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What's it like to stand at the edge of human knowledge, where we don't know what leap forward in understanding the next technological innovation will herald? To find out, Dr. Charles Liu and co-host Allen Liu welcome Dr. Melodie Kao, resident radio astronomer at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, AZ, where Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto back in 1930. (And if you're scratching your heads saying, “What's a radio astronomer doing at an optical observatory?” you're not alone. Short answer: Melodie convinced them they wanted one, and that it should be her!”) As always, though, we start off with the day's joyfully cool cosmic thing, the amazing discovery by the NEID Spectrograph at the WIYN telescope at Kitt Peak Observatory of a planet 9 times the mass of Earth orbiting a sun-like star 49 light years away with an orbital period of just 31 days. Melodie explains the precision of the measurement required to discover a planet at that distance, and shares one of her own recent discoveries using a technique called very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI). In a groundbreaking effort she strung together 39 radio dishes across the northern hemisphere of Earth in a multi-observatory effort to create an Earth-sized telescope (similar to the technique that was used to create the first image of a black hole) and pointed it at a brown dwarf and measured its magnetic fields and radiation belts (like our Van Allen belts). For comparison, the effort was like measuring a pea perched on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco while standing on the Statue of Liberty in NYC. The trio discusses the importance of the discovery of the Van Allen belts, and how that allowed us to plot trajectories that avoided the worst of that radiation for Apollo astronauts on their journeys to the Moon. For our first audience question, Ari from North Greene High School in Tennessee asks, “What is the percentage of possible exoplanets that are similar to the earth's atmosphere, placed in their solar system (within a similar area of their respective Goldilocks zone), gravity, etc.? And how long would it take to hypothetically get to them?” That turns out to be a very complicated question, and Melodie knows someone who has devoted her entire career to answering it. It's one of the questions that drove the creation of the James Webb Space Telescope and is the basis of the Drake Equation. The bottom line, though, is that we don't know yet, and until we find a rocky planet with an Earthlike atmosphere orbiting a sun-like star outside of our solar system, it will remain unanswerable. Next, Charles asks Melodie how she became an astronomer, especially since she'd always planned on being an architect. She even went to MIT to become one, but she missed studying physics, which she realized she truly loved. MIT had just finished constructing their Center for Theoretical Physics, and Melodie shares the story of how she convinced MIT to bend the rules and let switch her major to Physics while continuing to study architecture. When she attended a lecture by a grad student about galaxy clusters, and learned how you could back out the formation history of a cluster of galaxies by looking at the gradients of colors generated by starlight, she realized astronomy was a way to unlock the secrets of the universe. Our next question comes from Alex at North Greene: What are the conditions necessary for life in the universe? It's a question without an easy answer, but the conversation it spawns is worth your time to listen to. It leads Melodie to talk about her love of exploring the natural world and how she co-created a Wilderness Astronomy class. She's also a guide for off-trail, high route backpacking trips where you don't know what's coming next and you need to rely on your instincts, curiosity and bravery as you explore the world, and the universe, around you. If you'd like to know more about what Melodie is up to, she's not on social media but you can check out her website. You've also got an invitation to visit her at the Lowell Observatory for a personal tour! We hope you enjoy this episode of The LIUniverse, and, if you do, please support us on Patreon. Credits for Images Used in this Episode: Dome of the 3.5m WIYN telescope at Kitt Peak – Credit Jörg Weingrill/ Creative Commons A cross section of Van Allen radiation belts – Credit By Booyabazooka at English Wikipedia - Transferred from en.wikipedia to Creative Commons / Public Domain The NASA Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) network – Credit Creative Commons / C. García-Miró, I. Sotuela, C.S. Jacobs, J.E. Clark, C.J. Naudet, L. A. White, R. Madde, M. Mercolino, D. Pazos, G. Bourda, P. Charlot, S. Horiuchi, P. Pope, L.G. Snedeker MIT Center for Theoretical Physics – Credit MIT News Galaxy cluster IDCS J1426. – Credit NASA The Cirque of the Towers, popular with high route backpackers. – Credit Kylir Horton / Creative Commons
#EXOPLANETS: Gliese 12b Earthlike at 45C and Red Dwarf locked. Bob Zimmerman BehindtheBlack.com https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/astronomers-discover-nearby-earth-sized-exoplanet-only-slightly-hotter-than-earth/ Paris 1910
Dr. Scott Hubbard has been a leader in space exploration for almost 50 years. His career includes a National Lab, a start-up venture, NASA, and Stanford. At NASA, Dr. Hubbard is best known as Director of NASA's Ames Research Center, the first Mars Program Director (aka the "Mars Czar"), and the founder of NASA's Astrobiology Institute.Key HighlightsHubbard shared his deep passion for Mars and recounted his role in restructuring the Mars program.He described Mars as the most Earthlike planet, highlighting its potential for past or present life evidence.The exploration of Mars, as explained by Hubbard, focuses on life, climate, solid rock geology, and human exploration.Emphasizing the mantra "follow the water," Hubbard underscored water's essential role in supporting all known life forms.He pointed out the challenges posed by Mars' launch window, occurring every 26 months, which significantly impacts the mission's rocket science and budget.Dive deeper into the session: Full SummaryAbout Foresight InstituteForesight Institute is a research organization and non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1987 on a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support.Allison DuettmannThe President and CEO of Foresight Institute, Allison Duettmann directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, alongside Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees. She has also been pivotal in co-initiating the Longevity Prize, pioneering initiatives like Existentialhope.com, and contributing to notable works like "Superintelligence: Coordination & Strategy" and "Gaming the Future".Get Involved with Foresight:Apply: Virtual Salons & in-person WorkshopsDonate: Support Our Work – If you enjoy what we do, please consider this, as we are entirely funded by your donations!Follow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedInNote: Explore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm, an innovative podcast search engine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Remember, we welcome comments, questions, and suggested topics at thewonderpodcastQs@gmail.com. S4E19 TRANSCRIPT:----more---- Yucca: Welcome back to the Wonder Science-based Paganism. I'm your host, Yucca, Mark: and I'm Mark. Yucca: and today we're gonna talk about wonder. So that's what we're about, right? We're about, this is the wonder. So we're gonna explore the idea of wonder, and then we're also gonna talk about a few things that inspire that in us as well. Mark: Things that make us go Wow. Yucca: Yep. Mark: Yeah. The. The reason that I suggested that the name of the podcast be The Wonder is that I think that that is at root, the spiritual motivation, right? That you know to, yes, there's the desire for meaning, there's the desire for a sense of place in the world and purpose in life and all those kinds of things. But fundamentally, I think. That sense of just being awestruck by the, the fact that we exist, the fact of the universe and the world existing. I just think that's really a core spiritual sentiment and or, or experience. And so a lot of what I focus. My rituals on and, you know, efforts at creating oth, you know, materials to support other people in creating their rituals is about fostering that sense of wonder and awe. Yucca: Yes. Yeah. And there's. There's so much of it really, it, it, whatever, wherever your interests lie, there's, there's just so much to explore and and it's one of those sensations that's very hard to describe, but it's really feeding in. Its to experience that. Mark: Yeah. I mean, the more I learn about the world, you know, in, you know, in microcosm or in macrocosm, the more often I wanna say, wow, that's amazing. Yucca: Mm-hmm. Mark: You know, I, I think about, I mean, there's, there's millions of examples, but talk so toxoplasmosis. Let's, let's start there. Okay. This is a virus that is communica that cats get, and it's also communicable to humans and to other mammals. Toxoplasmosis controls your brain when it goes into rodents. They get careless, they get bolder and braver and And more fool, hearty. And that works perfectly for cats, right? Yucca: Yes, it works out right. Mark: so now cats have toxoplasmosis, right? And cats that have toxoplasmosis are friendlier. They are more apt to be domesticated. So then they move in with the humans, and the humans by contact with the cat's. Feces can get toxoplasmosis, and one of the things that it makes them really want to do is to feed the cats. Yucca: Yes. Mark: So, I mean, literally all of this stuff is scientifically demonstrated. All of this is this little tiny virus, which is, you know, just a little string of genetic information. And all of this stuff is true and it, you look at this and just go, my God, how is this possible? Yucca: Mm-hmm. And it's, and it's all over. Right? I know that that's something that is regularly tested for. If you're, if you're pregnant, they test, they go, oh, do you have a cat? Okay, let's test you for that. Mark: Yeah. Yeah. Yucca: yeah, and I don't know if there are, what health implications there are for that other than it does have some impact on personality, right. For people as well. That it makes them more like that they. Their relation to ship to risk is a little, just like with the mice, is a little bit different than it might be if you didn't have the infection. Mark: Yeah, and it makes them a little bit more agreeable as well, just a little bit more amenable to going along with whatever somebody else suggests which is just a hell of a thing. You know, we, we think we have free will. We think that we are piloting our ourselves through our lives, and here comes this little bug and it actually distorts our decision making process. Yucca: Well, it challenges the, the idea of who self is. There's a lot of things today that do that, that really have us look at what is me really, Mark: Mm-hmm. Yucca: Right. What, and especially when we start getting into the realm of, of the microbiome and where do we start drawing the line between my microbiome and my cells? Which ones are me, which ones aren't? Are we saying we distinguishing between d n a? What about mitochondria? All of that stuff starts to we're starting to find that the lines between all of that are a lot more blurry than we used to think. Mark: Right e each of us is a, a functioning interpenetrated ecosystem. One emergent property of which is this thing called consciousness. But that is that because it is an emergent property of a body, which is an interpenetrated ecosystem is heavily influenced by what's going on in that ecosystem. And some of that is human, d n a and some of it's not. In fact, more of it is not than is. Yucca: So let's, let's, before we can, there's a whole bunch of different things we can discuss, but let's come back to the idea of wonder a little bit before going into some of the specifics of things that that feel, that evoke that sense in us. One of the things that we were talking about when we were coming up with what topics we wanted to discuss was the idea that, that some people have that wonder has to also include ignorance that you can only have wonder if you are ignorant about it. And that's something that I wanna say that I don't agree with. Mark: Me Yucca: think that wonder often has a, has humility as part of it. That's certainly for me, is often a sense when I look at the night sky. There's this, I'm just overwhelmed with the awe and the wonder of all of it and the knowledge that I know very, very little about it, but I also know a lot about it. Right. That's my, that's my field. I know a lot about that little red dot right there that we call Mars. Right. For me only makes it more awe-inspiring because there's even more, the, the knowledge of all of that is part of that awe, but also the recognition that there is a lot that I don't know. But it doesn't have to be. Awe isn't just what I don't understand. There's awe at what I do understand as well. Mark: Right. Yeah. When we were talking about this, I was mentioning that a, apparently there's some academic who has written that naturalistic paganism is somehow. Either faulty or not real in some sense. Because the awe that happens when you don't, the awe that comes from mystery is somehow has a cache that the awe that comes from knowledge doesn't. And I really disagree as you do Yucca. When I'm standing on the rim of the Grand Canyon. I can be awestruck by what a gigantic big hole that is. But the fact that I know that it's billions of years of accumulated layers