December 1, 2025 • 26 mins
In this episode of SpaceTime, we explore groundbreaking advancements in our understanding of the universe and the challenges faced in space exploration.
Detecting Dark Matter: A Major Breakthrough
After nearly a century of speculation, scientists may have finally detected dark matter. A report in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics reveals that gamma rays emitted from dark matter particle collisions have been observed using NASA's Fermi Gamma Ray Space Telescope. This discovery aligns with predictions about dark matter's existence and could signify a new particle not included in the current standard model of particle physics. If confirmed, this finding would represent one of the most significant developments in astronomy and physics to date.
CHEOPS Spacecraft Nears Milestone
The European Space Agency's CHEOPS (Characterizing Exoplanet Satellite) is approaching another milestone as it enters its sixth year of a mission initially planned for three and a half years. Launched in December 2019, CHEOPS aims to determine the size and characteristics of known exoplanets. With its 30-centimeter optical telescope, the spacecraft has been crucial in observing transiting exoplanets and will now extend its search to include exomoons, enhancing our understanding of planetary systems beyond our own.
Disaster at Baikonur Cosmodrome
A major disaster struck at the Baikonur Cosmodrome during the launch of the Soyuz MS.28 spacecraft to the International Space Station. The mobile service platform collapsed due to the rocket's exhaust plume, resulting in significant damage to the launch pad. This incident leaves Russia without a functional facility for manned space missions for the first time in 60 years, delaying upcoming launches and posing challenges for future missions.
www.spacetimewithstuartgary.com
✍️ Episode References
Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
European Space Agency Reports
NASA News Releases
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/spacetime-your-guide-to-space-astronomy--2458531/support.
Detecting Dark Matter: A Major Breakthrough
After nearly a century of speculation, scientists may have finally detected dark matter. A report in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics reveals that gamma rays emitted from dark matter particle collisions have been observed using NASA's Fermi Gamma Ray Space Telescope. This discovery aligns with predictions about dark matter's existence and could signify a new particle not included in the current standard model of particle physics. If confirmed, this finding would represent one of the most significant developments in astronomy and physics to date.
CHEOPS Spacecraft Nears Milestone
The European Space Agency's CHEOPS (Characterizing Exoplanet Satellite) is approaching another milestone as it enters its sixth year of a mission initially planned for three and a half years. Launched in December 2019, CHEOPS aims to determine the size and characteristics of known exoplanets. With its 30-centimeter optical telescope, the spacecraft has been crucial in observing transiting exoplanets and will now extend its search to include exomoons, enhancing our understanding of planetary systems beyond our own.
Disaster at Baikonur Cosmodrome
A major disaster struck at the Baikonur Cosmodrome during the launch of the Soyuz MS.28 spacecraft to the International Space Station. The mobile service platform collapsed due to the rocket's exhaust plume, resulting in significant damage to the launch pad. This incident leaves Russia without a functional facility for manned space missions for the first time in 60 years, delaying upcoming launches and posing challenges for future missions.
www.spacetimewithstuartgary.com
✍️ Episode References
Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
European Space Agency Reports
NASA News Releases
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/spacetime-your-guide-to-space-astronomy--2458531/support.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Space Time series twenty eight, episode one hundred and
forty one for broadcasts on the first of December twenty
twenty five. Coming up on space Time, have scientists finally
detected dark matter? The European Space Agency is cheap spacecraft
about to reach another miles stone, and a major disaster
at the bike in Or Cosmodrome as the Sawyer's MS
(00:22):
twenty eight spacecraft blasts off for the International Space Station.
All that and more coming up on space Time.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Welcome to space Time with Stuart gary.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Well. After nearly one hundred years, astronomers may finally have
detected that mysterious substance known as dark matter. A report
in the Journal of Cosmology NAST Particle Physics claims scientists
detected the elusive substance through the emission of gamma rays
generated as dark matter particles collide and annihilate. The observations
(01:10):
were made using NASA's Fermi gamma ray space telescope. Back
in the early nineteen thirties, it was Swiss astronomer Fritz
Vicki who observed that galaxies in space were moving faster
than what their masses should allow, and that prompted him
to infer the presence of some invisible scaffolding, a sort
of dark matter, if you will, which was holding the
(01:32):
galaxies together. Now nearly a century later, astronomers may finally,
for the first time, have provided direct evidence for dark
matter's existence, allowing the invisible substance to be seen. Dark
matter has remained largely a mystery ever since it was
first proposed. Scientists have only ever been able to indirectly
(01:52):
observe dark matter through its effects are normal, that is,
observable matter, such as its ability to generate enough gravitation
force to hold galaxies together. If their calculations are correct,
eighty five percent of the universe's total mass is made
up of dark matter. Only fifteen percent of them mass
of the cosmos is made up of normal, observable what
(02:14):
we call baryonic matter, the stuff that makes up stars
and planets and trees and dogs and cats and people.
The reason dark matter can't be observed directly is because
the particles that make up dark matter don't interact with
the electromagnetic force, meaning dark matter doesn't absorb, reflect or
emit light. Of course, hypotheses abound, but many researchers think
(02:37):
dark matter is made up of something called weekly interacting
massive particles or whimps. These are heavier than protons, but
they only weekly, if at all, interact with any other
forms of matter. Despite this lack of interaction, it's thought
that when two whips collide, they annihilate each other in
the process, releasing other particles, including gamma ray photons. One
(03:00):
of the ways astronomers are trying to determine what dark
matter is is looking for regions of space where dark
matters should be concentrated, such as the centers of galaxies,
including our own Milky Way, and they've been doing that
through astronomical observations for years in search of these specific
gamma ray emissions. This new study's lead author, Tomonori to
Tanny from the University of Tokyo, believes he's finally detected
(03:23):
the specific gamma rays predicted by the annihilation of theoretical
dark matter particles. Tomnorian colleagues detected gamma rays with a
photon energy of twenty gigre electron vaults. Now that's an
extremely large amount of energy, and they saw it extending
in a halo like structure towards the center of the
Milky Way galaxy. Tomonori says, the gamma ray emission component
(03:45):
closely matches the shape expected for the Milky Way's dark
matter halo. The observed energy spectrum or range of gamma
ray emission intensities matches the emission predicted from an annihilation
of hypothetical whimps with an approximate mass about five hundred
times that of a proton, and the frequency of whip
annihilation estimated from the measured gamma ray intensity also falls
(04:08):
within the range of theoretical predictions. Importantly, these gamma ray
measurements aren't easily explained by other more common astronomical phenomena
or gamma ray emissions. The authors therefore consider this data
a strong indication of gamma ray emission from dark matter.
