October 3, 2025 • 21 mins
In this episode of SpaceTime, we delve into the intriguing potential for life on the dwarf planet Ceres, explore NASA's latest mission to study the heliosphere, and celebrate the achievements of the University of Melbourne's Spirit Nanosat.
Ceres: A Potentially Habitable World?
Recent research published in Science Advances suggests that Ceres, currently a frigid and frozen world, may have once harboured conditions suitable for life. By modelling the planet's thermal and chemical history, scientists propose that Ceres could have sustained a long-lasting energy source, allowing for microbial metabolism. While there's no direct evidence of life, the findings indicate that Ceres had the necessary ingredients—water, carbon, and chemical energy—that could have supported single-celled organisms in its ancient past.
Nasa's New Heliospheric Mission
NASA has launched the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) to investigate the heliosphere, the magnetic bubble surrounding our solar system. This mission aims to enhance our understanding of solar wind and its interactions with interstellar particles, which are crucial for assessing space weather impacts on Earth. IMAP will operate alongside the Carruthers Geocorona Observatory and NOAA's Swifo L1 spacecraft, contributing to a comprehensive study of our solar environment.
Spirit Nanosat's Milestone Achievement
The University of Melbourne's Spirit nanosatellite has successfully completed its initial mission phase, deploying its thermal management system and taking a selfie in space. Launched in December 2023, Spirit is equipped with a miniaturised gamma-ray detector to search for gamma-ray bursts, marking a significant advancement in small satellite technology and scientific exploration.
www.spacetimewithstuartgary.com
✍️ Episode References
Science Advances
https://www.science.org/journal/sciadv
NASA IMAP Mission
https://www.nasa.gov/imap
University of Melbourne Spirit Nanosatellite
https://www.unimelb.edu.au/
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/spacetime-your-guide-to-space-astronomy--2458531/support.
Ceres: A Potentially Habitable World?
NASA's New Heliospheric Mission
Spirit Nanosat's Milestone Achievement
(00:00) New study claims the dwarf planet Ceres could once have been habitable enough for life
(05:14) The Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe will study the heliosphere
(15:58) New study finds tropical fish are colonising new habitats because of ocean warming
(18:07) Khloe Kardashian reportedly claims she's seen UFOs and experienced paranormal activity
Ceres: A Potentially Habitable World?
Recent research published in Science Advances suggests that Ceres, currently a frigid and frozen world, may have once harboured conditions suitable for life. By modelling the planet's thermal and chemical history, scientists propose that Ceres could have sustained a long-lasting energy source, allowing for microbial metabolism. While there's no direct evidence of life, the findings indicate that Ceres had the necessary ingredients—water, carbon, and chemical energy—that could have supported single-celled organisms in its ancient past.
Nasa's New Heliospheric Mission
NASA has launched the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) to investigate the heliosphere, the magnetic bubble surrounding our solar system. This mission aims to enhance our understanding of solar wind and its interactions with interstellar particles, which are crucial for assessing space weather impacts on Earth. IMAP will operate alongside the Carruthers Geocorona Observatory and NOAA's Swifo L1 spacecraft, contributing to a comprehensive study of our solar environment.
Spirit Nanosat's Milestone Achievement
The University of Melbourne's Spirit nanosatellite has successfully completed its initial mission phase, deploying its thermal management system and taking a selfie in space. Launched in December 2023, Spirit is equipped with a miniaturised gamma-ray detector to search for gamma-ray bursts, marking a significant advancement in small satellite technology and scientific exploration.
www.spacetimewithstuartgary.com
✍️ Episode References
Science Advances
https://www.science.org/journal/sciadv
NASA IMAP Mission
https://www.nasa.gov/imap
University of Melbourne Spirit Nanosatellite
https://www.unimelb.edu.au/
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/spacetime-your-guide-to-space-astronomy--2458531/support.
Ceres: A Potentially Habitable World?
NASA's New Heliospheric Mission
Spirit Nanosat's Milestone Achievement
(00:00) New study claims the dwarf planet Ceres could once have been habitable enough for life
(05:14) The Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe will study the heliosphere
(15:58) New study finds tropical fish are colonising new habitats because of ocean warming
(18:07) Khloe Kardashian reportedly claims she's seen UFOs and experienced paranormal activity
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is Spacetime Series twenty eight, episode one hundred and nineteen,
for broadcast on the third of October twenty twenty five.