of sedimentary rock that I'm looking at, that just changes everything. Understanding that the slow uplift of the Kibab plateau allowed the Colorado River to carve that amazing, magnificent earth temple. Is that really blows my socks off. So, so, you know, in the same way that I'm, you know, filled with wonder by a, a beautiful rainbow, even though I understand how refraction works Yucca: And then you get to be awed by that Mark: yes, Yucca: and then thinking, and then it leads to, wait a second, our eyes perceive those particular colors. Why is that right? And tracing all of that back and we're back to, you know, jellyfish. We'll come back to jellyfish in a while. Yeah. Mark: Yeah. So, you know, what I find is that scientists who. Truly embrace the scientific mindset. And there are many scientists who don't. There are many scientists who are, they're either ego involved with their findings or they're just very, very narrowly focused and you know, are very invested in being emotionally dispassionate. But, but the scientists that I know that are truly filled with that, that humble curiosity. Just to, you know, I just want to find out how does this work? Einstein was one, Fineman was one. Hawking was one. Carl Sagan was one. You know, these are people that are, you know, elated at, at what they know about the universe. Filled to the brim with joy about. About what they know and about what they can observe. Because they're looking with informed eyes, not, not just looking at something and go, wow. Going, wow, that's very cool. And it's mysterious. I don't know what it is. Yucca: Yeah. You know, last episode you'd mentioned the pale blue dot. Mark: Mm-hmm. Yucca: From Sagan. Right. And that's one that often comes up for me thinking about with the awe, just seeing, you know, just that one image you can think of, that particular image. Which by the way, the new Horizons. Which is the craft that went to Pluto and is currently exploring the, the Kuiper Belt is in its second extended mission. And one of the things that they are currently investigating whether they can do, is seeing if they can turn it around and look back because the camera that they have aboard new Horizons is first of all, far farther out. But it. Much more advanced camera being something that was launched in the two thousands rather than something launched back in the seventies. And so fingers crossed that we might have another image looking back from even farther at the moment. It's currently studying the ice giants from the other side, which we'd never done before. So, but, but coming back to the, to the original one that. Just looking at that image that it is something big that we're looking at. Right. But we had, we've used the examples already of thinking about awe in terms of the Grand Canyon or the night sky, but there's also awe in that tiny dot, right? It is huge because we're looking at an entire planet, but we're also just looking at a, what looks like just a moat of dust and that, and awe doesn't have a. A limit to size. Right. A is not only in the giant, in the huge A is also in the tiny and the quiet, and it just at any angle that you're looking or listening at, there's just that, I mean, I just don't even have the words to say it because it's such an experiential thing. Mark: Well in the, in the contemplation of scale itself. Right. Even just contemplating the nature of scale, you know, we know so much about the subatomic world now, right? We, we, we know quite a bit about, you know, the realities that are happening down at the quantum level, and here we are. I. You know where microorganisms are. Incomprehensibly small to us. Our own cells are incomprehensibly small to us. You know, we have dust mites living in our furniture and we have eyelash mites living in our eyelashes, Yucca: Those delight me. I love those so much. Mark: me too. I think they're so cool. So, you know, the tiny goes all the way down and the big goes all the way up. Yucca: Mm-hmm. Mark: And that in and of itself is awe inspiring, that the universe is so intricate, so, so amazingly finely, finely defined that it has all those different layers of scale and that it has since the Big Bang. You know, from the very beginning, from the Big Bang, we started out with little, tiny, tiny, tiny proto particles and. Things have been snapping together into increasingly complex emergent phenomena ever since. If we didn't know anything about physics, if we didn't know anything about evolution, if we didn't know anything about cosmology, we couldn't appreciate any of that, and it is awesome. Yucca: Yeah. Mark: It's just awesome. Yucca: One of my favorite things that I do with my students is I have a four minute video that is of the scale of the universe, and we start at a plunk length and we go all the way up to this, the observable universe. And it's just you're zooming out, right? And you're just going out, you know, each time it's 10 times larger. And yeah, I start by asking them, okay, everybody, I wanna get a vote. Do you think humans. Are, do you think humans are big or humans are small, right? Are we big? Are we huge or are we tiny? And I get a vote from everybody, right? And mark that down. And then we, we watch this video and it takes about two minutes to get to humans where you can see humans from going from the smallest theoretical size, and it still takes a while to get to the smallest confirmed size, but just watching their faces. As we're going out and them going, wait, what? What? And then we start getting up into the bigger scales and the bigger scales, and we're getting all the way up to galaxies and super clusters, and then we're up to the observable universe, which probably there's way more universe, but there's a limit to how much we can see. Right? Mark: Right. Yucca: And then asking them next. Okay. Does anyone wanna change their vote? And the quality of their voice is different after watching this video. Right? And you're just seeing them for the first time go, wow, wow. There's nothing like that. And of course, almost all of them change their vote at the end to both, right? Is yes, we are unbelievably huge. And then, but we are tiny. Mark: But we're minuscule. Yeah. Yeah. That's great. That's, that's a super great lesson for, for science students. Yucca: I think for any, I mean, these are specifically for my science students, but I, you know, in any, I think that's a great one. In, in any field, right? Whether somebody's going into science or not. Just a perspective on the world. Mark: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And So, you know, one of the things that I've said about atheopagan is that it's the spirituality of the verifiably real. Yucca: Hmm. Mark: You know, there's, there's, it's possible, theoretically not consistent with any scientific theory, but con contextually it's possible that there are gods, right. We don't have any evidence that would lead one to conclude that, but you know, we can imagine that that might be true, right? Yucca: Sure. Mark: Irrelevant to me Yucca: Maybe me too. That's the thing I was gonna say, I don't really care if Mark: if there's so little evidence for it. There is so much here that I am just knocked out by, and it gives me so much of a sense of meaning and joy and, and appreciation that I don't need to extend to stuff that requires me to suspend my disbelief in order to, in order to embrace it. I just, I don't need to go there. Yucca: Right. Well, why don't we talk about a few of the things that that recently have given us. That sense of, of wow. And also I wanna put in a, an overlapping feeling as well as that delight, right? I think that delight and wonder aren't necessarily the same, but for me, they often come together, Mark: Mm-hmm. Yucca: right? So a couple of the ones I wanna talk about are just ones that I just find delightful as well as awe-inspiring. But do you wanna start? Or, Mark: why don't you start while I'm figuring out what I'm gonna do Yucca: sure. Well, we, we've been on the space one for a while. So there's, I have some non-space stuff as well, but there's, I. A, a paper that I read recently, and actually it was by the PI of the mission. We just talked about New horizons. So Alan Stern and he's talking about I wows. So I Wows are internal water, ocean worlds. So these are planets like, Europa, like Pluto and Celis, it turns out that oceans are really, really common in our solar system and presumably beyond our solar system, right? And so what we are seeing is that we've probably got these worlds that have water, liquid water inside with thick crusts of rock or ice on top. And we've never been able to go down into any of these oceans. There's not yet. I mean, maybe one day. But. There's a lot of conditions in these places that we think would really be good for life. For instance, with Europa, we think that there's probably hydrothermal vents at the bottom of those oceans that there's, you know, that's probably saltwater organic compounds, all the things that we would need for Earthlike life. And so in this particular paper, which I think is gonna end up being one of those papers that people look back on like Dyson's paper about trying to find extra solar civilizations and things like that. But what he pointed out in this is that these eye wows are much better places for civilizations to evolve. Than worlds like our own, which are ews, external Water, ocean Worlds, because worlds like Earth we're subject to how cranky our star is being. Right? It depends on how close or how far away from we are from our star. Asteroid impacts, right? That's how to pretty big impact, so to say on the ecology over the years. So, Civilizations now and again, we don't know if anybody else is out there. We suspect there's, you know, trillions upon trillions of planets. That's a lot of opportunity for there to be civilizations, but that these worlds would be more likely than Ewos to develop civilizations. Now, if that was the case, this is the part that makes me just delighted to think about if there are civilizations, they would be very unlikely to know that stars existed. Because their world would be under 60 kilometers or hundreds of kilometers of ice. And eventually maybe, maybe they might drill through that and go up to the surface and find out that something's there. But they wouldn't necessarily have the same drive that we've had to go explore the stars because we see them, right? We see the stars right there. Now. It's harder to get off of our planet than we'd be to get off of one of those planets. Assuming that we're talking about eye wows that are. Smaller planets, right? Like, like Europa is the gravity's much, much lower there. Mark: but you have to get through those kilometers of ice or rock Yucca: oh yes. And bring all your water with you. I mean, we gotta bring our air with us too. But if you're from that, you're gonna have to bring your water. You're unlikely to be using the same sort of light. They probably wouldn't see what the part of the electromagnetic spectrum we do. Also, if they're there and they are using radio, which would be very odd for them to have figured out radio if they didn't have. Other type of using visible light, but that probably wouldn't leak through the ice, so we might not even know they're there. So it just delights me to think that the universe might be, we might be the weird, weird aliens that live on the surface of planets in the harsh light of a star where everybody else out there is, you know, swimming around and, you know, they're the occupy people, right. So that delights me. Mark: Very cool. We've talked about this before, but if you haven't, go see the movie Europa Report. Yucca: Yes. Mark: was, it was made on like a shoestring budget. It was made for like $8,000 or something. Some insanely low amount, and it is a fantastic science Yucca: Mm-hmm. Mark: really worth seeing. Yucca: Also before we do, I just wanna make a comment real quick. Some of you might have noticed my usage of the term planet that is consistent in planetary science. We do not use the IAU definition that is never been used, actually used in any science. So referring to. Bodies like Europa, Pluto, ENCE, all of that as planets is consistent with the scientific usage of the term. So just if anyone caught that, that is that's how we use it in the field. So, yeah. Mark: Yeah. That it is, that's all inspiring. You know, the idea that these self-contained worlds could be, and of course what that, what that does is it begs the question well, okay, is our universe a bubble of something that's in a matrix of something larger? Yucca: Mm-hmm. Mark: It's seen seems that that's the way that reality works. Could the Big Bang have been an extrusion of force space into, you know, further dimensions that have other stuff in them that, that's going on? Yucca: One of my. Personal favorites is Black Hole Cosmology, which of course is still outside of the actual realm of science because it's not something that's falsifiable at this point. But it's a very popular idea among cosmologists is that inside each black hole is a new universe. So the Big Bang is basically a white hole from the black hole of another universe. And inside of each of our black holes is another universe that just keeps. You know, creating more and more and more universes. That one makes me really happy. Mark: Yeah. And there, once again, you see the, the magic of fractals, right? That same repeating pattern happening over and over again with every iteration, slightly different. None of them, none of them identical, but repeating in patterns over and over and over again. Yucca: Slight difference between each universe, that actually allows for natural selection. Mark: yes. Yucca: Because if you have universes which are more likely to make black