Tomonori says, if correct, it marks the very first time
(04:28):
humanity is see dark matter, and it turns out this
means dark matter is indeed a new particle when not
included in the current standard model of particle physics, the
foundation stone of science's understanding of the universe. If confirmed,
it signifies a major development in astronomy in physics, one
of the most important discoveries ever. While Tomonoi is confident
(04:50):
that his gamma ray measurements are in fact detecting dark
matter particles. His results still need to be verified through
independent analyzes by other astronomers. Even with this confirmation, scientists
will still want additional proof that this halo like radiation
being observed is indeed the result of dark matter annihilation
rather than originating from some other astronomical phenomena. Additional proof
(05:13):
of wimp collisions in other locations that harbor high concentrations
of dark matter would bolster these initial results. Detecting the
same energy gamma ray emissions from say, dwarf galaxies within
the Milky Way halo would support tom NOI's analysis, and
he says this could be achieved once more data is accumulated,
and if so, it would prove even stronger evidence that
(05:34):
some gamma rays originate from dark matter collisions. This is
space time still to come. The European Space Agency's cheap
spacecraft about to reach another milestone and a major disaster
at the bikin Or Cosmodrome as the Sawyer's MS twenty
eight spacecraft blasts off for the International Space Station. All
that and more still to come on space time. The
(06:14):
European Space agency ISPs spacecraft's about to hit another milestone
as it heads towards its sixth year of what was
originally meant to be a three and a half year mission. CHIOPS,
the Characterizing Exoplanets satellite, was launched back in December twenty nineteen,
on the mission to determine the size of known exoplanets,
that is, world's orbiting stars other than the Sun. The
(06:35):
probe is positioned in a seven hundred kilometer high Sun
synchronous orbit and is equipped with a thirty centimeter optical telescope.
The spacecraft's observations will estimate an exoplanet's mass, its density,
and its composition, allowing better hypotheses of its likely formation.
CHIOPS will measure the size of known transiting exoplanets orbiting
(06:56):
brighton nearby stars, and it will also be searching for
predicted it's of exoplanets previously discovered by way of radial
velocity measurements. Now, the transit method involves monitoring a dip
in starlight observed as an orbiting planet passes in front
of its host star, as seen from Earth, or at
least in this case, as seen from CHIOPS. The radio
(07:17):
velocity method involves monitoring how the gravitational pull of an
orbiting planet causes a slight wobble in its host star.
Now that wobble can be detected through a slight red
or blue shifting of the spectrum of light emitted by
the star. In twenty twenty three, the chip's mission was
extended to twenty twenty six, allowing astronomers to widen their
observation to search for EXO moons, that is, Moon's orbiting
(07:41):
planets orbiting alien stars. CHIOPS project scientist Kate Isaac has
the preps been especially focused on exoplanets in the Earth
to Neptune size range. This report from EASTERTV.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
CHAOPS is a satellite and ESO science program.
Speaker 4 (07:57):
The acronym CHAOPS stands for Characterized Seeing Exoplanets satellite, and
that is exactly what we'll do. We observe stars that
are known to host exoplanets, so in that way we
know where to point and when to point, and we'll
measure the output of these stars and look for the
transit of the planet across the disk of the star.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
So we will look for the.
Speaker 4 (08:19):
Small changes in light that take place when a planet
moves across the star. Our observations could take six, eight, ten,
twelve hours and By measuring the dip, we can determine
the size of the planet. By combining the size of
the planet with its mass, we're able to determine its
mean density. By combining this with information that we have
(08:40):
about the host star itself, we can start to say
something about something very concrete about the composition of the planet,
its internal structure, and so start to lead on to
its structure, formation, and evolution history. Very important information about
planets beyond our own Solar system.
Speaker 5 (09:00):
And this is the first time this is done. I mean,
you know where to look at, but you don't know exactly.
But I mean, this is the added value of KOPS.
Speaker 4 (09:09):
The added value of CHAOPS is we're following up on
known targets. So instead of missions such as Kepler tests
and indeed plato Isa's future exoplanet mission, we know where
to point, so we're able to make very efficient observations.
We move and point towards a star when we know
that the planet is going to transit. So instead of
(09:30):
spending several months maybe pointing at a bank fraction of
the sky looking for the transit, monitoring very many thousands
of stars and looking for small dips in their output,
we're able to go quickly around the sky, maybe spend
ten twenty thirty hours on known stars, known bright stars,
(09:51):
and to measure the sizes of their planets.
Speaker 5 (09:53):
In that way you mentioned the deep meaning that it
would be something in front of the star or on
the sun. Because it solar systems, you are looking at
you in.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
A way planetary systems.
Speaker 4 (10:02):
So what we're doing is we're looking at the planets
as they owe orbit around their host star. So in
the same way that the Earth goes around our star,
our Sun, other planets orbit their own host stars. And
what we'll do is we will monitor these stars and
we look for these dips as the planet moves across
the disk of the star. As seen by us from
(10:24):
a large distance. We're able to determine the size of
the planet from the small dip in the outfoot of
the star. So in the light that we measure from
the star, you.
Speaker 5 (10:35):
Will able to tell us if there are Earth like
planets some life on.