Coming up on Spacetime, Could the Dwarf Planet series once
have supported life? NASA's new mission to study the heliosphere,
and the University of Melbourne's Spirit down as sat snaps
a selfie. All that and more coming up on space Time.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Welcome to Space Time with Stuart Gary.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
A new study claims that the Dwarf Planet series, which
today is a cold, frozen world, could once have been
habitable enough to support life. A report in the journal
Science Advances haints a picture of series hosting a deep,
long lived energy source that may have maintained conditions for
long periods of time in the past. The new research
(01:04):
by NASA found that Cerius may have had a long
lasting source of chemical energy the right types of molecules
needed to fuel microbial metabolisms. Now, before you get too
carried away, there is no evidence at all that microorganisms
ever existed on Ceris, but the findings do support theories
that this intriguing dwarf planet, which is the largest body
(01:24):
in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, may
once have had conditions suitable for supporting single cell lifeforms.
Dated from NASA's Dawn mission, which ended in twenty eighteen,
previously showed that the bright reflective regions on Seri's surface
are mostly made of salts left over from liquid that
percolated up from deep underground. Later analysis in twenty twenty
(01:46):
found that the source of this liquid was an enormous
reservoir of brine, that is, salty water deep below the surface.
Dawn also revealed evidence that Cerius had organic material in
the form of carbon molecules, essential, although not sufficient on
its own to support microbial life. The presence of water
and carbon molecules are two of the key critical components
(02:07):
necessary for habitability, and the findings also offer the third,
a long lasting source of chemical energy in Series ancient
past that could have made it possible for microorganisms to
survive now. Once again, this result doesn't mean Series had life,
but rather that there was likely to have been food
available should life ever have arisen on Series. Hat reached
(02:29):
their conclusions the Steadies author's book Thermal and Chemical Models.
Mimicking the temperatures and composition of Series interior over long timespans,
They found that around two and a half billion years ago,
serious subsurface ocean may have had a steady supply of
hot water containing dissolved gases traveling up from metamorphosized rocks
on the seafloor. The heat would have come through the
(02:51):
decay of radioactive elements within the dwarf planet's interior, which
occurred when Cerius was still quite young. That's an internal
process thought to be common throughout the Soul system. The
Steadies lead author Sam Corville from Arizona State University, worked
on the Dawn mission while with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
in Pasadena, California. He says that here on Earth, a
hot water from deep underground mixes with the ocean deep
(03:14):
sea hydrothermal vents. A result is often a buffet for
microbes a feast of chemical energy, so this could have
big implications if corvalent colleagues determined that Series Ocean had
an influx of hydrothermal fluid in the past. Of course,
the Series astronomers know today is likely to be completely uninhabitable.
It's cooler, with a lot more ice and far less
(03:36):
water than what it had in the past, and this
currently insufficient heat from radioactive decay within Series to keep
that water from freezing, and what liquid remains has now
become a concentrated brine. The period when Series would most
likely have been habitable would have been between half a
billion and two billion years after it formed. That's about
two and a half to four billion years ago when
(03:58):
it's rocky core ridged its peak literature. That's when warm
fluids would have been introduced into series underground water supply,
and the dwarf planet also doesn't have the benefit of
present day internal heating generated by gravitational tidal actions through
the push and pull of orbiting a lunch planet like
we see in Saturn's moon Enceladus and the Jovian moon Europa.
(04:19):
So Series' greatest potential for habitability fueling energy was will
in the past, but the results have implications for water
rich objects throughout the Outer Solar System. There are many
other icy moons and dwarf planets that are of similar
size to the nine hundred and forty kilometer wide Series
and which also lack the internal heating from the gravitational
pull of planets, but could also have had a period
(04:41):
of habitability way in their past. This is space time
still to come. NASA's new mission to study the heliosphere
and the University of Melbourne's Spirit NanoSat successfully completes the
initial phase of its mission, search for gamma ray bursts.
All that and more still to come. On space time,
(05:15):
NASAs launched a new mission to study the Sun's magnetic bubble,
the heliosphere. The heliosphere fills the entire Solar System, and
it helps shield it from interstellar particles and radiation. The
new mission, called the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe IMAP,
will help astronomers develop a better understanding of this tenuous
solar atmosphere and how events like space weather interact with it.
(05:37):
IMAP was launched a board a SpaceX Falca nine rocket
together with NASAs Corruther's Geocorna Observatory and Noah swift O
L one spacecraft from Pad thirty nine A at the
Kennedy Space Center in Florida. IMAP sensors and detectors will sample,
analyzer map particles streaming towards the Earth from the very
edges of our Solar System and beyond. The mission will
(05:58):
also help scientists learn more about the Solar wind, the
continuous stream of particles flowing out from the Sun and
about energetic particles in the heliosphere. These particles can affect
humans in space. They can damage spacecraft systems, may even
have played a role in the presence of life in
the Solar System.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
The JOHNS.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland built the spacecraft,
which is flying ten instruments to study the solar wind,
interstellar dust and other particles, magnetic fields, and ultraviolet light
in space. Following its launched, the nine hundred kilogram spacecraft,
together with both the Carruthers Geocorna Observatory and swift ol one,
have commenced their four month cruise phase to lagrange in
(06:39):
L one position some one point six million kilometers away,
located between the Earth and the Sun. L one is
a sort of gravitational well where the pull of the
Earth and Sun cancel each other out, allowing a spacecraft
in that position to remain there in a stable orbit
without expending a great degree of fuel. From L one,
I am at well an underruptive view of activities at
(07:01):
the distillar boundary in the Sun. Meanwhile, the third member
of the Lord's Trio, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration
Swiffer L one spacecraft is the first NEUA observatory designed
specifically four and fully dedicated to operational space weather observations.