holes, then they're more likely to pass on their slight differences. But again, we don't know. This is, we're just playing with ideas at this point. Right. This is, we don't have any evidence to support this, but it's, but they're fun ideas. Mark: and they're fun ideas that can inspire awe and wonder just through being somewhat scientifically informed. Right. That's all I wonder that you can't access if you're not somewhat scientifically informed because you don't, you don't understand the concepts. So once again, this idea that things need to be capital M mystery in order to be awe-inspiring is just, it's just not right. I don't understand where that person's coming from at all. Yucca: Well they do them. We'll be over here talking about Wonder and new research and all that. Mark: and having joyous and happy lives and building community and making the world a better place. Yucca: Sounds pretty good. Count me in. Mark: sounds, sounds okay to me. I'm, you know, that, that's, that's worthy use of my time. So what was I had a couple of examples, but you know, I'm looking out the window right now and I'm just watching tree branches blowing in wind. Yucca: Hmm. Mark: And understanding that there is a mathematical language that can describe that, Yucca: Mm-hmm. Mark: one of those leaves has a friction coefficient. And it has a particular springiness of its stem and of the branch that it grows from, and the wind is turbulent and it shears through all those different surfaces and it causes very specific kinds of motions, none of which are ever exactly the same. Yucca: Mm-hmm. Mark: Time, but all of which can be somewhat predicted. You can, you can predict that it's gonna go back and forth in some kind of way. And I mean, in the, in the einsteinian sense. What that means is that chaos mathematics is the language of God, It's not in a, not in a literal deic being kind of sense, but that the, the, the universe has a mathematical language that will describe it, Yucca: Mm-hmm. Mark: and that I just find stunning. Just stunning Yucca: Mm-hmm. Mark: and, and, and particularly the constants. Which are just weird. They're all irrational numbers, right? They're, they're strange, but they're there. They're, Yucca: those numbers. Yeah, Mark: yeah, they're demonstrably real, you know? So e and pi all, you know, all of those I, which of course is impossible. You know, and all of these can be used to describe actual stuff happening in the universe, and it's just glorious. Yucca: it is. And we come back to that tree. is gonna come in a slightly different direction, Mark: Oh, right, Yucca: that tree is doing some pretty amazing things that until recently we didn't really give credit to plants to be doing. So that tree has roots that goes down into the ground and what it's doing up above. Cuz it's photosynthesizing, right? It's taking air. And from the air it's taking co2, so carbon dioxide, and it's taking water up from its roots and then it's taking photons, it's taking light coming from our star, and it's making sugars out of that. And oxygen. Now it's not making the atom of oxygen, it's making the molecule, right? Stars make the atom right, but it's sticking them together and make that oxygen that we're breathing and it's gonna use the sugars in its cells. But one of the things that it does with those sugars that it makes is it makes what we call exudates, basically these sticky liquids that it sends down to its roots and it releases into the soil. And it can make different kinds of exudates depending on what its, let's call them nutritional needs are. So the, the plant is made outta the same stuff we are. So it's a carbon-based life forms. Of course, it's mostly carbon and oxygen and hydrogen, but it also needs things like calcium and it needs boron and it needs all of these other things. And they're in the ground. These, they're just pieces of the earth. So the rock, but the plant can't get it from the rock, but who can get it from the rock is microbes. So there are microbes that are really good at getting that, let's say calcium, getting that calcium out of the rock, and then through the food web, getting it into a form that the plant can then take up with its roots. So if the tree needs calcium, it will release the right exudates to actually breed. And grow the bacteria who can get the nutrients that it needs. So plants figured out farming hundreds of millions of years before we ever existed. Mark: Mm-hmm. Yucca: And one of the really cool things that just in the last few years we've been finding out about is something called Rizo. So, The roots of plants. And we're not just talking about some special plants, we're talking about the whole kingdom here. Not only will they grow the particular populations of bacteria that they want, but they will literally take them into their roots and eat them. They abs, they take them in and literally eat bacteria. They feed on the bacteria, and some of them they will actually. Like partially eat and then spit back out so that they grow again and they actually move them right because that, that root will continue to grow. And so they'll move them several centimeters or even farther before spitting them, half digested back out, they grow again. And so they're cultivating, they're ranching and farming bacteria. And so it's a just. That would look out your window at that tree. That's what your tree is doing right now. Not just your tree, but the grass, the flowers, the ivy growing up, your wall. They're all doing that and they're interacting on these on levels that we had no idea, and we are just barely beginning to learn about the incredible interactions with them. Mark: It's pretty awesome. Yucca: Yep. Mark: Pretty, pretty awe inspiring. It really is. And yeah, I mean, The kinds of things that we have discovered. Like when I first learned about complexity science, I read this book, I read, there's a book called Complexity by Mitchell Waldrop, and it's a popular science book. It's, it's really, it's about creation of the Santa Fe Institute, Yucca: Yeah, I actually read that book as a, so I'm from Santa Fe and in high school well the equivalent was high school. Yeah, I did a, I did a program at the institute and we, we literally read that book, Mark: Uhhuh. Yucca: so, yeah. Mark: Well, that was my introduction to complexity science, Yucca: Oh, Mark: and I literally would, you know, read four pages and then skip around the room Yucca: Yeah. Mark: you know this question about, you know, about emergence and about, you know, scale Yucca: Mm-hmm. Mark: is so central to the entire story of the universe. It's everywhere. It's in everything. And asking those fundamental questions about, well, why, you know, why, why, when you put these disparate elements together, why when you combine two gases, does it create a liquid? What's up with that? The, the, the property of emergence itself is one of those things that just makes me awe-inspired. You know, why? Why stars? Yucca: Mm-hmm. Mark: You know, why, why are there these accumulations that, that cause transformation where suddenly you've got this gathering that gravity has been pulling together of dust and gas, and then all of a sudden at this one transformational moment, Kapow, you've got a star. Yucca: Mm-hmm. Mark: It's asking those kinds of cosmological questions that I just find just thrilling. Yucca: Mm-hmm. Yeah. And again, in whatever direction Right. It, you know, we've been talking about our particular interests, but I mean, there's just, it's just any, anywhere you look, any direction, Mark: sure. Zombie ants that are colonized by particular molds. Right. Yucca: Yeah. The cor decept. Mark: yeah. Yucca: And ants, speaking of emergence, that's where a lot of the research has been done is with ants and how the ant colonies work and how they end up with their behavior as super organisms where they're, it's made of lots of little individuals and yet they have personalities. A whole colony has its own personality that grows and changes over time, which studying helps us better understand. Humans on that way too, because we're each individuals. But if you look at communities and communities on different scales, but also communities on the scale of like countries where the, the countries will have their personalities that they're this made up from just these smaller parts and we're just following these, you know, simple rules that then translates into this emergent behavior and it's. I mean, it's fascinating and something, again, we're just barely, barely starting to even grasp that that's there, Mark: Right, right. Yucca: so, Mark: Yeah. So look around. You know, there's so much to be just wowed by and, and the, the next step in that process in my experience is gratitude. I am, so, I. Thrilled to be able to be taking this ride and appreciating all this incredible stuff that's happening, to be a part of this universe that's just amazing. Just amazing. At every level, at every scale, it's doing stuff that's just like, oh my God, how, how, how, how is that happening? Yucca: Right, and just for the briefest tiniest moment, we get to be a piece of the universe that gets to think about itself. That gets to see itself and experience itself as a conscious being, but it's just a moment. It's a blink of an eye, Mark: Yeah. What good fortune a Yucca: right? Mark: what? Incredible luck. You know, when you consider the odds. The, the astronomical odds against any one of us, you know, particularly having arisen through collision of genetics and, you know, the, the experiences that happen to us through our lives. There, there will, there will never be another one of you. There has never been one of you, and it's miraculous. Yucca: Yeah, and every single thing that happened before in every one of your ancestors, it had to happen exactly the way it did for you to even exist. And just, there isn't a word to describe how unlikely our existences. Mark: Mm-hmm. Yucca: Right. Astronomical is not a big enough word. Mark: no, it's not. Yucca: It's just, you know, in my house we've been talking a lot about grandma, grandmother Luca recently. Right. And how so Luca is the last universal common ancestor and about how life has never stopped between each of us and her. Mark: Mm-hmm. Yucca: Or it, or whoever they were, right? That we're going back at least 4 billion years of choices. Now there's been, it's split off, right? There's lots of things, places where it stops, right? But in order for you to exist, it hasn't stopped that whole time, Mark: Right. Your ancestors all the way back to microbes never died before they could reproduce. Yucca: Before. Yeah. Mark: They never did. All the way back. Billions of years, Yucca: life didn't stop between you and because you didn't, you didn't, you weren't magically just suddenly alive when you weren't before you rewind to the times all the cells that made you, you rewind to that back. They were a single cell inside of your mother. And rewind her cells back and you keep going. That cell, that life has just been there the whole time. Now it started at some point and think, trying to think about that. Wow. Mark: trying to figure out exactly how that is. Although there's behavior that we can see in long chain molecules and modeling that we can see through things like the Game of Life, which give us some tantalizing hints about how that all could have worked, Yucca: Right. Mark: but we haven't been able to replicate it, and maybe we never will. It's entirely possible. Yucca: Mm-hmm. Mark: Or maybe we will, and that will raise a whole bunch of new ethical questions for sure. Yucca: My goodness. Yes. I am hoping and also not hoping that we get to, speaking of Europa earlier. And just saying you're Oprah. Cause it's the closest of them. There's a whole bunch of other ones that we could go to too, but it's a lot easier to get to Jupiter than it is to get to Saturn or Neptune. Right. But, you know, I'm hoping, and also not hoping that we get to, in the next couple decades, go down and take a look and see somebody else down there. Mark: Boy, Yucca: we do, Mark: pretty amazing. Yucca: that's a, that's, that's Pandora's box right there. But, you know, eh, it'd be a incredible, Mark: Yeah. Well, we have kind of bombarded you with our enthusiastic WOWness about, about the universe. Yucca: Which any of these topics could be their own podcast and themselves. Mark: Sure. They, they could be their own podcast series in and of themselves, you know, any of these topics because they're gigantic topics and we're only skipping over the, the, the top high points of them. But, you know, one of the, one of the worst things I think that. Our mainstream culture does is discount the value of appreciating these sorts of things. Oh, well that's just a sunset happens every day. Yucca: There's a limited number of sunsets that will ever happen. Mark: that's right. And there's certainly a limited number of sunsets for us. Yucca: Yeah. Mark: We're only gonna get a certain number of them, so it might make more sense for us to go out and go, oh, how beautiful. Yucca: And you also don't know how many you get. Mark: Yeah. You don't. Yucca: Hopefully you get a lot more, hopefully you have thousands and thousands to come, but you might just have the one. Right. And that's another one of those just amazing things about, about being alive, about be about being Mark: Mm-hmm. Yucca: just existing at all. Yeah. Mark: Yeah. we could go on forever, Yucca: Well, we couldn't, Mark: I think but I, well, we could go on until we died, Yucca: Yes. Mark: but I think we should probably stop and maybe save some of that time and energy for other things. Yucca: Sounds good. Thank you so much. This was a lot of fun. Mark: It was, it Yucca: you everyone for being here with us. So. Mark: We'll see you next week.