Speaker 4 (10:40):
This be focusing on small planets, so Earth to Neptune
size size planets, and by combining the sizes the very
precise and accurate sizes that we get with measurements from chaops,
with measurements of mass that will be made from telescopes
and observatories on Earth.
Speaker 3 (10:58):
We can get the density now.
Speaker 4 (11:00):
As you know, density is something that tells us about
what the planet is made of.
Speaker 3 (11:05):
Something that has a high density, something like iron.
Speaker 4 (11:08):
Is very much more compact, whereas if something has a
low density, it's more gassy.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
Earth is somewhere in between.
Speaker 4 (11:15):
And so by technical knowing, by being able to work
something out about the density, we're able to say something
about whether the planet is Earth like or whether it's
more gassy instead.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
And in that report from ECTV, we're from CHIPS project
scientist Kate Isaac from the European Space Agency. This is
space time still to come, a major disaster at the
bigen Or Cosmodrome, and later in the science report and
you study warns that people suffering from autism are far
more likely to have suicide related behaviors. All that and
(11:49):
more still to come on space time. It's been a
major disaster at the bike and or Cosmo Drome. As
(12:10):
then you crew launched into orbit bound for the International
Space Station. The trio had launched on the forty seven
until Sawyer's two and a rocket from the Cosmo Drome
in the Central Asian Republic of Kazakhstan.
Speaker 6 (12:22):
Kotz Ferzkoff reporting that he and his crewmates Chris Williams
and Sergim mckayeth are ready for launch, and five engineers
through the s on module Kenner. Everything is in good shape.
The launch control reporting that the range at Baiknor is clear,
the Sawyer's rocket ready to begin its journey.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
The cons is ready go for launch.
Speaker 6 (12:48):
Launch k insorted go for lunch sequence. The launch key
now has been inserted in the launch bunker, transitioning the
launch sequence into its automatic mode. In about thirty seconds,
on board systems will be transition into on board control.
Sergei kuds Ferchkoff, the Soyuz commander in the center seat,
flanked to his left by Sergei mckayev and to his
right NASA's Chris Williams, Williams and McKay of about to
(13:11):
embark on their first journey into space. This is the
second flight into space for cuds firch Cooff, a bichan
or native and seventy The fuel lines and other elements
of the rocket engines are being purged with nitrogen right
now that fire proofs them by removing vapors of fuel
(13:33):
and oxidizer from the base of the launch pad. The
skies have cleared nicely over the bikan Or Cosmodrome. Temperatures
in the mid forties fahrenheit. The ground propellant feed in
the process of being terminated to the rocket. The booster
tanks now pressurized for flight.
Speaker 7 (13:49):
Okay, I covered the report ground power disconnect.
Speaker 6 (13:54):
The vehicle on internal power. The first umbilical now retracting.
The prestonbilical tower from booster.
Speaker 7 (14:00):
Ground rebel generation.
Speaker 6 (14:05):
Terminated, the second of bilical now retracting. I'm standing by
for engine sequence start. We have main engine ignitions, preliminary
intermediary t minus four seconds three two one engine and
lift off holiday travel.
Speaker 7 (14:24):
Underway, a.
Speaker 6 (14:27):
Space on board systems, all on board systems and nomination.
You're down first stage performance reported from the blockhouse in Bikenor.
Speaker 7 (14:41):
While I'm in the company.
Speaker 6 (14:45):
Thirty seconds into the flight, so use booster arcing out
to the northeast from the mic and Or Cosmodrome. They've
been to enroll pitching off program. Good structural stability on
the rocket. Engine chamber pressure is nominal on board passing
through the area of maximum dynamic pressure. On the vehicle
max queues. It's called good first stage engine performance reporting.
Speaker 8 (15:07):
The vehicle is nominal. Everything's fine on board as well,
and we.
Speaker 6 (15:12):
Have confirmation of first stage separation. The stop on boosters
falling away phenomenally.
Speaker 8 (15:20):
Confirmed.
Speaker 6 (15:21):
The soy is now operating on the power of its
second stage engine. The launch shroud and encapsulating the Soyuz
spacecraft are now the jettison. All is green from the
blockhouse in bike noor kod sperits Gov reports he and
(15:41):
his crewmates are in good shape, feeling great.
Speaker 8 (15:44):
Your pigeon roll our all nominal, and we on our side.
Everything's fine on board. We're feeling good, and.
Speaker 6 (15:51):
We have a second stage shutdown.
Speaker 8 (15:53):
Second stage separation confirmed.
Speaker 6 (15:56):
The third stage engine now propelling the soy Us to
its preliminary orbit, providing sixty seven thousand pounds of thrust.
The spurn will continue until about the eight minute forty
six second mark, when it will shut down and the
Soyuz will be placed into its preliminary orbit.
Speaker 8 (16:13):
The vehicle is nominal, happy, everyth is fine on board.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
The three expedition seventy three seventy four crew members arrived
safely at the space station. The Sayus MS twenty eight
spacecraft flew on a two orbit fast rendezvoust trajectory, docking
onto the nadir port of the orbiting utpurst Razvet module
just three hours and eleven minutes after launch. The Sawyer's
MIS twenty eight crew are slated to remain on station
(16:38):
for eight months, returning to Earth in July twenty twenty six. However,
while that mission proceeded smoothly, major drama was unfolding back
on Earth at the bikan Or Cosmodrome. It appears the
main service access platform at the Site thirty one launch
complex at Bikanor collapse during the liftoff off the Soyuz mission.
(16:59):
The Myrbos service tower was torn off by the exhaust
plum of the Sawyer's first stage, collapsing into the fire
protection pit and destroying the service bridges and access gantries.