Its station at the L one position will allow unobstructed
(07:22):
observations of the Sun's outer atmosphere, the corona, enabling upstream
measurements of solar wind disturbances before they reach the Earth.
This will allow the spacecraft to serve as an early
warning beacon for geomagnetic storms. The probe's primary instrument is
the cored II compact chronograph, which will monitor the Sun's
surroundings to provide data for enhanced forecasting and improve sciences
(07:44):
understanding the complex dynamics of the solar corona and disruptive
space where the events like coronal mass ejections, lasts of plasma,
and magnetic field exploding out from the Sun. Cored II
employs a single external oculta, a cylindrical device that blocks
the direct sunlight, creating an artificial eclipse. This allows the
telescope to exclusively focus on faint details in the corona itself.
(08:08):
Core II builds upon the earlier CORE one instrument, currently
operational on Noah's Goes nineteen satellite in geo stationary orbit.
While Core one experiences daily eclipses as the Earth passes
between the satellite and the Sun. Core two at the
old one position will be able to provide a continuous
twenty four seven.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
View of the Sun.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
This location, coupled with a larger field of view and
the ability to observe closer to the solar surface, allows
Core two to capture slightly more images and more rapidly
detect chronal mass ejections closer to the solar disk. This
means scientists can determine their trajectory, bass and speed with
greater accuracy, with the goal of predicting any space weather
impact on Earth. Space weather events, also known as geomagnetic storms,
(08:50):
are triggered by sustained periods of high speed solar wind
coupled with a southward directed interplanetary magnetic field component, which
facilitates magnetic reconnection and energy train ansfer at Earth's magneto pause.
Understanding the initiation and propagation of chronal mass ejections and
their subsequent impact on Earth's magnetosphere is crucial for predicting
and mitigating the adverse effects of space weather. The repercussions
(09:14):
of geomagnetic storms can range from temporary operational anomalies to
significant infrastructure damage. These disturbances can disrupt satellite communications and
navigation systems, cause geomagnetically induced currents in power grids, impacting
their stability and reliability, increase atmospheric drag on lowerth orbit satellites,
potentially shortening their operational lifespans, and interfere with high frequency
(09:37):
radio communications. While chronal mass ejections typically require several days
to transit from the Sun of the Earth, the most
energetic events have been observed to arrive at Earth in
as little as eighteen hours time. Therefore, timely and accurate
observations of instruments like core TiO are essential. Once in
its final orbit at L one, swift OL one will
(09:58):
be renamed Space Weather Observation one to advance readiness SOLO
one spacecraft. This report from Messity.
Speaker 4 (10:06):
From here on Earth, our Sun looks steady and unchanging,
but close up it's a dynamic, active place, and sometimes
you'd see bursts of radiation called solar flares, and explosions
of plasma and magnetic fields called coronal mass ejections. But
when the coronal mass ejections hit Earth, our magnetic.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
Field can go haywire.
Speaker 4 (10:30):
Powerful electromagnetic currents generated during these storms can harm our
power grids, global positioning systems, communications networks, and spacecraft and
astronauts on orbit. Meet Swiffo L one, Noah's first purpose
built space weather observatory. From its unique vantage point at
lagrange point one, a million and a half kilometers from Earth,
(10:53):
Swifto L one keeps an eye on the Sun's corona
twenty four to seven without interruption, to die early warning
of solar storms heading our way. The spacecraft's crown jewel
is its compact coronagraph, its eye on the Sun. Just
like the Ghose nineteen coronagraph. It allows Swiffo L one
(11:14):
to detect even the fastest corona mass ejections right as
they happen. The spacecraft is also packed with a suite
of new instruments that allow it to make real time
measurements of the solar wind's velocity, density and temperature, and
variations in the interplanetary magnetic field, all to provide better
forecasts of incoming space weather than ever before. All of
(11:38):
that technology floating out in space on Swiffo L one
works together closely to keep us safe back here on Earth.
Here's how it works. When a solar storm erupts from
the Sun, Swiffo L one's coronagraph observes the event right
away and sends the data back to the swifto ground segment,
(11:58):
a network of antenna station all over the world, with
the Swiffo command and control in Maryland. But spotting a
storm is one thing, actually measuring it close up is another.
It's the difference between tracking a growing hurricane on radar
and flying through the storm on a hurricane hunter aircraft.