Follow a day in the life of an astronomer searching for planets beyond our solar system as she explains how she observes Ramadan and celebrates her family's traditions. Astronomer, astrophysicist, and National Geographic Explorer Munazza Alam is the daughter of a Pakistani father and Indian mother, and a postdoctoral researcher at the Carnegie Earth & Planets Laboratory in Washington, D.C., focusing on exoplanets. She also shares insights from co-hosting Nat Geo's How We Explore podcast, which introduces kids to the work of National Geographic Explorers around the world. For more information on this episode, visit natgeo.com/overheard. Want more? Follow Munazza's work on her website. Find out why Ramadan is the most sacred month in Islamic culture, discover five unique traditions Muslims bring to Ramadan celebrations, and learn why these five sites are among the holiest in all of Islam. Also explore: Learn about some of the ways Muslims around the world celebrate the end of Ramadan in this Nat Geo article. Visit the world's most exquisite mosques and discover the incredible historic, cultural, and religious insight they provide. And see how American Muslims celebrate Islam's holiest holiday in Eid al-Fitr celebrations across the United States. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week, Patrick and Tracy welcome S.B. Divya, author of MERU. About MERU: For five centuries, human life has been restricted to Earth, while posthuman descendants called alloys freely explore the galaxy. But when the Earthlike planet of Meru is discovered, two unlikely companions venture forth to test the habitability of this unoccupied new world […] The post Episode 576-With S.B. Divya appeared first on The Functional Nerds.
The mystery of whether microbial alien life might inhabit Enceladus, one of Saturn's 83 moons, could be solved by an orbiting space probe, according to a new study led by University of Arizona researchers. In a paper published in The Planetary Science Journal, the researchers map out how a hypothetical space mission could provide definite answers. When Enceladus was initially surveyed in 1980 by NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft, it looked like a small, not overly exciting “snowball” in the sky. Later, between 2005 to 2017, NASA's Cassini probe zipped around the Saturnian System and studied Saturn's complex rings and moons in unprecedented detail. Scientists were stunned when Cassini discovered that Enceladus' thick layer of ice hides a vast, warm saltwater ocean outgassing methane, a gas that typically originates from microbial life on Earth. What it would take to discover life on Saturn's icy moon Enceladus The methane, along with other organic molecules that build the foundations of life, were detected when Cassini flew through giant water plumes erupting from the surface of Enceladus. As the tiny moon orbits the ringed gas giant, it is being squeezed and tugged by Saturn's immense gravitational field, heating up its interior due to friction. As a result, spectacular plumes of water jet from cracks and crevices on Enceladus' icy surface into space. Last year, a team of scientists at UArizona and Université Paris Sciences et Lettres in Paris calculated that if life could have emerged on Enceladus, there is a high likelihood that its presence could explain why the moon is burping up methane. “To know if that is the case, we must go back to Enceladus and look,” said Régis Ferrière, senior author of the new paper and associate professor in the UArizona Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. In their latest paper, Ferrière and his collaborators report that while the hypothetical total mass of living microbes in Enceladus' ocean would be small, a visit from an orbiting spacecraft is all that would be needed to know for sure whether Earthlike microbes populate Enceladus' ocean underneath its shell. “Clearly, sending a robot crawling through ice cracks and deep-diving down to the seafloor would not be easy,” Ferrière said, explaining that more realistic missions have been designed that would use upgraded instruments to sample the plumes like Cassini did, or even land on the moon's surface. “By simulating the data that a more prepared and advanced orbiting spacecraft would gather from just the plumes alone, our team has now shown that this approach would be enough to confidently determine whether or not there is life within Enceladus' ocean without actually having to probe the depths of the moon,” he said. “This is a thrilling perspective.” Located about 800 million miles from Earth, Enceladus completes an orbit around Saturn every 33 hours. While the moon isn't even as wide as the state of Arizona, it visually stands out because of its surface; like a frozen pond glinting in the sun, the moon reflects light like no other object in the solar system. Along the moon's south pole, at least 100 giant water plumes erupt through cracks in the icy landscape much like lava from a violent volcano. Scientists believe that water vapor and ice particles ejected by these geyser-like features contribute to one of Saturn's iconic rings. This ejected mixture, which brings up gases and other particles from deep inside Enceladus' ocean, was sampled by the Cassini spacecraft. The excess methane Cassini detected in the plumes conjures images of extraordinary ecosystems found in the lightless depths of Earth's oceans: hydrothermal vents. Here, at the edges of two adjacent tectonic plates, hot magma below the seafloor heats the ocean water in porous bedrock, creating “white smokers,” vents spewing scorching hot, mineral-saturated seawater. With no access to sunlight, organisms depend on energy stored in chemical compounds released by the white smok...
If there ever was life on Mars – and that's a huge “if” – conditions during the planet's infancy most likely would have supported it, according to a study led by University of Arizona researchers. Dry and extremely cold, with a tenuous atmosphere, today's Mars is extremely unlikely to sustain any form of life at the surface. But 4 billion years ago, Earth's smaller, red neighbor may have been much more hospitable, according to the study, which is published in Nature Astronomy. Life may have thrived on early Mars Most Mars experts agree that the planet started out with an atmosphere that was much denser than it is today. Rich in carbon dioxide and hydrogen, it would have likely created a temperate climate that allowed water to flow and, possibly, microbial life to thrive, according to Regis Ferrière, a professor in the UArizona Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and one of two senior authors on the paper. The authors are not arguing that life existed on early Mars, but if it did, Ferrière said, “our study shows that underground, early Mars would very likely have been habitable to methanogenic microbes.” Such microbes, which make a living by converting chemical energy from their environment and releasing methane as a waste product, are known to exist in extreme habitats on Earth, such as hydrothermal vents along fissures in the ocean floor. There, they support entire ecosystems adapted to crushing water pressures, near-freezing temperatures and total darkness. The research team tested a hypothetical scenario of an emerging Martian ecosystem by using state-of-the-art models of Mars' crust, atmosphere and climate, coupled with an ecological model of a community of Earthlike microbes metabolizing carbon dioxide and hydrogen. On Earth, most hydrogen is tied up in water and not frequently encountered on its own, other than in isolated environments such as hydrothermal vents. Its abundance in the Martian atmosphere, however, could have provided an ample supply of energy for methanogenic microbes about 4 billion years ago, at a time when conditions would have been more conducive to life, the authors suggest. Early Mars would have been very different from what it is today, Ferrière said, trending toward warm and wet rather than cold and dry, thanks to large concentrations of hydrogen and carbon dioxide – both strong greenhouse gases that trap heat in the atmosphere. “We think Mars may have been a little cooler than Earth at the time, but not nearly as cold as it is now, with average temperatures hovering most likely above the freezing point of water,” he said. “While current Mars has been described as an ice cube covered in dust, we imagine early Mars as a rocky planet with a porous crust, soaked in liquid water that likely formed lakes and rivers, perhaps even seas or oceans.” That water would have been extremely salty, he added, according to spectroscopic measurements of rocks exposed on the Martian surface. To simulate the conditions early lifeforms would have encountered on Mars, the researchers applied models that predict the temperatures at the surface and in the crust for a given atmospheric composition. They then combined those data with an ecosystem model that they developed to predict whether biological populations would have been able to survive in their local environment and how they would have affected it over time. “Once we had produced our model, we put it to work in the Martian crust – figuratively speaking,” said the paper's first author, Boris Sauterey, a former postdoctoral fellow in Ferrière's group who is now a postdoctoral fellow at Sorbonne Université in Paris. “This allowed us to evaluate how plausible a Martian underground biosphere would be. And if such a biosphere existed, how it would have modified the chemistry of the Martian crust, and how these processes in the crust would have affected the chemical composition of the atmosphere.” “Our goal was to make a model of the Martian crust with its m...
Since the dawn of our race, it is likely that humans have looked into the night sky and wondered if they are alone in the Universe on a unique planet. The NASA Kepler spacecraft has discovered more than a thousand planets orbiting distant stars. A newly discovered planet, Kepler-452b has spent 6 billion years in the habitable zone of its star. In the 4.5 billion years of the Earth's history the parade of more than 5 billion species has included single cell organisms, various multi cellular life forms, land plants, dinosaurs, mammals, birds, flowers, and humans to name a few. It is mind blowing to consider what kind of life forms might exist on a planet which is 1.5 billion years older than mother Earth.