The extent of the damage means Pad thirty one is
now unusable. This is the only launch facility at baiken
Or or for that matter, in Russia that can support
(17:20):
manned Russian space missions. It means that for the first
time in sixty years, Moscow doesn't have the ability to
send people into space. It also means the upcoming launch
of the Progress m S thirty three cargo ship bound
for the International Space Station, which was slated for December
the twenty first, has now been delayed indefinitely. Early estimates
(17:41):
suggest that repairs and reconstruction could take up to two
years to complete. There are no alternative launch facilities available,
so ros Cosmos will now need to look at modifying
other sous launch complexes, such as those of the possessed
cosmodrome north of Moscow or the Neuvaskoshni Cosmodrome in Russia's
far East. Even maybe the unused so He's launched padded
(18:02):
the European Space Agency Spaceport INKU of French Guyana. Although
we're the current band by Europe on cooperation with Russia
following the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine, that may be difficult.
This is Space time and time out to take a
(18:32):
brief look at some of the other stories making news
in science this week with a science report. A new
study warns that people suffering from autism are more likely
to have suicide related behaviors and psychological distress. The findings
reported in the journal Autism Research, shows that these behaviors
are more likely irrespective of previous traumatic experiences. The research
(18:55):
shows that as many as one in four people on
the autism spectrum have reported suicide attempts across their lifetime,
and autistic people also have a higher likelihood of adverse
life experiences. The study examined four hundred and twenty four
autistic three hundred and forty five non autistic adults, looking
across ten issues education, employment, finances, social services, the criminal
(19:18):
justice system, childhood victimization, adulthood victimization, domestic abuse, lack of
social support, and mental health. They found autistic people who
experienced childhood victimization, something that happens in almost one hundred
percent of cases, were more likely to report mental health
conditions later in life, conditions which impacted their daily life,
(19:39):
as well as self harm such as cutting, suicide plans
and or suicide attempts. Archaeologists claim the famous Easter Island
statues of Rapa Nui were likely created by numerous independent
groups rather than under the auspices of a single hierarchical organization.
The famous heritagested statues were carved by Polynesian communities from
(20:03):
the thirteenth century. The studies authors collected over eleven thousand
images creating a three dimensional model of the main Moai
Stone Statue quarry, which included hundreds of moai preserved in
various stages of completion. There were analysis reported in the
journal Plus One revealed thirty distinct centers of quirrying activity,
(20:23):
which featured different carving techniques and that the authors say
suggest multible independent work areas. They also found evidence for
moai transport out of the quarry in many different directions,
and the authors say this suggests that moai construction, much
like the broad O Rapanui society, was not organized by
central management. The authors say the findings challenged a common
(20:46):
assumption that this scale of monument production required a hierarchical organization.
A new study is found that a three point four
million year old partial foot discovered in Ethiopia back in
twenty oh nine may belonged to an ancient human relative
named Australopithecus de remeda, a more primitive species of the
early hominid than the more famous Lucy, who was an
(21:08):
Ostropithecus afarensis. Previously, the species that the swift belonged to
couldn't be identified because identification requires a bit more fossil
evidence than just some foot bones, but the author's recently
discovered more fossils in the same areas where the foot
was found, including a jawbone, pelvis, and skull fossils, and
they belonged to the earlier species, suggesting that the foot
(21:29):
may also be from that same individual. A report in
the journal Nature says and analysis of the enamel on
the teeth found in the jawbone suggest that these early
hominids ate leaves, fruits and nuts from trees, shrubs, or herbs,
and may have spent quite a lot of time actually
living in trees. Well, to quote the immortal doctor Sheldon Cooper,
(21:50):
there is absolutely no scientific evidence to support clair voids
of any kind, which means that fortune telling is a fraud.
The profession is a swindle at its livelihood dependent on
the gullibility of stupid people. I say that in the
prelude to this story about fame TV psychic Sylvia Brown,
she gained infamy for widely inaccurate predictions to the families
(22:12):
of missing children, and it appears she's gone viral yet again,
but this time for the right reasons. Clips of Brown
shared around social media are gaining popularity. Mocking her as
a grifter who said the wildest nonsense that she simply
pulled out of thin air. Tim Mendem from Austrian's Skeptic says,
perhaps there is her for some level of sanity and
(22:32):
lacidity to triumph on the Internet over psychic swindlers and
deplorable grifters like Sylvia Brown.
Speaker 7 (22:38):
Sylvia Brown was a American psychic in quotes who was
famous for making predictions about people who have disappeared where
they would be found or not found, as the case
may be. She was a fairly blunt woman. A grieving
period would come to her and say, I want to
find my child. They disappeared, where they're gone to Antibu blunts,
are not their dead or they're alive, and I'll come
(23:00):
back to et cetera. She was terrible at it, but
she was good at presenting it and had confidence in it.
She was very rich. She ended up being Her statements
about people who were dead were often proved wrong. Like
there was a famous case where she was talking to
a parent of a girl who disappeared and she told
the parent that, no, your child is dead. They've found
in a river or something like that, and the parents
were totally despairing, and one of them, my mother died
(23:22):
and then a few years later the daughter turned up.
She had been kidnapped, one of those cases if someone
kept in the room for a long time, and she
had been kids actually turned up because the parents had
been devastated by what Sylvia Brand had told them. And
the reverse is also true when she said, oh, no,
your child is living in another city. They got married
or something like that, and they got kids and turned
out they're dead right, and they died shortly after they disappeared.
(23:42):
She is and you can say all sorts of rude
names for her, but we won't because there was the
family char But she was notorious, and she played on
her bluntness. People say, oh, she's not the usual psyche
who's very nice to us. She's actually very straightforward. She
must know what she's talking about, because she's sort of
a glum glum to the person. I think she would smile,
(24:03):
and that would worry because she's a fairly extreme person
with very extreme makeups. She had horrible nails, and a
lot of people were very very anti Sylvia Brown and
once she died, which was a few years ago, a
lot of stories would come out about how terrible it was.
And apparently there's a lot of story that just cropped
up recently has become a bit of a viral being
again to raise the horribleness of Sylvia Brand and all
(24:25):
the stories that she supposedly told people that were wrong,
and they're calling her a grift who quote made the
wildest nonsense that he pulled it as in there, and yet
she became rich of it.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
About the pestilence of psychic swindlers, isn't it.