(12:19):
Swiffo L one does both. After the spacecraft spots a
storm with its coronagraph, it watches the approaching weather and
waits Somewhere between eighteen and seventy hours later, the incoming
storm passes over swift O L one. Then the spacecraft's
instrument suite measures the storm's severity and speed and sends
(12:41):
that data home too, giving Noah early warning somewhere between
fifteen and sixty minutes before the storm arrives at Earth.
Noah's Space Weather Prediction Center in Colorado is constantly on
the alert, using all the data SWIFTFO L one collects
to develop and communicate real time forecasts and warnings to industry,
(13:03):
government agencies, and the public so they can take action
before the storm arrives to minimize its impact. Those actions
might include putting satellites into safe mode, re routing polar
airline flights, sheltering in a safe area on the International
Space Station, or changing loads on the power grid. In
our increasingly technology dependent world, we're more vulnerable than ever
(13:27):
to solar storms. But at the same time, our fleet
of space weather satellites is aging out of service after
many years of work in the harsh environment of outer space.
That's why Swiffo l one is the first of a
new generation of sun observing spacecraft that NOAH is launching.
Swiffo l one will use its cutting edge observing technology
(13:51):
to provide NOAH forecasters the best and most reliable data
available and ensure our nation doesn't go a minute without
eyes on the Sun, our life giving but turbulent neighborhood star.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
This is space time still to come. The University of
Melbourne's Spirit satellite snaps the selfie and later in the
science report. A new study has found that tropical fish
are now colonizing new habitats in temperate waters. All that
and more still to come on space time. The University
(14:40):
of Melbourne's SPIRIT NANA satellite has successfully completed the initial
phase of its mission. The Space Industry Responsive Intelligent Thermal
NANAS satellite SPIRIT is the first space telescope funded by ASA,
the Australian Space Agency, to carry a foreign space agency
scientific instrument as its primary payload. The spacecraft was launched
(15:00):
to board a Falcon nine rocket from the Vandenberg Space
Force Space in California back in December twenty twenty three.
Since its launch, Spirits circled the Earth more than nine
thousand times, traveling a distance comparable with a trip between
the Earth and Mars, and has been in orbit for
over six hundred days. The completion of the first phase
of Spirit's mission was marked with the deployment of its wing,
(15:21):
thermal management system and selfie stick, which it then used
to take a sulfie in space. SPIRIT will be scanning
large areas of space using its Hermies X ray detector
to search for gamma ray bursts, providing an early warning
system for astronomers studying these stellar explosions. Spirits unique wings,
designed by the University of Melbourne, helps keep the space
(15:42):
telescope cool and increases science instrument performance. The prototype miniaturized
gammaray detector on board was developed by the Italian Space Agency.
It was tested by targeting the crab nebula pulsar, detecting
the supernova remnant in seven hundred seconds of observation.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
This is space time and time that at.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
Take another brief look at some of the other stories
making us in science this week with a science report.
A new study has found that tropical fish and now
colonizing new habitats in temperate oceans made available to them
because of ocean warming. A report in the journal Animal
Ecology found that those who show alongside nabors that are
native to temperate waters learn local behaviors that help them thrive.
(16:40):
The authors found that tropical fish species that live in mixshoals,
not solely among other tropical fishes, become bolder and feed more,
which may aid them in surviving for longer and growing
larger on temperate reefs. The southward migration of tropical fish
isn't new. More than a decade ago, studies found fish
normally restricted to the Great Barrier reef were now swimming
(17:01):
happily in Sydney Harbor. New researchers found that children have
a similar risk of dehydration hypothermia in extreme heat as
what adults do. The findings, reported in the British Journal
of Sports Medicine, contradicts previous advice that kids were more
susceptible to hate related illnesses. The research represents the largest
(17:21):
controlled study of its kind, looking at the effects of
high temperatures up to forty degree celsius on sixty eight
kids between the ages of ten and sixteen. After more
than two decades of digging and analyzing fossils in Central Otago,
a transitasment team of scientists have now found enough fragments
to describe a new species of carawong, an ancient ancestor
(17:43):
of the bird that menaces New Zealand today. The findings,
reported in the General Palz suggest that the ancient bird
would have been about the same size as the Australian
magpie found in New Zealand today, but was probably all black.
I think that's meant to be a sports reference.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
The authors say.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
These fossils show that these MagPi ancestors lived in New
Zealand some nineteen million years ago, and time now for
our silliest story of the week, and we've kept them
at band until now, but the time has finally come
in one of the Kardashians and no we don't mean
the lizard people from Star Trek Deep Space nine started
talking about her encounters with ufirs, ghosts, spooky voices. To
(18:24):
Mendum from Australian's Skeptics says, Chloe Kardashian believes she's not
only seen Uffirst, but has experienced paranormal activity in her
own home.