In this weeks ep, we go back in time to the days of segregation, what it was like for the day to day people in America & short stories of racism/ segregation from real people. We honor the bravery & the willpower of our black ancestors in America, they fought for us to get to where we are today, even though we have plenty of room to grow. •FOLLOW US- https://linktr.ee/DeeperThanMostPC •Video versions of episodes go up EVERY FRIDAY on YouTube* Stay light ☀️ Stay Bright ✨ & Stay Positive ☮️ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deeper-than-most/message
This week, Host Jillian Bartsch talks with Kevin Wagner, a Sagan Fellow in NASA's Hubble Fellowship Program at the University of Arizona's Steward Observatory. Wagner discusses his research on looking for new ways to find Earthlike planets and what they look for in a planet. He also discusses the technology he uses and the challenges of finding an Earthlike planet. Behind the Beaker is a podcast about the unbelievable science and even more unbelievable scientists behind it at the University of Arizona. Weekly episodes will feature scientists from across the board. This podcast is a Daily Wildcat production created by Alexandre Pere in association with Arizona Student Media. The Daily Wildcat "Online all the time, at dailywildcat.com." Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @DailyWildcat RATE, COMMENT AND SHARE! *Intro music by purpleplanetmusic.com
This month Adrian is joined by Bee & Estelle to talk about Do You Dream of Terra-Two? by new British author Temi Oh (https://bookshop.org/a/1159/9781534437401). Bee of course is from the Spectology podcast, where they run our Digital Book Tour. And Estelle runs the phenomenal Abolish Time zine on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abolish_time/ . You can also find an interview Bee did with Estelle at their blog: http://uninterpretative.blogspot.com/2019/09/talking-about-new-society-requires.html Do You Dream of Terra-Two? tells the story of a group of teenagers who, in an alternate history where rocketry was developed earlier & for longer, are selected to go on a life-long mission to Terra-Two, an Earthlike planet found orbiting a nearby star. Bee & Estelle both call it one of their favorite novels ever, likening it to something by Butler or Le Guin. I hope you enjoy the episode and the book! It was a pleasure recording with everyone. And we should have the post-read out towards the end of the month. * Do You Dream of Terra-Two? on Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/1159/9781534437401 * Do You Dream of Terra-Two? on Kindle: https://amzn.to/3jZBkVP * The Assets & Androids episode I mention: http://androidsandassets.ca/a-memory-called-canada/ * Bee's patreon: https://www.patreon.com/benladen * Estelle's patreon: https://www.patreon.com/abolishtime * Abolish Time: https://www.instagram.com/abolish_time/ --- Make sure to follow Bee at their twitter & patreon. As always, we'd love to hear from you! Chat with us on twitter at @spectologypod, send us an email at spectologypod@gmail.com, or submit the episode to r/printSF on reddit. We'll reply, and shout you out in the next podcast if we talk about your comment. And if you like the episode, subscribe at spectology.com or whever you listen to podcasts, and share it with your friends! To find links to all the books we've read, check us out on Bookshop. Many thanks to Dubby J our music.
Join the after party on Discord! Link: https://discord.gg/ZzJSrGP UFO sighting: 'Alien craft' over California sparks claim of secret army testing at Area 51 Link: https://www.express.co.uk/news/weird/1287102/UFO-sighting-alien-spacecraft-California-Area-51-UFO-army-testing-Scott-Waring A UFO photographed over Southern California may have come from the top-secret Area 51 airforce base, a prominent UFO hunter has claimed. The unidentified flying object (UFO) was photographed over Palm Springs, California, prompting claims of an alien craft in the skies. According to self-described UFO expert Scott C Waring, the UFO may have come from the highly classified US Air Force base known as Area 51. Area 51 has been at the heart of many UFO stories and alien conspiracy theories, including the 1947 Roswell incident. Mr Waring said on his blog ET Data Base: "This UFO was seen over Palm Springs, California this week. "The object was only seen for a few seconds. "It's located on far southern California so it's mostly rocky desert. "This is one of the prime areas that UFOs will be seen from Area S4, which is inside Area 51." The UFO photo was originally shared to MUFON or the Mutual UFO Network by an eyewitness on May 24. The photo appears to show a blurry, grey object flying far behind a power transformer seen in the foreground. According to the original eyewitness statement, the UFO appeared and disappeared "in a blink of the eye". The eyewitness said the object was tic tac-shaped with appendages. The UFO also disappeared as soon as its photo was taken. California is home to more military installations than any other state, with a total of 32. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and National Guard/Reserve bases are located across California. The Army and the Air Force make up more than 75 percent of the manpower in Alaska at the Fort Wainwright, Fort Greely, and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. Most of the training operations prepare service members for operating in inhospitable winter climates whether on the ground or in the air. Ohio's Wright Patterson Air Force Base is one of the Air Force's largest and most important installations. It is home to the world's first operational airfield. UFO sighting: Alien spaceship spotted in NASA Apollo 9 mission – claim Link: https://www.express.co.uk/news/weird/1286594/ufo-sighting-alien-spaceship-nasa-apollo-9-ufos-aliens-news ALIEN enthusiasts believe they have spotted a UFO in the clouds in images from NASA's historic Apollo 9 mission. Apollo 9 saw three NASA astronauts blasted into the Earth's orbit for 10 days as a test flight before the Apollo 11 mission, which saw the first people land on the Moon. Commander James McDivitt, Command Module Pilot David Scott, and Lunar Module Pilot Rusty Schweickart lifted off from Earth on March 3, 1969, before spending 10 days in orbit, completing 151 trips around Earth. The three men landed back on Earth on March 13, just four months before the Apollo 11 mission set off for the Moon. Prominent conspiracy theorist Scott C Waring has been analysing the images from the NASA astronauts and believes he has found a UFO which is "100 percent" proof of aliens. Mr Waring wrote on his blog ET Database: "I found a triangle UFO in an old Apollo 9 mission photo. The module was flying directly over Arizona at the time and this triangle UFO was seen in the clouds below. "The triangle looks dark brown. The object is blurry at an equal pace as that of the clouds and other objects [sic ]in the picture. "Had this been 100 percent focused and the clouds blurry, then we would know its not real, but thats not how it is here. "The UFO and the other things in the photo have the same focus which tells us its 100 percent real." This Math Formula Has Determined the Odds of Aliens Existing Link: https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a32603529/math-formula-aliens-exist/ David Kipping leads, yes, the Cool Worlds Laboratory at Columbia University. In an explainer video (below), he describes some background for the question of intelligent life in the universe and concludes, “I've never been much for faith—I want an answer.” Kipping mentions the changing trends over centuries of human imagination: Basically, as soon as people realized what they saw in the sky included other planets, they began to wonder if other planets had intelligent life. An underdeveloped instrument caused astronomers to see “manmade” canals on the surface of Mars during the 1800s. Turn to Bayesian (bei·Zhn) analysis, a way of using what we do know to extrapolate what we don't. And to do that, Kipping put Earth's long history on a replay loop. The squeeze here is whether or not that life would eventually evolve intelligence. Instead of 3:1, the odds are just 3:2, meaning three of every five reruns with life would become intelligent life. So overall, that means a 75 percent probability of life and 60 percent likelihood of intelligence, for an overall probability of 45 percent. If the Bayesian analysis is right, that means even for Earth to be itself was the probabilistic minority. But it's still a more concrete argument for the existence of life on Earthlike planets around the universe. “Overall, our work supports an optimistic outlook for future searches for biosignatures,” the paper explains. Show Stuff Join the fan chat on Discord! Link: https://discord.gg/ZzJSrGP The Dark Horde Podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-dark-horde The Dark Horde, LLC – http://www.thedarkhorde.com Twitter @DarkHorde or https://twitter.com/HordeDark Support the podcast and shop @ http://shopthedarkhorde.com UBR Truth Seekers Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/216706068856746 UFO Buster Radio: https://www.facebook.com/UFOBusterRadio YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCggl8-aPBDo7wXJQ43TiluA To contact Manny: manny@ufobusterradio.com, or on Twitter @ufobusterradio Call the show anytime at (972) 290-1329 and leave us a message with your point of view, UFO sighting, and ghostly experiences or join the discussion on www.ufobusterradio.com For Skype Users: bosscrawler
Join the after party on Discord! Link: https://discord.gg/ZzJSrGP UFO sighting: 'Alien craft' over California sparks claim of secret army testing at Area 51 Link: https://www.express.co.uk/news/weird/1287102/UFO-sighting-alien-spacecraft-California-Area-51-UFO-army-testing-Scott-Waring A UFO photographed over Southern California may have come from the top-secret Area 51 airforce base, a prominent UFO hunter has claimed. The unidentified flying object (UFO) was photographed over Palm Springs, California, prompting claims of an alien craft in the skies. According to self-described UFO expert Scott C Waring, the UFO may have come from the highly classified US Air Force base known as Area 51. Area 51 has been at the heart of many UFO stories and alien conspiracy theories, including the 1947 Roswell incident. Mr Waring said on his blog ET Data Base: "This UFO was seen over Palm Springs, California this week. "The object was only seen for a few seconds. "It's located on far southern California so it's mostly rocky desert. "This is one of the prime areas that UFOs will be seen from Area S4, which is inside Area 51." The UFO photo was originally shared to MUFON or the Mutual UFO Network by an eyewitness on May 24. The photo appears to show a blurry, grey object flying far behind a power transformer seen in the foreground. According to the original eyewitness statement, the UFO appeared and disappeared "in a blink of the eye". The eyewitness said the object was tic tac-shaped with appendages. The UFO also disappeared as soon as its photo was taken. California is home to more military installations than any other state, with a total of 32. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and National Guard/Reserve bases are located across California. The Army and the Air Force make up more than 75 percent of the manpower in Alaska at the Fort Wainwright, Fort Greely, and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. Most of the training operations prepare service members for operating in inhospitable winter climates whether on the ground or in the air. Ohio's Wright Patterson Air Force Base is one of the Air Force's largest and most important installations. It is home to the world's first operational airfield. UFO sighting: Alien spaceship spotted in NASA Apollo 9 mission – claim Link: https://www.express.co.uk/news/weird/1286594/ufo-sighting-alien-spaceship-nasa-apollo-9-ufos-aliens-news ALIEN enthusiasts believe they have spotted a UFO in the clouds in images from NASA's historic Apollo 9 mission. Apollo 9 saw three NASA astronauts blasted into the Earth's orbit for 10 days as a test flight before the Apollo 11 mission, which saw the first people land on the Moon. Commander James McDivitt, Command Module Pilot David Scott, and Lunar Module Pilot Rusty Schweickart lifted off from Earth on March 3, 1969, before spending 10 days in orbit, completing 151 trips around Earth. The three men landed back on Earth on March 13, just four months before the Apollo 11 mission set off for the Moon. Prominent conspiracy theorist Scott C Waring has been analysing the images from the NASA astronauts and believes he has found a UFO which is "100 percent" proof of aliens. Mr Waring wrote on his blog ET Database: "I found a triangle UFO in an old Apollo 9 mission photo. The module was flying directly over Arizona at the time and this triangle UFO was seen in the clouds below. "The triangle looks dark brown. The object is blurry at an equal pace as that of the clouds and other objects [sic ]in the picture. "Had this been 100 percent focused and the clouds blurry, then we would know its not real, but thats not how it is here. "The UFO and the other things in the photo have the same focus which tells us its 100 percent real." This Math Formula Has Determined the Odds of Aliens Existing Link: https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a32603529/math-formula-aliens-exist/ David Kipping leads, yes, the Cool Worlds Laboratory at Columbia University. In an explainer video (below), he describes some background for the question of intelligent life in the universe and concludes, “I've never been much for faith—I want an answer.” Kipping mentions the changing trends over centuries of human imagination: Basically, as soon as people realized what they saw in the sky included other planets, they began to wonder if other planets had intelligent life. An underdeveloped instrument caused astronomers to see “manmade” canals on the surface of Mars during the 1800s. Turn to Bayesian (bei·Zhn) analysis, a way of using what we do know to extrapolate what we don't. And to do that, Kipping put Earth's long history on a replay loop. The squeeze here is whether or not that life would eventually evolve intelligence. Instead of 3:1, the odds are just 3:2, meaning three of every five reruns with life would become intelligent life. So overall, that means a 75 percent probability of life and 60 percent likelihood of intelligence, for an overall probability of 45 percent. If the Bayesian analysis is right, that means even for Earth to be itself was the probabilistic minority. But it's still a more concrete argument for the existence of life on Earthlike planets around the universe. “Overall, our work supports an optimistic outlook for future searches for biosignatures,” the paper explains. Show Stuff Join the fan chat on Discord! Link: https://discord.gg/ZzJSrGP The Dark Horde Podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-dark-horde The Dark Horde, LLC – http://www.thedarkhorde.com Twitter @DarkHorde or https://twitter.com/HordeDark Support the podcast and shop @ http://shopthedarkhorde.com UBR Truth Seekers Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/216706068856746 UFO Buster Radio: https://www.facebook.com/UFOBusterRadio YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCggl8-aPBDo7wXJQ43TiluA To contact Manny: manny@ufobusterradio.com, or on Twitter @ufobusterradio Call the show anytime at (972) 290-1329 and leave us a message with your point of view, UFO sighting, and ghostly experiences or join the discussion on www.ufobusterradio.com For Skype Users: bosscrawler