Speaker 7 (24:41):
Very much so? And this is this is sort of
one of the things that get very involved about and
very upset about, is when they hear about psychics making
predictions to things and taking advantage of what you call
brief vampires, taking advantage of someone whose child or family
members died and they're trying to get in such or
whose child or something has disappeared. And there's definitely psychics
out there. He was rubb there together and said, oh money,
(25:01):
and they will then take advantage of a grieving person
as the lowest of love. And the psychics you see
you think of in the cartoon version of a woman
with a scarf wrapped around the head looking like a
gypsy woman that sort of thing. It's far from the truth,
and the psychics can be very very dangerous in what
they say to people. Then, even when they're supposedly trying
to be nice and friendly and things that could be
(25:22):
very harmful to be financially so be wasting time and
sort of emotionally, it can be quite devastating either way
off in false hope or by giving false grief or
unfounded grief. It becomes an unfunny topic that the skeptics
get a bit of a night about when they realize
how much money and grief is involved in them.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
That's timendum from Austria and Skeptics, and that's the show
for now. Space Time is available every Monday, Wednesday and
(26:01):
Friday through bytes dot com, SoundCloud, YouTube, your favorite podcast
download provider, and from space Time with Stuart Gary dot com.
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(26:25):
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Speaker 2 (26:43):
You've been listening to space Time with Stuart Gary. This
has been another quality podcast production from bytes dot com.
The Space Time series twenty eight, episode one hundred and
forty one for broadcasts on the first of December twenty
twenty five. Coming up on space Time, have scientists finally
detected dark matter? The European Space Agency is cheap spacecraft
about to reach another miles stone, and a major disaster
at the bike in Or Cosmodrome as the Sawyer's MS
(00:22):
twenty eight spacecraft blasts off for the International Space Station.
All that and more coming up on space Time.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Welcome to space Time with Stuart gary.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Well. After nearly one hundred years, astronomers may finally have
detected that mysterious substance known as dark matter. A report
in the Journal of Cosmology NAST Particle Physics claims scientists
detected the elusive substance through the emission of gamma rays
generated as dark matter particles collide and annihilate. The observations
(01:10):
were made using NASA's Fermi gamma ray space telescope. Back
in the early nineteen thirties, it was Swiss astronomer Fritz
Vicki who observed that galaxies in space were moving faster
than what their masses should allow, and that prompted him
to infer the presence of some invisible scaffolding, a sort
of dark matter, if you will, which was holding the
(01:32):
galaxies together. Now nearly a century later, astronomers may finally,
for the first time, have provided direct evidence for dark
matter's existence, allowing the invisible substance to be seen. Dark
matter has remained largely a mystery ever since it was
first proposed. Scientists have only ever been able to indirectly
(01:52):
observe dark matter through its effects are normal, that is,
observable matter, such as its ability to generate enough gravitation
force to hold galaxies together. If their calculations are correct,
eighty five percent of the universe's total mass is made
up of dark matter. Only fifteen percent of them mass
of the cosmos is made up of normal, observable what
(02:14):
we call baryonic matter, the stuff that makes up stars
and planets and trees and dogs and cats and people.
The reason dark matter can't be observed directly is because
the particles that make up dark matter don't interact with
the electromagnetic force, meaning dark matter doesn't absorb, reflect or
emit light. Of course, hypotheses abound, but many researchers think
(02:37):
dark matter is made up of something called weekly interacting
massive particles or whimps. These are heavier than protons, but
they only weekly, if at all, interact with any other
forms of matter. Despite this lack of interaction, it's thought
that when two whips collide, they annihilate each other in
the process, releasing other particles, including gamma ray photons. One
(03:00):
of the ways astronomers are trying to determine what dark
matter is is looking for regions of space where dark
matters should be concentrated, such as the centers of galaxies,
including our own Milky Way, and they've been doing that
through astronomical observations for years in search of these specific
gamma ray emissions. This new study's lead author, Tomonori to
Tanny from the University of Tokyo, believes he's finally detected
(03:23):
the specific gamma rays predicted by the annihilation of theoretical
dark matter particles. Tomnorian colleagues detected gamma rays with a
photon energy of twenty gigre electron vaults. Now that's an
extremely large amount of energy, and they saw it extending
in a halo like structure towards the center of the
Milky Way galaxy. Tomonori says, the gamma ray emission component
(03:45):
closely matches the shape expected for the Milky Way's dark
matter halo. The observed energy spectrum or range of gamma
ray emission intensities matches the emission predicted from an annihilation
of hypothetical whimps with an approximate mass about five hundred
times that of a proton, and the frequency of whip
annihilation estimated from the measured gamma ray intensity also falls
(04:08):
within the range of theoretical predictions. Importantly, these gamma ray
measurements aren't easily explained by other more common astronomical phenomena
or gamma ray emissions. The authors therefore consider this data
a strong indication of gamma ray emission from dark matter.
Tomonori says, if correct, it marks the very first time
(04:28):
humanity is see dark matter, and it turns out this
means dark matter is indeed a new particle when not
included in the current standard model of particle physics, the
foundation stone of science's understanding of the universe. If confirmed,
it signifies a major development in astronomy in physics, one
of the most important discoveries ever. While Tomonoi is confident
(04:50):
that his gamma ray measurements are in fact detecting dark
matter particles. His results still need to be verified through
independent analyzes by other astronomers. Even with this confirmation, scientists
will still want additional proof that this halo like radiation
being observed is indeed the result of dark matter annihilation
rather than originating from some other astronomical phenomena. Additional proof
(05:13):
of wimp collisions in other locations that harbor high concentrations
of dark matter would bolster these initial results. Detecting the
same energy gamma ray emissions from say, dwarf galaxies within
the Milky Way halo would support tom NOI's analysis, and
he says this could be achieved once more data is accumulated,
and if so, it would prove even stronger evidence that
(05:34):
some gamma rays originate from dark matter collisions. This is
space time still to come. The European Space Agency's cheap
spacecraft about to reach another milestone and a major disaster
at the bikin Or Cosmodrome as the Sawyer's MS twenty
eight spacecraft blasts off for the International Space Station. All
that and more still to come on space time. The
(06:14):
European Space agency ISPs spacecraft's about to hit another milestone
as it heads towards its sixth year of what was
originally meant to be a three and a half year mission. CHIOPS,
the Characterizing Exoplanets satellite, was launched back in December twenty nineteen,
on the mission to determine the size of known exoplanets,
that is, world's orbiting stars other than the Sun. The
(06:35):
probe is positioned in a seven hundred kilometer high Sun
synchronous orbit and is equipped with a thirty centimeter optical telescope.