Speaker 5 (18:33):
Well, obviously Chloe believes it. So it's all game over,
isn't it. It's all prooved. I'm sorry, I do not
take any of the Kardashians that seriously applied for their
ability to promote themselves and make a lot of money.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
I'm sorry to say this, but I'm probably one of
the few people in the world who have never ever
watched an episode of The Kardashians, and consequently, I don't
know who Chloe Kardashian is.
Speaker 5 (18:52):
I'm in the same club. By the way, I'm not
a follower, but this is a celebrity. They're very famous,
they're very rich, the whole bunch of them, and everyone
seems to find them very convinced that they're famous for
being famous. So Chloe reckons she's witness UFIS and she's
had voices whispering in her ears. This is one of
the weird phenomena, right, that people who are famous tend
to have more credence given to their ideas. If it
(19:12):
was Joe blow Dad at the pub, had they met
the drink and he was saying, he's sort of just
taken up by UFO, you go, aha, Yes, because Chloe
Kardashian and the other people are famous, people give it
more credence or was more interesting. I suppose that's the
thing the media boosted.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
Well, that's why Hollywood actors are getting credibility for their
political views when no one really cares what the political
views are other than other Hollywood actors. But they get
credibility for it because the media.
Speaker 3 (19:35):
HAPs them up.
Speaker 5 (19:36):
You have them up. They're famous, and therefore people say, well,
they must know what they're talking about. No, the Hollywood
actors and the famous Kardashian family and all these sort
of celebrities are no more or less intelligent than the
bulk of the people. And they're say, but because someone's
famous doesn't mean that they're worth listening to. About certainly
about things like ufis and ghosts and the voices in
their ears.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
It's Timendum from Australian Skeptics, and that's the show for now.
(20:16):
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(20:37):
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(20:58):
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Speaker 2 (21:08):
You've been listening to space Time with Stuart Garry. This
has been another quality podcast production from bytes dot com.
This is Spacetime Series twenty eight, episode one hundred and nineteen,
for broadcast on the third of October twenty twenty five.
Coming up on Spacetime, Could the Dwarf Planet series once
have supported life? NASA's new mission to study the heliosphere,
and the University of Melbourne's Spirit down as sat snaps
a selfie. All that and more coming up on space Time.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Welcome to Space Time with Stuart Gary.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
A new study claims that the Dwarf Planet series, which
today is a cold, frozen world, could once have been
habitable enough to support life. A report in the journal
Science Advances haints a picture of series hosting a deep,
long lived energy source that may have maintained conditions for
long periods of time in the past. The new research
(01:04):
by NASA found that Cerius may have had a long
lasting source of chemical energy the right types of molecules
needed to fuel microbial metabolisms. Now, before you get too
carried away, there is no evidence at all that microorganisms
ever existed on Ceris, but the findings do support theories
that this intriguing dwarf planet, which is the largest body
(01:24):
in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, may
once have had conditions suitable for supporting single cell lifeforms.
Dated from NASA's Dawn mission, which ended in twenty eighteen,
previously showed that the bright reflective regions on Seri's surface
are mostly made of salts left over from liquid that
percolated up from deep underground. Later analysis in twenty twenty
(01:46):
found that the source of this liquid was an enormous
reservoir of brine, that is, salty water deep below the surface.
Dawn also revealed evidence that Cerius had organic material in
the form of carbon molecules, essential, although not sufficient on
its own to support microbial life. The presence of water
and carbon molecules are two of the key critical components
(02:07):
necessary for habitability, and the findings also offer the third,
a long lasting source of chemical energy in Series ancient
past that could have made it possible for microorganisms to
survive now. Once again, this result doesn't mean Series had life,
but rather that there was likely to have been food
available should life ever have arisen on Series. Hat reached
(02:29):
their conclusions the Steadies author's book Thermal and Chemical Models.
Mimicking the temperatures and composition of Series interior over long timespans,
They found that around two and a half billion years ago,
serious subsurface ocean may have had a steady supply of
hot water containing dissolved gases traveling up from metamorphosized rocks
on the seafloor. The heat would have come through the
(02:51):
decay of radioactive elements within the dwarf planet's interior, which
occurred when Cerius was still quite young. That's an internal
process thought to be common throughout the Soul system. The
Steadies lead author Sam Corville from Arizona State University, worked
on the Dawn mission while with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
in Pasadena, California. He says that here on Earth, a
hot water from deep underground mixes with the ocean deep
(03:14):
sea hydrothermal vents. A result is often a buffet for
microbes a feast of chemical energy, so this could have
big implications if corvalent colleagues determined that Series Ocean had
an influx of hydrothermal fluid in the past. Of course,
the Series astronomers know today is likely to be completely uninhabitable.