Join the after party on Discord! Link: https://discord.gg/ZzJSrGP New Earth: Scientists discover alien planet similar to Earth Link: https://micky.com.au/new-earth-scientists-discover-alien-planet-similar-to-earth/ Despite the differences, astronomers are still optimistic about this new discovery. One intriguing fact about this alien planet is that its orbit is closely similar to that of the Earth. Astronomers from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand made this astonishing discovery. Even more exciting is how they manage to discover it. The astronomers did not use traditional methods in discovering this alien planet. Instead, they utilize a new technique which they call microlensing. Astronomers combine the data they gathered from two facilities. One is from the Gravitational Lensing Experiment in Poland. The other is from the Korea Microlensing Telescope Network, which is a group of instruments based in Australia, Chile, and South Africa. Is it habitable--According to the astronomers, it is still too early to make assumptions that the alien planet is habitable. First of all, astronomers are still not sure about the details of star the planet orbits. They say that the temperature of the planet's main star is crucial to the habitability of the planet. On the other hand, scientists are optimistic about this recent discovery. For one, it is extremely rare to spot planets that are similar to Earth at this great vantage point. The alien planet is 24,722 lightyears away from Earth. "To have an idea of the rarity of the detection, the time it took to observe the magnification due to the host star was approximately five days, while the planet was detected only during a small five-hour distortion," explained astronomer Antonio Herrera Martin of the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. Can We Find Planet 9? Scientists Have a Plan Link: https://www.webbyfeed.com/can-we-find-planet-9-scientists-have-a-plan/8453/ All the records of Planet 9 have been cut for several years. It was first mentioned back in 2014, but there's nowhere to be found. Some scientists believe it might be a laser-launched spacecraft. Edward Witten, who is one of the founders of the M-theory of physics, has made quite the statement: “There are hints of a new object (Planet 9) with a mass of 5-10 M in the external solar system at a distance of 500 [astronomical units]. If it's a relatively conventional planet, it can be found in telescopic searches. Alternatively, it has been suggested that this frame may be the first black hole (PBH). In this case, normal searches fail.” He then continues with the fact that there's a possible alternative, and that is to assemble the gravitational field of it with a laser-launched spacecraft. Such a spacecraft could reach planet 9 about ten years after the launch, and, if found, they could report back to Earth in 5 to 10 seconds. Back in September, a study suggested that Planet 9 was not actually a planet, but it was a black hole. Black holes formed, in theory, after the universe. Scientists were not able to find then, but researchers believe in the importance of the dark matter. Witten stated that he is not sure if this method will be helpful, or if he could find a mysterious object to work. Building a laser might be too expensive – it might cost about $517 million for a launch system. And the batteries would be $8,000. But these would not be all the costs, the spacecraft itself would cost money. However, with all of that in mind, it might still be possible to launch hundreds or thousands of miniature spacecraft, allowing them to search for Planet 9. Elon Musk already restarted Tesla production. Now the county says it's allowed next week. Link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/05/13/tesla-alameda-reopen-plant/ The electric-car manufacturer brought workers back on Monday, in defiance of county orders. Alameda County, where Tesla's main manufacturing plant is located, cleared the electric-car company to start up again next week with safety precautions in place. But led by chief executive Elon Musk, Tesla already ramped up production earlier this week, one of the most high-profile violations of a local health order amid the coronavirus crisis and raising questions about county enforcement. Alameda County said late Tuesday that it had approved Tesla's site-specific plan to reopen its plant in Fremont, Calif., assuming the company follows strict safety guidelines, including social distancing to prevent the spread of covid-19. Tesla can start preparing this week, and can restart work next week, the county said. The county said that the Fremont Police Department will make sure Tesla is following the agreed-upon safety guidelines. “We reviewed the plan and held productive discussions today with Tesla's representatives about their safety and prevention plans, including some additional safety recommendations,” the county's public health department said in a tweet announcing the decision. The county did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the plant's reopening timeline. In a news release, the county said it did not have “any further comment and will not be taking any requests for interviews.” Tesla did not respond to a request for comment. Fremont Police spokeswoman Geneva Bosques said the department would visit the plant to make sure the safety protocols were being followed. She said the police wouldn't give specific details about the visit before it happens. The state of California allowed some business operations to start up again last week, but Bay Area counties have stricter regulations that have not yet been lifted. On Monday, Alameda County told Tesla to stop production, but workers continue to go to work. Musk on Monday tweeted that officials should arrest him if any enforcement took place. County officials the same day said they were still in negotiations. Show Stuff Join the fan chat on Discord! Link: https://discord.gg/ZzJSrGP The Dark Horde Podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-dark-horde The Dark Horde, LLC – http://www.thedarkhorde.com Twitter @DarkHorde or https://twitter.com/HordeDark Support the podcast and shop @ http://shopthedarkhorde.com UBR Truth Seekers Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/216706068856746 UFO Buster Radio: https://www.facebook.com/UFOBusterRadio YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCggl8-aPBDo7wXJQ43TiluA To contact Manny: manny@ufobusterradio.com, or on Twitter @ufobusterradio Call the show anytime at (972) 290-1329 and leave us a message with your point of view, UFO sighting, and ghostly experiences or join the discussion on www.ufobusterradio.com For Skype Users: bosscrawler
Join the after party on Discord! Link: https://discord.gg/ZzJSrGP New Earth: Scientists discover alien planet similar to Earth Link: https://micky.com.au/new-earth-scientists-discover-alien-planet-similar-to-earth/ Despite the differences, astronomers are still optimistic about this new discovery. One intriguing fact about this alien planet is that its orbit is closely similar to that of the Earth. Astronomers from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand made this astonishing discovery. Even more exciting is how they manage to discover it. The astronomers did not use traditional methods in discovering this alien planet. Instead, they utilize a new technique which they call microlensing. Astronomers combine the data they gathered from two facilities. One is from the Gravitational Lensing Experiment in Poland. The other is from the Korea Microlensing Telescope Network, which is a group of instruments based in Australia, Chile, and South Africa. Is it habitable--According to the astronomers, it is still too early to make assumptions that the alien planet is habitable. First of all, astronomers are still not sure about the details of star the planet orbits. They say that the temperature of the planet's main star is crucial to the habitability of the planet. On the other hand, scientists are optimistic about this recent discovery. For one, it is extremely rare to spot planets that are similar to Earth at this great vantage point. The alien planet is 24,722 lightyears away from Earth. "To have an idea of the rarity of the detection, the time it took to observe the magnification due to the host star was approximately five days, while the planet was detected only during a small five-hour distortion," explained astronomer Antonio Herrera Martin of the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. Can We Find Planet 9? Scientists Have a Plan Link: https://www.webbyfeed.com/can-we-find-planet-9-scientists-have-a-plan/8453/ All the records of Planet 9 have been cut for several years. It was first mentioned back in 2014, but there's nowhere to be found. Some scientists believe it might be a laser-launched spacecraft. Edward Witten, who is one of the founders of the M-theory of physics, has made quite the statement: “There are hints of a new object (Planet 9) with a mass of 5-10 M in the external solar system at a distance of 500 [astronomical units]. If it's a relatively conventional planet, it can be found in telescopic searches. Alternatively, it has been suggested that this frame may be the first black hole (PBH). In this case, normal searches fail.” He then continues with the fact that there's a possible alternative, and that is to assemble the gravitational field of it with a laser-launched spacecraft. Such a spacecraft could reach planet 9 about ten years after the launch, and, if found, they could report back to Earth in 5 to 10 seconds. Back in September, a study suggested that Planet 9 was not actually a planet, but it was a black hole. Black holes formed, in theory, after the universe. Scientists were not able to find then, but researchers believe in the importance of the dark matter. Witten stated that he is not sure if this method will be helpful, or if he could find a mysterious object to work. Building a laser might be too expensive – it might cost about $517 million for a launch system. And the batteries would be $8,000. But these would not be all the costs, the spacecraft itself would cost money. However, with all of that in mind, it might still be possible to launch hundreds or thousands of miniature spacecraft, allowing them to search for Planet 9. Elon Musk already restarted Tesla production. Now the county says it's allowed next week. Link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/05/13/tesla-alameda-reopen-plant/ The electric-car manufacturer brought workers back on Monday, in defiance of county orders. Alameda County, where Tesla's main manufacturing plant is located, cleared the electric-car company to start up again next week with safety precautions in place. But led by chief executive Elon Musk, Tesla already ramped up production earlier this week, one of the most high-profile violations of a local health order amid the coronavirus crisis and raising questions about county enforcement. Alameda County said late Tuesday that it had approved Tesla's site-specific plan to reopen its plant in Fremont, Calif., assuming the company follows strict safety guidelines, including social distancing to prevent the spread of covid-19. Tesla can start preparing this week, and can restart work next week, the county said. The county said that the Fremont Police Department will make sure Tesla is following the agreed-upon safety guidelines. “We reviewed the plan and held productive discussions today with Tesla's representatives about their safety and prevention plans, including some additional safety recommendations,” the county's public health department said in a tweet announcing the decision. The county did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the plant's reopening timeline. In a news release, the county said it did not have “any further comment and will not be taking any requests for interviews.” Tesla did not respond to a request for comment. Fremont Police spokeswoman Geneva Bosques said the department would visit the plant to make sure the safety protocols were being followed. She said the police wouldn't give specific details about the visit before it happens. The state of California allowed some business operations to start up again last week, but Bay Area counties have stricter regulations that have not yet been lifted. On Monday, Alameda County told Tesla to stop production, but workers continue to go to work. Musk on Monday tweeted that officials should arrest him if any enforcement took place. County officials the same day said they were still in negotiations. Show Stuff Join the fan chat on Discord! Link: https://discord.gg/ZzJSrGP The Dark Horde Podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-dark-horde The Dark Horde, LLC – http://www.thedarkhorde.com Twitter @DarkHorde or https://twitter.com/HordeDark Support the podcast and shop @ http://shopthedarkhorde.com UBR Truth Seekers Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/216706068856746 UFO Buster Radio: https://www.facebook.com/UFOBusterRadio YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCggl8-aPBDo7wXJQ43TiluA To contact Manny: manny@ufobusterradio.com, or on Twitter @ufobusterradio Call the show anytime at (972) 290-1329 and leave us a message with your point of view, UFO sighting, and ghostly experiences or join the discussion on www.ufobusterradio.com For Skype Users: bosscrawler