The spacecraft's observations will estimate an exoplanet's mass, its density,
and its composition, allowing better hypotheses of its likely formation.
CHIOPS will measure the size of known transiting exoplanets orbiting
(06:56):
brighton nearby stars, and it will also be searching for
predicted it's of exoplanets previously discovered by way of radial
velocity measurements. Now, the transit method involves monitoring a dip
in starlight observed as an orbiting planet passes in front
of its host star, as seen from Earth, or at
least in this case, as seen from CHIOPS. The radio
(07:17):
velocity method involves monitoring how the gravitational pull of an
orbiting planet causes a slight wobble in its host star.
Now that wobble can be detected through a slight red
or blue shifting of the spectrum of light emitted by
the star. In twenty twenty three, the chip's mission was
extended to twenty twenty six, allowing astronomers to widen their
observation to search for EXO moons, that is, Moon's orbiting
(07:41):
planets orbiting alien stars. CHIOPS project scientist Kate Isaac has
the preps been especially focused on exoplanets in the Earth
to Neptune size range. This report from EASTERTV.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
CHAOPS is a satellite and ESO science program.
Speaker 4 (07:57):
The acronym CHAOPS stands for Characterized Seeing Exoplanets satellite, and
that is exactly what we'll do. We observe stars that
are known to host exoplanets, so in that way we
know where to point and when to point, and we'll
measure the output of these stars and look for the
transit of the planet across the disk of the star.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
So we will look for the.
Speaker 4 (08:19):
Small changes in light that take place when a planet
moves across the star. Our observations could take six, eight, ten,
twelve hours and By measuring the dip, we can determine
the size of the planet. By combining the size of
the planet with its mass, we're able to determine its
mean density. By combining this with information that we have
(08:40):
about the host star itself, we can start to say
something about something very concrete about the composition of the planet,
its internal structure, and so start to lead on to
its structure, formation, and evolution history. Very important information about
planets beyond our own Solar system.
Speaker 5 (09:00):
And this is the first time this is done. I mean,
you know where to look at, but you don't know exactly.
But I mean, this is the added value of KOPS.
Speaker 4 (09:09):
The added value of CHAOPS is we're following up on
known targets. So instead of missions such as Kepler tests
and indeed plato Isa's future exoplanet mission, we know where
to point, so we're able to make very efficient observations.
We move and point towards a star when we know
that the planet is going to transit. So instead of
(09:30):
spending several months maybe pointing at a bank fraction of
the sky looking for the transit, monitoring very many thousands
of stars and looking for small dips in their output,
we're able to go quickly around the sky, maybe spend
ten twenty thirty hours on known stars, known bright stars,
(09:51):
and to measure the sizes of their planets.
Speaker 5 (09:53):
In that way you mentioned the deep meaning that it
would be something in front of the star or on
the sun. Because it solar systems, you are looking at
you in.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
A way planetary systems.
Speaker 4 (10:02):
So what we're doing is we're looking at the planets
as they owe orbit around their host star. So in
the same way that the Earth goes around our star,
our Sun, other planets orbit their own host stars. And
what we'll do is we will monitor these stars and
we look for these dips as the planet moves across
the disk of the star. As seen by us from
(10:24):
a large distance. We're able to determine the size of
the planet from the small dip in the outfoot of
the star. So in the light that we measure from
the star, you.
Speaker 5 (10:35):
Will able to tell us if there are Earth like
planets some life on.
Speaker 4 (10:40):
This be focusing on small planets, so Earth to Neptune
size size planets, and by combining the sizes the very
precise and accurate sizes that we get with measurements from chaops,
with measurements of mass that will be made from telescopes
and observatories on Earth.
Speaker 3 (10:58):
We can get the density now.
Speaker 4 (11:00):
As you know, density is something that tells us about
what the planet is made of.
Speaker 3 (11:05):
Something that has a high density, something like iron.
Speaker 4 (11:08):
Is very much more compact, whereas if something has a
low density, it's more gassy.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
Earth is somewhere in between.
Speaker 4 (11:15):
And so by technical knowing, by being able to work
something out about the density, we're able to say something
about whether the planet is Earth like or whether it's
more gassy instead.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
And in that report from ECTV, we're from CHIPS project
scientist Kate Isaac from the European Space Agency. This is
space time still to come, a major disaster at the
bigen Or Cosmodrome, and later in the science report and
you study warns that people suffering from autism are far
more likely to have suicide related behaviors. All that and
(11:49):
more still to come on space time. It's been a
major disaster at the bike and or Cosmo Drome. As
(12:10):
then you crew launched into orbit bound for the International
Space Station. The trio had launched on the forty seven
until Sawyer's two and a rocket from the Cosmo Drome
in the Central Asian Republic of Kazakhstan.
Speaker 6 (12:22):
Kotz Ferzkoff reporting that he and his crewmates Chris Williams
and Sergim mckayeth are ready for launch, and five engineers
through the s on module Kenner. Everything is in good shape.
The launch control reporting that the range at Baiknor is clear,
the Sawyer's rocket ready to begin its journey.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
The cons is ready go for launch.
Speaker 6 (12:48):
Launch k insorted go for lunch sequence. The launch key
now has been inserted in the launch bunker, transitioning the
launch sequence into its automatic mode. In about thirty seconds,
on board systems will be transition into on board control.
