their seasons stretch on for years at a time.

3:54 Speaker 1: This makes hubbles long term monitoring absolutely crucial for understanding

3:58 Speaker 1: their atmospheric dynam The scientific impact of this decade long

4:03 Speaker 1: survey has been remarkable, with over sixty research papers published

4:07 Speaker 1: using OPAL data. The program has become a cornerstone of

4:11 Speaker 1: planetary research, working hand in hand with other observatories, including

4:15 Speaker 1: the James Webb Space Telescope, which can peer even deeper

4:18 Speaker 1: into these planet's atmospheres using its infrared vision. As we

4:23 Speaker 1: celebrate this ten year milestone, OPEL continues to build an

4:26 Speaker 1: ever growing database of planetary observations, allowing scientists to track

4:31 Speaker 1: long term changes in these fascinating worlds as they orbit

4:34 Speaker 1: our sun. It's a testament to hubbles enduring legacy and

4:37 Speaker 1: its ongoing contributions to our understanding of our cosmic backyard.

4:42 Speaker 1: Let's move on to a SpaceX update. SpaceX is gearing

4:46 Speaker 1: up for another milestone in their Starship program, with preparations

4:49 Speaker 1: underway for their seventh test flight of the revolutionary Mega rocket.

4:53 Speaker 1: Just yesterday, the company conducted a crucial static fire test

4:56 Speaker 1: of the super heavy first stage booster at their STARB

5:00 Speaker 1: facility in South Texas. All thirty three Raptor engines roared

5:04 Speaker 1: to life briefly, marking a significant step toward the upcoming launch,

5:08 Speaker 1: which could happen as soon as January eleventh. This follows

5:12 Speaker 1: the impressive progress we've seen in recent test flights. The

5:15 Speaker 1: last two missions were particularly successful, with both the super

5:19 Speaker 1: heavy booster and Starship spacecraft reaching space and surviving their

5:23 Speaker 1: return journey. On the fifth flight, they even managed to

5:27 Speaker 1: catch the super heavy booster using the launch tower's mechanical arms,

5:31 Speaker 1: a key capability for SpaceX's vision of rapid rocket reusability. Meanwhile,

5:37 Speaker 1: rocket Lab has been pushing boundaries in a different direction,

5:40 Speaker 1: successfully completing a suborbital hypersonic test mission for the Department

5:45 Speaker 1: of Defense. This flight was part of the Multi service

5:48 Speaker 1: Advance Capability Hypersonics Test Bed initiative, designed to advance hypersonic

5:53 Speaker 1: flight testing capabilities for the United States. The mission featured

5:57 Speaker 1: an advanced test platform specifically engineered to accommodate larger payloads

6:01 Speaker 1: for hypersonic technology assessment. What's particularly noteworthy is that rocket

6:06 Speaker 1: Lab managed every aspect of the project, from initial design

6:10 Speaker 1: through to the integration of experimental hypersonic instrumentation, all on

6:15 Speaker 1: an accelerated timeline. As George Rumford, director of the Test

6:19 Speaker 1: Resource Management Center, pointed out, these commercial launch services are

6:23 Speaker 1: proving invaluable for the nation's hypersonic development program. They're enabling

6:28 Speaker 1: more frequent and cost effective testing of components, which is

6:31 Speaker 1: crucial for advancing this cutting edge technology. This mission adds

6:35 Speaker 1: to rocket Lab's impressive track record since twenty seventeen, during

6:39 Speaker 1: which they've deployed over two hundred payloads for various commercial

6:42 Speaker 1: and government customers from their launch sites in both the

6:45 Speaker 1: United States and New Zealand. These recent achievements from both

6:49 Speaker 1: SpaceX and rocket Lab demonstrate just how quickly commercial spaceflight

6:53 Speaker 1: capabilities continue to evolve and mature. Next, let's take a

6:58 Speaker 1: journey about forty million line eight years away to the

7:00 Speaker 1: constellation Lupus, where the Hubble Space Telescope has captured a

7:04 Speaker 1: stunning image of the spiral galaxy NNGC five thousand, six

7:09 Speaker 1: hundred and forty three. This isn't your ordinary galaxy. It's

7:13 Speaker 1: what astronomers call a Grand Design spiral, with two beautifully

7:17 Speaker 1: defined spiral arms, adorned with brilliant blue stars, intricate dust clouds,

7:22 Speaker 1: and vibrant pink regions where new stars are being born.

7:26 Speaker 1: But the real drama in NGC five six hundred and

7:29 Speaker 1: forty three is happening in wavelengths our eyes can't see.

7:33 Speaker 1: At its heart lies an active galactic nucleus powered by

7:36 Speaker 1: a supermassive black hole. As this cosmic giant devours surrounding gas,

7:41 Speaker 1: it creates a superheated disc that blazes across the electromagnetic spectrum,

7:46 Speaker 1: particularly bright in X rays. Here's where things get really interesting.