It's cooler, with a lot more ice and far less
(03:36):
water than what it had in the past, and this
currently insufficient heat from radioactive decay within Series to keep
that water from freezing, and what liquid remains has now
become a concentrated brine. The period when Series would most
likely have been habitable would have been between half a
billion and two billion years after it formed. That's about
two and a half to four billion years ago when
(03:58):
it's rocky core ridged its peak literature. That's when warm
fluids would have been introduced into series underground water supply,
and the dwarf planet also doesn't have the benefit of
present day internal heating generated by gravitational tidal actions through
the push and pull of orbiting a lunch planet like
we see in Saturn's moon Enceladus and the Jovian moon Europa.
(04:19):
So Series' greatest potential for habitability fueling energy was will
in the past, but the results have implications for water
rich objects throughout the Outer Solar System. There are many
other icy moons and dwarf planets that are of similar
size to the nine hundred and forty kilometer wide Series
and which also lack the internal heating from the gravitational
pull of planets, but could also have had a period
(04:41):
of habitability way in their past. This is space time
still to come. NASA's new mission to study the heliosphere
and the University of Melbourne's Spirit NanoSat successfully completes the
initial phase of its mission, search for gamma ray bursts.
All that and more still to come. On space time,
(05:15):
NASAs launched a new mission to study the Sun's magnetic bubble,
the heliosphere. The heliosphere fills the entire Solar System, and
it helps shield it from interstellar particles and radiation. The
new mission, called the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe IMAP,
will help astronomers develop a better understanding of this tenuous
solar atmosphere and how events like space weather interact with it.
(05:37):
IMAP was launched a board a SpaceX Falca nine rocket
together with NASAs Corruther's Geocorna Observatory and Noah swift O
L one spacecraft from Pad thirty nine A at the
Kennedy Space Center in Florida. IMAP sensors and detectors will sample,
analyzer map particles streaming towards the Earth from the very
edges of our Solar System and beyond. The mission will
(05:58):
also help scientists learn more about the Solar wind, the
continuous stream of particles flowing out from the Sun and
about energetic particles in the heliosphere. These particles can affect
humans in space. They can damage spacecraft systems, may even
have played a role in the presence of life in
the Solar System.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
The JOHNS.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland built the spacecraft,
which is flying ten instruments to study the solar wind,
interstellar dust and other particles, magnetic fields, and ultraviolet light
in space. Following its launched, the nine hundred kilogram spacecraft,
together with both the Carruthers Geocorna Observatory and swift ol one,
have commenced their four month cruise phase to lagrange in
(06:39):
L one position some one point six million kilometers away,
located between the Earth and the Sun. L one is
a sort of gravitational well where the pull of the
Earth and Sun cancel each other out, allowing a spacecraft
in that position to remain there in a stable orbit
without expending a great degree of fuel. From L one,
I am at well an underruptive view of activities at
(07:01):
the distillar boundary in the Sun. Meanwhile, the third member
of the Lord's Trio, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration
Swiffer L one spacecraft is the first NEUA observatory designed
specifically four and fully dedicated to operational space weather observations.
Its station at the L one position will allow unobstructed
(07:22):
observations of the Sun's outer atmosphere, the corona, enabling upstream
measurements of solar wind disturbances before they reach the Earth.
This will allow the spacecraft to serve as an early
warning beacon for geomagnetic storms. The probe's primary instrument is
the cored II compact chronograph, which will monitor the Sun's
surroundings to provide data for enhanced forecasting and improve sciences
(07:44):
understanding the complex dynamics of the solar corona and disruptive
space where the events like coronal mass ejections, lasts of plasma,
and magnetic field exploding out from the Sun. Cored II
employs a single external oculta, a cylindrical device that blocks
the direct sunlight, creating an artificial eclipse. This allows the
telescope to exclusively focus on faint details in the corona itself.
(08:08):
Core II builds upon the earlier CORE one instrument, currently
operational on Noah's Goes nineteen satellite in geo stationary orbit.
While Core one experiences daily eclipses as the Earth passes
between the satellite and the Sun. Core two at the
old one position will be able to provide a continuous
twenty four seven.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
View of the Sun.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
This location, coupled with a larger field of view and
the ability to observe closer to the solar surface, allows
Core two to capture slightly more images and more rapidly
detect chronal mass ejections closer to the solar disk. This
means scientists can determine their trajectory, bass and speed with
greater accuracy, with the goal of predicting any space weather
impact on Earth. Space weather events, also known as geomagnetic storms,
(08:50):
are triggered by sustained periods of high speed solar wind
coupled with a southward directed interplanetary magnetic field component, which
facilitates magnetic reconnection and energy train ansfer at Earth's magneto pause.