Sergei kuds Ferchkoff, the Soyuz commander in the center seat,
flanked to his left by Sergei mckayev and to his
right NASA's Chris Williams, Williams and McKay of about to
(13:11):
embark on their first journey into space. This is the
second flight into space for cuds firch Cooff, a bichan
or native and seventy The fuel lines and other elements
of the rocket engines are being purged with nitrogen right
now that fire proofs them by removing vapors of fuel
(13:33):
and oxidizer from the base of the launch pad. The
skies have cleared nicely over the bikan Or Cosmodrome. Temperatures
in the mid forties fahrenheit. The ground propellant feed in
the process of being terminated to the rocket. The booster
tanks now pressurized for flight.
Speaker 7 (13:49):
Okay, I covered the report ground power disconnect.
Speaker 6 (13:54):
The vehicle on internal power. The first umbilical now retracting.
The prestonbilical tower from booster.
Speaker 7 (14:00):
Ground rebel generation.
Speaker 6 (14:05):
Terminated, the second of bilical now retracting. I'm standing by
for engine sequence start. We have main engine ignitions, preliminary
intermediary t minus four seconds three two one engine and
lift off holiday travel.
Speaker 7 (14:24):
Underway, a.
Speaker 6 (14:27):
Space on board systems, all on board systems and nomination.
You're down first stage performance reported from the blockhouse in Bikenor.
Speaker 7 (14:41):
While I'm in the company.
Speaker 6 (14:45):
Thirty seconds into the flight, so use booster arcing out
to the northeast from the mic and Or Cosmodrome. They've
been to enroll pitching off program. Good structural stability on
the rocket. Engine chamber pressure is nominal on board passing
through the area of maximum dynamic pressure. On the vehicle
max queues. It's called good first stage engine performance reporting.
Speaker 8 (15:07):
The vehicle is nominal. Everything's fine on board as well,
and we.
Speaker 6 (15:12):
Have confirmation of first stage separation. The stop on boosters
falling away phenomenally.
Speaker 8 (15:20):
Confirmed.
Speaker 6 (15:21):
The soy is now operating on the power of its
second stage engine. The launch shroud and encapsulating the Soyuz
spacecraft are now the jettison. All is green from the
blockhouse in bike noor kod sperits Gov reports he and
(15:41):
his crewmates are in good shape, feeling great.
Speaker 8 (15:44):
Your pigeon roll our all nominal, and we on our side.
Everything's fine on board. We're feeling good, and.
Speaker 6 (15:51):
We have a second stage shutdown.
Speaker 8 (15:53):
Second stage separation confirmed.
Speaker 6 (15:56):
The third stage engine now propelling the soy Us to
its preliminary orbit, providing sixty seven thousand pounds of thrust.
The spurn will continue until about the eight minute forty
six second mark, when it will shut down and the
Soyuz will be placed into its preliminary orbit.
Speaker 8 (16:13):
The vehicle is nominal, happy, everyth is fine on board.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
The three expedition seventy three seventy four crew members arrived
safely at the space station. The Sayus MS twenty eight
spacecraft flew on a two orbit fast rendezvoust trajectory, docking
onto the nadir port of the orbiting utpurst Razvet module
just three hours and eleven minutes after launch. The Sawyer's
MIS twenty eight crew are slated to remain on station
(16:38):
for eight months, returning to Earth in July twenty twenty six. However,
while that mission proceeded smoothly, major drama was unfolding back
on Earth at the bikan Or Cosmodrome. It appears the
main service access platform at the Site thirty one launch
complex at Bikanor collapse during the liftoff off the Soyuz mission.
(16:59):
The Myrbos service tower was torn off by the exhaust
plum of the Sawyer's first stage, collapsing into the fire
protection pit and destroying the service bridges and access gantries.
The extent of the damage means Pad thirty one is
now unusable. This is the only launch facility at baiken
Or or for that matter, in Russia that can support
(17:20):
manned Russian space missions. It means that for the first
time in sixty years, Moscow doesn't have the ability to
send people into space. It also means the upcoming launch
of the Progress m S thirty three cargo ship bound
for the International Space Station, which was slated for December
the twenty first, has now been delayed indefinitely. Early estimates
(17:41):
suggest that repairs and reconstruction could take up to two
years to complete. There are no alternative launch facilities available,
so ros Cosmos will now need to look at modifying
other sous launch complexes, such as those of the possessed
cosmodrome north of Moscow or the Neuvaskoshni Cosmodrome in Russia's
far East. Even maybe the unused so He's launched padded
(18:02):
the European Space Agency Spaceport INKU of French Guyana. Although
we're the current band by Europe on cooperation with Russia
following the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine, that may be difficult.
This is Space time and time out to take a
(18:32):
brief look at some of the other stories making news
in science this week with a science report. A new
study warns that people suffering from autism are more likely
to have suicide related behaviors and psychological distress. The findings
reported in the journal Autism Research, shows that these behaviors
are more likely irrespective of previous traumatic experiences. The research
(18:55):
shows that as many as one in four people on
the autism spectrum have reported suicide attempts across their lifetime,
and autistic people also have a higher likelihood of adverse
life experiences. The study examined four hundred and twenty four
autistic three hundred and forty five non autistic adults, looking
across ten issues education, employment, finances, social services, the criminal
(19:18):
justice system, childhood victimization, adulthood victimization, domestic abuse, lack of
social support, and mental health. They found autistic people who
experienced childhood victimization, something that happens in almost one hundred
percent of cases, were more likely to report mental health
conditions later in life, conditions which impacted their daily life,
(19:39):
as well as self harm such as cutting, suicide plans
and or suicide attempts. Archaeologists claim the famous Easter Island
statues of Rapa Nui were likely created by numerous independent
groups rather than under the auspices of a single hierarchical organization.