Mars has been the destination for so many of our spacecraft, and for good reason, it's probably the most Earthlike place in the Solar System, with water ice on its surface and reservoirs of the liquid beneath the surface. If we're going to find life, Mars might be the place. But the tiny moons orbiting Mars, Phobos and Deimos, are scientifically fascinating on their own, and so far, a mission has never reached them. Last week, Japan announced that they've greenlit their Martian Moon eXploration mission, or MMX, which will launch an orbiter, lander and maybe even a rover to Phobos in 2024, returning samples back to Earth by the end of the decade. Our Book is out! https://www.amazon.com/Universe-Today-Ultimate-Viewing-Cosmos/dp/1624145442/ Audio Podcast version: ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/universe-today-guide-to-space-audio/id794058155?mt=2 RSS: https://www.universetoday.com/audio Weekly email newsletter: https://www.universetoday.com/newsletter Weekly Space Hangout: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0-KklSGlCiJDwOPdR2EUcg/ Astronomy Cast: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUHI67dh9jEO2rvK--MdCSg Support us at https://www.patreon.com/universetoday More stories at https://www.universetoday.com/ Twitch: https://twitch.tv/fcain Twitter: https://twitter.com/universetoday Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/universetoday Instagram - https://instagram.com/universetoday Team: Fraser Cain - @fcain / frasercain@gmail.com Karla Thompson - @karlaii / https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEItkORQYd4Wf0TpgYI_1fw Chad Weber - weber.chad@gmail.com References: http://mmx.isas.jaxa.jp/en/ http://www.hayabusa2.jaxa.jp/en/ https://www.universetoday.com/145054/japan-is-sending-a-lander-to-phobos/ https://sci.esa.int/web/rosetta https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/hayabusa/in-depth/ http://mmx-news.isas.jaxa.jp/?p=1016&lang=en https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/moons/mars-moons/phobos/in-depth/ https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/phobos-grunt/in-depth/ https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA21837 https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=6965 https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA04746 https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feaSupport Universe Today Podcast
Mars has been the destination for so many of our spacecraft, and for good reason, it’s probably the most Earthlike place in the Solar System, with water ice on its surface and reservoirs of the liquid beneath the surface. If we’re going to find life, Mars might be the place. But the tiny moons orbiting Mars, Phobos and Deimos, are scientifically fascinating on their own, and so far, a mission has never reached them. Last week, Japan announced that they’ve greenlit their Martian Moon eXploration mission, or MMX, which will launch an orbiter, lander and maybe even a rover to Phobos in 2024, returning samples back to Earth by the end of the decade. Our Book is out! https://www.amazon.com/Universe-Today-Ultimate-Viewing-Cosmos/dp/1624145442/ Audio Podcast version: ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/universe-today-guide-to-space-audio/id794058155?mt=2 RSS: https://www.universetoday.com/audio Weekly email newsletter: https://www.universetoday.com/newsletter Weekly Space Hangout: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0-KklSGlCiJDwOPdR2EUcg/ Astronomy Cast: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUHI67dh9jEO2rvK--MdCSg Support us at https://www.patreon.com/universetoday More stories at https://www.universetoday.com/ Twitch: https://twitch.tv/fcain Twitter: https://twitter.com/universetoday Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/universetoday Instagram - https://instagram.com/universetoday Team: Fraser Cain - @fcain / frasercain@gmail.com Karla Thompson - @karlaii / https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEItkORQYd4Wf0TpgYI_1fw Chad Weber - weber.chad@gmail.com References: http://mmx.isas.jaxa.jp/en/ http://www.hayabusa2.jaxa.jp/en/ https://www.universetoday.com/145054/japan-is-sending-a-lander-to-phobos/ https://sci.esa.int/web/rosetta https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/hayabusa/in-depth/ http://mmx-news.isas.jaxa.jp/?p=1016&lang=en https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/moons/mars-moons/phobos/in-depth/ https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/phobos-grunt/in-depth/ https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA21837 https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=6965 https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA04746 https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?fea
Shereen Siewert welcomes astronomer and astrophysicist Dr. Margaret “Maggie” Turnbull to discuss the most recent efforts to find Earthlike planets and other forms of intelligent life throughout the universe.
The exploration of Venus has been mainly about getting down to the surface of the planet. The Soviet Union sacrificed lander after lander to discover just how extreme the conditions are down there on the ground. But higher up, among the clouds, the climate on Venus is surprisingly Earthlike in temperature and pressure, and there have been some fascinating ideas for robotic and human explorers to fly the skies of Venus, to help understand our evil twin planet. Let's take a look at them. Our Book is out! https://www.amazon.com/Universe-Today-Ultimate-Viewing-Cosmos/dp/1624145442/ Audio Podcast version: ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/universe-today-guide-to-space-audio/id794058155?mt=2 RSS: https://www.universetoday.com/audio Weekly email newsletter: https://www.universetoday.com/newsletter Weekly Space Hangout: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0-KklSGlCiJDwOPdR2EUcg/ Astronomy Cast: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUHI67dh9jEO2rvK--MdCSg Support us at https://www.patreon.com/universetoday More stories at https://www.universetoday.com/ Twitch: https://twitch.tv/fcain Twitter: @universetoday Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/universetoday Instagram - https://instagram.com/universetoday Team: Fraser Cain - @fcain / frasercain@gmail.com Karla Thompson - @karlaii / https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEItkORQYd4Wf0TpgYI_1fw Chad Weber - weber.chad@gmail.com References: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/venus/in-depth/ https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/venusfact.html http://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Venus_Express/Acid_clouds_and_lightning https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/magellan/in-depth/ https://progearthplanetsci.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40645-018-0181-x https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/resources/2197/aerial-platforms-for-the-scientific-exploration-of-venus/ https://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/solarsystem/venus-20070827.html https://trs.jpl.nasa.gov/bitstream/handle/2014/44535/13-5079_A1b.pdf?sequence=1 https://unmanned-aerial.com/nasa-taps-black-swift-to-develop-uas-for-studying-venus https://www.universetoday.com/144045/stingray-glider-to-explore-the-cloudtops-of-venus/ https://www.lpi.usra.edu/vexag/meetings/STIM/presentations/Polidan_VAMP%20for%20STIM%20Meeting%20Jan%202013%20-%20Final%20Approved.pdf https://sacd.larc.nasa.gov/smab/havoc/Support Universe Today Podcast
The exploration of Venus has been mainly about getting down to the surface of the planet. The Soviet Union sacrificed lander after lander to discover just how extreme the conditions are down there on the ground. But higher up, among the clouds, the climate on Venus is surprisingly Earthlike in temperature and pressure, and there have been some fascinating ideas for robotic and human explorers to fly the skies of Venus, to help understand our evil twin planet. Let’s take a look at them. Our Book is out! https://www.amazon.com/Universe-Today-Ultimate-Viewing-Cosmos/dp/1624145442/ Audio Podcast version: ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/universe-today-guide-to-space-audio/id794058155?mt=2 RSS: https://www.universetoday.com/audio Weekly email newsletter: https://www.universetoday.com/newsletter Weekly Space Hangout: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0-KklSGlCiJDwOPdR2EUcg/ Astronomy Cast: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUHI67dh9jEO2rvK--MdCSg Support us at https://www.patreon.com/universetoday More stories at https://www.universetoday.com/ Twitch: https://twitch.tv/fcain Twitter: @universetoday Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/universetoday Instagram - https://instagram.com/universetoday Team: Fraser Cain - @fcain / frasercain@gmail.com Karla Thompson - @karlaii / https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEItkORQYd4Wf0TpgYI_1fw Chad Weber - weber.chad@gmail.com References: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/venus/in-depth/ https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/venusfact.html http://www.esa.int/ScienceExploration/SpaceScience/VenusExpress/Acidcloudsandlightning https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/magellan/in-depth/ https://progearthplanetsci.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40645-018-0181-x https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/resources/2197/aerial-platforms-for-the-scientific-exploration-of-venus/ https://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/solarsystem/venus-20070827.html https://trs.jpl.nasa.gov/bitstream/handle/2014/44535/13-5079A1b.pdf?sequence=1 https://unmanned-aerial.com/nasa-taps-black-swift-to-develop-uas-for-studying-venus https://www.universetoday.com/144045/stingray-glider-to-explore-the-cloudtops-of-venus/ https://www.lpi.usra.edu/vexag/meetings/STIM/presentations/PolidanVAMP%20for%20STIM%20Meeting%20Jan%202013%20-%20Final%20Approved.pdf https://sacd.larc.nasa.gov/smab/havoc/
The Kepler Space Craft has found tiny regular dips in light from a star which is about 500 light years away in the constellation of Cygnus. The dips in brightness come about when planets pass between their star and the Earth. This particular star has at least 5 planets. One of them is named Kepler-186f. It is similar to the Earth in size and is located at a distance from its star which may allow life as we know it to exist. This newly discovered cousin to our Earth orbits a M dwarf star which is very much cooler than our Sun. Its year is only 130 days long
The Kepler Space Craft has found tiny regular dips in light from a star which is about 500 light years away in the constellation of Cygnus. The dips in brightness come about when planets pass between their star and the Earth. This particular star has at least 5 planets. One of them is named Kepler-186f. It is similar to the Earth in size and is located at a distance from its star which may allow life as we know it to exist. This newly discovered cousin to our Earth orbits a M dwarf star which is very much cooler than our Sun. Its year is only 130 days long
On Love When love beckons to you, follow him Though his ways are hard and steep. And when his wings enfold you yield to him,Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.And when he speaks to you believe in him,Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden. For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning. Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earthLike sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself. He threshes you to make you naked. He sifts you to free you from your husks. He grinds you to whiteness. He kneads you until you are pliant; And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God’s sacred feast. All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life’s heart.But if in your fear you would seek only love’s peace and love’s pleasure,Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love’s threshing-floor, Into the seasonless world where youshall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.Love possesses not nor would it be possessed;For love is sufficient unto love. When you love you should not say,“God is in my heart,” but rather, “I am in the heart of God.”And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course. Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself. But if you love and must need have desires, let these be your desires:To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the nightTo know the pain of too much tenderness.To be wounded by your own understanding of love; And to bleed willingly and joyfully. To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving; To rest at the noon hour and meditate love’s ecstasy; To return home at eventide with gratitude; And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips. ~ Kahlil Gibranlinktr.ee/christinabauerintuitive
A very special, extended conversation with Johns Hopkins University planetary scientist Sarah Hörst is capped by a tour of her fascinating lab. That’s where Sarah and her team simulate decidedly un-Earthlike atmospheres and more. Emily Lakdawalla has returned from this year’s Lunar and Planetary Science Conference with news from around the solar system. Caffeine! It’s on Saturn’s moon Titan AND in the espresso made on the International Space Station! More about the latter in What’s Up. Learn more about this week’s guests and topics at: http://www.planetary.org/multimedia/planetary-radio/show/2019/03027-2019-sarah-horst.htmlLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Earth like planets are being discovered circling the most common type of star in our neighborhood of the Milky Way galaxy.