Understanding the initiation and propagation of chronal mass ejections and
their subsequent impact on Earth's magnetosphere is crucial for predicting
and mitigating the adverse effects of space weather. The repercussions
(09:14):
of geomagnetic storms can range from temporary operational anomalies to
significant infrastructure damage. These disturbances can disrupt satellite communications and
navigation systems, cause geomagnetically induced currents in power grids, impacting
their stability and reliability, increase atmospheric drag on lowerth orbit satellites,
potentially shortening their operational lifespans, and interfere with high frequency
(09:37):
radio communications. While chronal mass ejections typically require several days
to transit from the Sun of the Earth, the most
energetic events have been observed to arrive at Earth in
as little as eighteen hours time. Therefore, timely and accurate
observations of instruments like core TiO are essential. Once in
its final orbit at L one, swift OL one will
(09:58):
be renamed Space Weather Observation one to advance readiness SOLO
one spacecraft. This report from Messity.
Speaker 4 (10:06):
From here on Earth, our Sun looks steady and unchanging,
but close up it's a dynamic, active place, and sometimes
you'd see bursts of radiation called solar flares, and explosions
of plasma and magnetic fields called coronal mass ejections. But
when the coronal mass ejections hit Earth, our magnetic.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
Field can go haywire.
Speaker 4 (10:30):
Powerful electromagnetic currents generated during these storms can harm our
power grids, global positioning systems, communications networks, and spacecraft and
astronauts on orbit. Meet Swiffo L one, Noah's first purpose
built space weather observatory. From its unique vantage point at
lagrange point one, a million and a half kilometers from Earth,
(10:53):
Swifto L one keeps an eye on the Sun's corona
twenty four to seven without interruption, to die early warning
of solar storms heading our way. The spacecraft's crown jewel
is its compact coronagraph, its eye on the Sun. Just
like the Ghose nineteen coronagraph. It allows Swiffo L one
(11:14):
to detect even the fastest corona mass ejections right as
they happen. The spacecraft is also packed with a suite
of new instruments that allow it to make real time
measurements of the solar wind's velocity, density and temperature, and
variations in the interplanetary magnetic field, all to provide better
forecasts of incoming space weather than ever before. All of
(11:38):
that technology floating out in space on Swiffo L one
works together closely to keep us safe back here on Earth.
Here's how it works. When a solar storm erupts from
the Sun, Swiffo L one's coronagraph observes the event right
away and sends the data back to the swifto ground segment,
(11:58):
a network of antenna station all over the world, with
the Swiffo command and control in Maryland. But spotting a
storm is one thing, actually measuring it close up is another.
It's the difference between tracking a growing hurricane on radar
and flying through the storm on a hurricane hunter aircraft.
(12:19):
Swiffo L one does both. After the spacecraft spots a
storm with its coronagraph, it watches the approaching weather and
waits Somewhere between eighteen and seventy hours later, the incoming
storm passes over swift O L one. Then the spacecraft's
instrument suite measures the storm's severity and speed and sends
(12:41):
that data home too, giving Noah early warning somewhere between
fifteen and sixty minutes before the storm arrives at Earth.
Noah's Space Weather Prediction Center in Colorado is constantly on
the alert, using all the data SWIFTFO L one collects
to develop and communicate real time forecasts and warnings to industry,
(13:03):
government agencies, and the public so they can take action
before the storm arrives to minimize its impact. Those actions
might include putting satellites into safe mode, re routing polar
airline flights, sheltering in a safe area on the International
Space Station, or changing loads on the power grid. In
our increasingly technology dependent world, we're more vulnerable than ever
(13:27):
to solar storms. But at the same time, our fleet
of space weather satellites is aging out of service after
many years of work in the harsh environment of outer space.
That's why Swiffo l one is the first of a
new generation of sun observing spacecraft that NOAH is launching.
Swiffo l one will use its cutting edge observing technology
(13:51):
to provide NOAH forecasters the best and most reliable data
available and ensure our nation doesn't go a minute without
eyes on the Sun, our life giving but turbulent neighborhood star.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
This is space time still to come. The University of
Melbourne's Spirit satellite snaps the selfie and later in the
science report. A new study has found that tropical fish
are now colonizing new habitats in temperate waters. All that
and more still to come on space time. The University
(14:40):
of Melbourne's SPIRIT NANA satellite has successfully completed the initial
phase of its mission. The Space Industry Responsive Intelligent Thermal
NANAS satellite SPIRIT is the first space telescope funded by ASA,
the Australian Space Agency, to carry a foreign space agency
scientific instrument as its primary payload. The spacecraft was launched
(15:00):
to board a Falcon nine rocket from the Vandenberg Space
Force Space in California back in December twenty twenty three.