The famous heritagested statues were carved by Polynesian communities from
(20:03):
the thirteenth century. The studies authors collected over eleven thousand
images creating a three dimensional model of the main Moai
Stone Statue quarry, which included hundreds of moai preserved in
various stages of completion. There were analysis reported in the
journal Plus One revealed thirty distinct centers of quirrying activity,
(20:23):
which featured different carving techniques and that the authors say
suggest multible independent work areas. They also found evidence for
moai transport out of the quarry in many different directions,
and the authors say this suggests that moai construction, much
like the broad O Rapanui society, was not organized by
central management. The authors say the findings challenged a common
(20:46):
assumption that this scale of monument production required a hierarchical organization.
A new study is found that a three point four
million year old partial foot discovered in Ethiopia back in
twenty oh nine may belonged to an ancient human relative
named Australopithecus de remeda, a more primitive species of the
early hominid than the more famous Lucy, who was an
(21:08):
Ostropithecus afarensis. Previously, the species that the swift belonged to
couldn't be identified because identification requires a bit more fossil
evidence than just some foot bones, but the author's recently
discovered more fossils in the same areas where the foot
was found, including a jawbone, pelvis, and skull fossils, and
they belonged to the earlier species, suggesting that the foot
(21:29):
may also be from that same individual. A report in
the journal Nature says and analysis of the enamel on
the teeth found in the jawbone suggest that these early
hominids ate leaves, fruits and nuts from trees, shrubs, or herbs,
and may have spent quite a lot of time actually
living in trees. Well, to quote the immortal doctor Sheldon Cooper,
(21:50):
there is absolutely no scientific evidence to support clair voids
of any kind, which means that fortune telling is a fraud.
The profession is a swindle at its livelihood dependent on
the gullibility of stupid people. I say that in the
prelude to this story about fame TV psychic Sylvia Brown,
she gained infamy for widely inaccurate predictions to the families
(22:12):
of missing children, and it appears she's gone viral yet again,
but this time for the right reasons. Clips of Brown
shared around social media are gaining popularity. Mocking her as
a grifter who said the wildest nonsense that she simply
pulled out of thin air. Tim Mendem from Austrian's Skeptic says,
perhaps there is her for some level of sanity and
(22:32):
lacidity to triumph on the Internet over psychic swindlers and
deplorable grifters like Sylvia Brown.
Speaker 7 (22:38):
Sylvia Brown was a American psychic in quotes who was
famous for making predictions about people who have disappeared where
they would be found or not found, as the case
may be. She was a fairly blunt woman. A grieving
period would come to her and say, I want to
find my child. They disappeared, where they're gone to Antibu blunts,
are not their dead or they're alive, and I'll come
(23:00):
back to et cetera. She was terrible at it, but
she was good at presenting it and had confidence in it.
She was very rich. She ended up being Her statements
about people who were dead were often proved wrong. Like
there was a famous case where she was talking to
a parent of a girl who disappeared and she told
the parent that, no, your child is dead. They've found
in a river or something like that, and the parents
were totally despairing, and one of them, my mother died
(23:22):
and then a few years later the daughter turned up.
She had been kidnapped, one of those cases if someone
kept in the room for a long time, and she
had been kids actually turned up because the parents had
been devastated by what Sylvia Brand had told them. And
the reverse is also true when she said, oh, no,
your child is living in another city. They got married
or something like that, and they got kids and turned
out they're dead right, and they died shortly after they disappeared.
(23:42):
She is and you can say all sorts of rude
names for her, but we won't because there was the
family char But she was notorious, and she played on
her bluntness. People say, oh, she's not the usual psyche
who's very nice to us. She's actually very straightforward. She
must know what she's talking about, because she's sort of
a glum glum to the person. I think she would smile,
(24:03):
and that would worry because she's a fairly extreme person
with very extreme makeups. She had horrible nails, and a
lot of people were very very anti Sylvia Brown and
once she died, which was a few years ago, a
lot of stories would come out about how terrible it was.
And apparently there's a lot of story that just cropped
up recently has become a bit of a viral being
again to raise the horribleness of Sylvia Brand and all
(24:25):
the stories that she supposedly told people that were wrong,
and they're calling her a grift who quote made the
wildest nonsense that he pulled it as in there, and yet
she became rich of it.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
About the pestilence of psychic swindlers, isn't it.
Speaker 7 (24:41):
Very much so? And this is this is sort of
one of the things that get very involved about and
very upset about, is when they hear about psychics making
predictions to things and taking advantage of what you call
brief vampires, taking advantage of someone whose child or family
members died and they're trying to get in such or
whose child or something has disappeared. And there's definitely psychics
out there. He was rubb there together and said, oh money,
(25:01):
and they will then take advantage of a grieving person
as the lowest of love. And the psychics you see
you think of in the cartoon version of a woman
with a scarf wrapped around the head looking like a
gypsy woman that sort of thing. It's far from the truth,
and the psychics can be very very dangerous in what
they say to people. Then, even when they're supposedly trying
to be nice and friendly and things that could be
(25:22):
very harmful to be financially so be wasting time and
sort of emotionally, it can be quite devastating either way
off in false hope or by giving false grief or
unfounded grief. It becomes an unfunny topic that the skeptics
get a bit of a night about when they realize
how much money and grief is involved in them.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
That's timendum from Austria and Skeptics, and that's the show
for now. Space Time is available every Monday, Wednesday and
(26:01):
Friday through bytes dot com, SoundCloud, YouTube, your favorite podcast
download provider, and from space Time with Stuart Gary dot com.
Space Time's also broadcast through the National Science Foundation, on
Science Own Radio and on both iHeartRadio and tune in Radio.
And you can help to support our show by visiting
the Spacetime Store for a range of promotional merchandising goodies,
(26:25):
or by becoming a Spacetime Patron, which gives you access
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Just go to space Time with Stuart Gary dot com
for full details.
Speaker 2 (26:43):
You've been listening to space Time with Stuart Gary. This
has been another quality podcast production from bytes dot com.
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