7:50 Speaker 1: Using the European Space Agency's XMM Newton telescope, scientists discovered

7:55 Speaker 1: something unexpected on the galaxy's outskirts an X ray source

7:59 Speaker 1: even bright than the central supermassive black hole known as

8:03 Speaker 1: NGNGCI six hundred and forty three x one. This mysterious

8:08 Speaker 1: object appears to be a much smaller black hole, only

8:11 Speaker 1: about thirty times the mass of our sun. This stellar

8:14 Speaker 1: mass black hole is locked in an orbital dance with

8:17 Speaker 1: a companion star, stealing gas from its partner to create

8:20 Speaker 1: its own superheated disc. Despite being thousands of times less

8:24 Speaker 1: massive than its supermassive cousin at the galaxy's center, this

8:28 Speaker 1: smaller black hole actually outshines it, demonstrating that in the cosmos,

8:32 Speaker 1: size isn't everything. It's a cosmic David and Goliath story

8:36 Speaker 1: where the smaller contestant is putting on quite a show.

8:39 Speaker 1: This discovery challenges our understanding of black hole behavior and

8:43 Speaker 1: reminds us that the universe still has plenty of surprises

8:46 Speaker 1: in store. The fact that a relatively small black hole

8:49 Speaker 1: can outshine the massive engine at a galaxy center shows

8:52 Speaker 1: us just how complex and dynamic these cosmic phenomena can be. Finally, today,

8:59 Speaker 1: this week's line unch schedule shows just how busy space

9:02 Speaker 1: exploration has become, with multiple missions lined up from various

9:06 Speaker 1: launch providers around the world. SpaceX is leading the charge

9:10 Speaker 1: with an ambitious schedule of three Falcon nine launches planned

9:14 Speaker 1: within just twenty eight hours. The first of these launches

9:17 Speaker 1: will carry a batch of Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space

9:20 Speaker 1: Force Space in California. Following that, SpaceX has planned two

9:25 Speaker 1: back to back launches from Florida's Space Coast on Friday.

9:28 Speaker 1: The first will deploy two three B M power satellites

9:32 Speaker 1: for SEES designed to provide high throughput Internet services. Just

9:37 Speaker 1: three hours later, they'll launch a GPS satellite for the

9:40 Speaker 1: US Space Force, further enhancing our global positioning capabilities. Meanwhile,

9:45 Speaker 1: in Japan, Space one is making another attempt at reaching

9:48 Speaker 1: orbit with their Chiros rocket. This comes after their first

9:52 Speaker 1: launch attempt in March encounter difficulties. The mission will carry

9:56 Speaker 1: several small satellites, including an interesting payload feature during the

10:00 Speaker 1: first Buddhist statue intended for orbit. Looking back at recent achievements,

10:04 Speaker 1: we've seen some remarkable numbers. November alone saw twenty nine

10:08 Speaker 1: orbital launches, averaging almost one per day. Even more impressive,

10:12 Speaker 1: we've already surpassed last year's record of two hundred and

10:15 Speaker 1: twenty one orbital launches, with two hundred and twenty nine

10:18 Speaker 1: successful missions so far this year. SpaceX hit several milestones recently,

10:24 Speaker 1: including their three hundred and fiftieth flight using a flight

10:26 Speaker 1: proven booster and their one hundredth successful landing on their

10:30 Speaker 1: drone ship just read the instructions. They've also completed their

10:34 Speaker 1: first direct to sell Constellation shell, marking another step forward

10:38 Speaker 1: in their satellite communications network. This increasing pace of launches

10:42 Speaker 1: demonstrates how space access is becoming more routine and commercially viable.

10:46 Speaker 1: With multiple companies and countries contributing to our growing space presence.

10:51 Speaker 1: It's a clear sign that we're entering a new era

10:53 Speaker 1: of space exploration and utilization, and that brings us to

10:58 Speaker 1: the end of today's episode of Astronomy Daily, where we've

11:00 Speaker 1: explored everything from the mind bending concept of universal expansion

11:05 Speaker 1: to the latest developments in space launch technology. I'm Anna,

11:09 Speaker 1: and it's been my pleasure to guide you through these

11:11 Speaker 1: fascinating stories from the Cosmos. If you'd like to stay

11:14 Speaker 1: up to date with all things space and astronomy, I

11:17 Speaker 1: invite you to visit our website at Astronomy Daily dot io.

11:21 Speaker 1: There you can sign up for our free daily newsletter

11:24 Speaker 1: and access our constantly updating news feed of space and

11:27 Speaker 1: astronomy news. You'll also find our complete archive of past

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11:44 Speaker 1: with our latest updates and join the conversation. Thank you

11:47 Speaker 1: for spending time with us today exploring the wonders of space.

11:50 Speaker 1: Until tomorrow, keep looking up and stay curious about our

11:53 Speaker 1: cosmic neighborhood. The story is the soul. The story is

12:14 Speaker 1: the soul.