Since its launch, Spirits circled the Earth more than nine
thousand times, traveling a distance comparable with a trip between
the Earth and Mars, and has been in orbit for
over six hundred days. The completion of the first phase
of Spirit's mission was marked with the deployment of its wing,
(15:21):
thermal management system and selfie stick, which it then used
to take a sulfie in space. SPIRIT will be scanning
large areas of space using its Hermies X ray detector
to search for gamma ray bursts, providing an early warning
system for astronomers studying these stellar explosions. Spirits unique wings,
designed by the University of Melbourne, helps keep the space
(15:42):
telescope cool and increases science instrument performance. The prototype miniaturized
gammaray detector on board was developed by the Italian Space Agency.
It was tested by targeting the crab nebula pulsar, detecting
the supernova remnant in seven hundred seconds of observation.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
This is space time and time that at.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
Take another brief look at some of the other stories
making us in science this week with a science report.
A new study has found that tropical fish and now
colonizing new habitats in temperate oceans made available to them
because of ocean warming. A report in the journal Animal
Ecology found that those who show alongside nabors that are
native to temperate waters learn local behaviors that help them thrive.
(16:40):
The authors found that tropical fish species that live in mixshoals,
not solely among other tropical fishes, become bolder and feed more,
which may aid them in surviving for longer and growing
larger on temperate reefs. The southward migration of tropical fish
isn't new. More than a decade ago, studies found fish
normally restricted to the Great Barrier reef were now swimming
(17:01):
happily in Sydney Harbor. New researchers found that children have
a similar risk of dehydration hypothermia in extreme heat as
what adults do. The findings, reported in the British Journal
of Sports Medicine, contradicts previous advice that kids were more
susceptible to hate related illnesses. The research represents the largest
(17:21):
controlled study of its kind, looking at the effects of
high temperatures up to forty degree celsius on sixty eight
kids between the ages of ten and sixteen. After more
than two decades of digging and analyzing fossils in Central Otago,
a transitasment team of scientists have now found enough fragments
to describe a new species of carawong, an ancient ancestor
(17:43):
of the bird that menaces New Zealand today. The findings,
reported in the General Palz suggest that the ancient bird
would have been about the same size as the Australian
magpie found in New Zealand today, but was probably all black.
I think that's meant to be a sports reference.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
The authors say.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
These fossils show that these MagPi ancestors lived in New
Zealand some nineteen million years ago, and time now for
our silliest story of the week, and we've kept them
at band until now, but the time has finally come
in one of the Kardashians and no we don't mean
the lizard people from Star Trek Deep Space nine started
talking about her encounters with ufirs, ghosts, spooky voices. To
(18:24):
Mendum from Australian's Skeptics says, Chloe Kardashian believes she's not
only seen Uffirst, but has experienced paranormal activity in her
own home.
Speaker 5 (18:33):
Well, obviously Chloe believes it. So it's all game over,
isn't it. It's all prooved. I'm sorry, I do not
take any of the Kardashians that seriously applied for their
ability to promote themselves and make a lot of money.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
I'm sorry to say this, but I'm probably one of
the few people in the world who have never ever
watched an episode of The Kardashians, and consequently, I don't
know who Chloe Kardashian is.
Speaker 5 (18:52):
I'm in the same club. By the way, I'm not
a follower, but this is a celebrity. They're very famous,
they're very rich, the whole bunch of them, and everyone
seems to find them very convinced that they're famous for
being famous. So Chloe reckons she's witness UFIS and she's
had voices whispering in her ears. This is one of
the weird phenomena, right, that people who are famous tend
to have more credence given to their ideas. If it
(19:12):
was Joe blow Dad at the pub, had they met
the drink and he was saying, he's sort of just
taken up by UFO, you go, aha, Yes, because Chloe
Kardashian and the other people are famous, people give it
more credence or was more interesting. I suppose that's the
thing the media boosted.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
Well, that's why Hollywood actors are getting credibility for their
political views when no one really cares what the political
views are other than other Hollywood actors. But they get
credibility for it because the media.
Speaker 3 (19:35):
HAPs them up.
Speaker 5 (19:36):
You have them up. They're famous, and therefore people say, well,
they must know what they're talking about. No, the Hollywood
actors and the famous Kardashian family and all these sort
of celebrities are no more or less intelligent than the
bulk of the people. And they're say, but because someone's
famous doesn't mean that they're worth listening to. About certainly
about things like ufis and ghosts and the voices in
their ears.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
It's Timendum from Australian Skeptics, and that's the show for now.
(20:16):
Spacetime is available every Monday, Wednesday and Friday through Apple Podcasts, iTunes, Stitcher,
Google podcast, pocker Casts, Spotify, Acast, Amazon Music, Bites 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
(20:37):
National Science Foundation, on Science Zone 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, or by becoming a Spacetime Patron,
which gives you access to triple episode commercial free versions
of the show, as well as lots of burnus audio
(20:58):
content which doesn't go to where, access to our exclusive
Facebook group, and other rewards. Just go to space Time
with Stewart Gary dot com for full details.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
You've been listening to space Time with Stuart Garry. This
has been another quality podcast production from bytes dot com.
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