Earth like planets are being discovered circling the most common type of star in our neighborhood of the Milky Way galaxy.
Raymond Pierrehumbert, holder of the Halley Professorship of Physics at Oxford, gives the 2017 annual Wolfson Haldane Lecture. The lecture is introduced by Hermione Lee, College President. The Proterozoic is the period of Earth history extending from approximately 2.5 billion years ago to 550 million years ago, and makes up something over half of all Earth history to date. It begins with a dramatic rise in oxygen in the atmosphere, global “snowball” glaciations, and major disturbances of the carbon cycle, and ends with another period of carbon cycle fluctuations accompanied by the two Snowball glaciations; shortly after the exit from the second of these, the first multicellular life appears in the fossil record, and not long thereafter comes the Cambrian explosion. However, between the two eras of great climate disruption extends a period of about a billion years in which nothing much is happening, either from the standpoint of evolutionary innovation (insofar as visible for single-celled life in the fossil record) or from the standpoint of glaciation or biogeochemical cycling. This is the “boring billion” — the geological waiting room for the modern era of the Phanerozoic leading to the appearance of intelligent life on Earth. But what was the pacemaker determining the exit from the Boring Billion? Were we unlucky in the duration of the wait? Were we just lucky, and could it have been the Boring Two Billion? That would have in fact precluded the emergence of complex life on Earth, or any other planet orbiting a star like the Sun, since the gradual brightening of a Sunlike star over time throws an Earthlike planet into a runaway greenhouse state after about 4.5 billion years (roughly a half billion years from now), whereafter the planet loses its oceans and turns into an uninhabitable Venus-like world. Thus, the nature of the Boring Billion, and the factors that terminated it, have a very great bearing on whether we are alone in the universe. Dim red dwarf stars, which age more slowly than Sunlike stars, are known to have planets and perhaps offer more chances for complex life to emerge, but have their own challenges, which will also be discussed in this lecture.
A quick tour of our solar system Limits of Humanity: The observable universe goes on for light years & we'll only ever see 0.00000000001% of it (Kurzgesagt, Devour) Powers of Ten: The classic video from 1977 that explains the scale of space (YouTube) Riding Light: Travel with a beam of light in real time through our solar system (Vimeo, Alphonse Swinehart) A beautiful planet (IMAX) The Total Perspective Vortex: The machine from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy that makes you feel so insignificant it will crush your soul (Hitchhiker Wiki) We need different types of telescopes to 'see' the different types of waves in the universe: radio, infrared, visible, X-ray, gamma (NASA) Telescope to seek Earthlike planet in Alpha Centauri system (The New York Times) The BoldlyGo Institute: Private space exploration (Boldy Go) Pluto is 7.5 billion km from Earth (Space.com) Live tracking: Where is Halley's comet now? (The Sky Live) Live tracking: Where are the Voyager probes now? (NASA) Voyager 1 is travelling at about 17 km per second (Wikipedia) It's believed that Voyager 1 is either in interstellar space or pretty close to it - that's the furthest we've sent anything (Wikipedia) NASA's 'eyes': Cool website where you can track all sorts of space things (NASA) The Deep Space Network: Live tracking of probes & stuff by telescopes on Earth (NASA) In about 30,000 years, Voyager 1 will have passed through the Oort Cloud & in 40,000 years it will pass within 1.6 light-years of the star Gliese 445 (Wikipedia) What is the Kuiper Belt? A belt of icy bodies beyond Neptune (Cosmos, Swinburne University) What is the Oort Cloud? A hypothesised belt of icy bodies in the far reaches of the solar system (Cosmos, Swinburne University) It would take about 6 months to drive to the Moon at 95 km/hour (Science Focus) Apollo 11 took 3 days, 3 hours & 49 minutes to reach the Moon (Reference.com) What if Apollo 11 failed? President Nixon had a speech ready (Space.com) A moon is any natural satellite orbiting another body - planets, dwarf planets, asteroids & Kuiper Belt objects can all have moons (Encyclopaedia Britannica) Earth's moon's name is the Moon (caps M), it's also sometimes called 'Luna' (Wikipedia) Earth potentially has 18,000 moons, depending on your definition (Space.com) A star is a big exploding ball of gas - the Sun (caps S) is the name of Earth's star (Qualitative Reasoning Group, Northwestern University) When to capitalise the 'E' on Earth (Grammarist) The 'controversial' 2006 definition of a planet states: "a planet is a body that orbits the Sun, is massive enough for its own gravity to make it round & has 'cleared its neighbourhood' of smaller objects around its orbit" (Wikipedia) Pluto was stripped of its planet status in 2006 (New Scientist) Formation & evolution of the solar system (Wikipedia) How are planets formed? (Phys.org) Planets form in zones: The terrestrial (rocky) planets closer to the sun & the jovian (gassy) planets further out (LASP, University of Colorado) Order of the 8 planets in our solar system (Space.com) How was the Earth formed? (Space.com) What is a gravity well? (Qualitative Reasoning Group, Northwestern University) Where did Earth get its water? (Cosmos) Where did Earth's water come from? (livescience) What is the Goldilocks Zone & why does it matter in the search for ET? (ABC, Australia) What is Neptune made of? It's an icy, slushy, gassy planet with a rocky core (Space.com) Basics of orbital mechanics (NASA) What are Kepler's Laws? They describe the motion of planets across the sky (HyperPhysics, Georgia State University) An exoplanet is a planet that orbits a star other than our Sun (Wikipedia) 5 ways to find an exoplanet (NASA) If Planet 9 is out there, it tilts our solar system (The New York Times) What is Jupiter made of? It's very gassy, mostly hydrogen & helium, & we don't know if it has a solid core (Space.com) The Juno probe aims to unlock the secrets of Jupiter - it's currently orbiting & will crash into it in February 2018 (NASA) Juno has had a glitch, but is mostly ok (The New York Times) What is Mercury made of? It's a dense little nugget with a neglible atmosphere (Space.com) What is Venus made of? It's a hot, rocky planet (Space.com) Was Venus the first habitable planet in our solar system? (The Guardian) Venus spins very slowly, in the wrong direction (The New York Times) "Venus's climate is strongly driven by the most powerful greenhouse effect found in the solar system" (European Space Agency) Carbon dioxide absorbs & re-emits infrared radiation (Center for Science Education) Predator's infrared vision (YouTube) What is Mars made of? It's very dusty & rocky, with a thin atmosphere (Space.com) NASA confirms evidence that liquid water flows on today's Mars (NASA) They reckon Mars was warm & wet about 4 billion years ago (NASA) Exploration of Mercury: We've only sent 2 probes, 1 in 1973 & 2004, but there's another set to launch in 2017 called 'BepiColombo' (Wikipedia) List of solar system probes: We've been busy (Wikipedia) How the atmosphere affects our planet (Softpedia) The gas giants (Wikipedia) What is Saturn made of? It's pretty gassy, mostly hydrogen & helium (Space.com) How long do footprints last on the Moon? Potentially as long as the Moon (Space.com) Origin of Jupiter & Saturn: New theories on formation of gas giants (The Daily Galaxy) The case for Saturn being able to float on water (Universe Today) The case against Saturn being able to float on water (Wired) Planets & dwarf planets can have moons, & there are currently 182 identified in our solar system (Wikipedia) Mecury & Venus don't have moons (Windows 2 The Universe) Mars' moons are Phobos & Deimos; Jupiter has 67 moons, including the 4 that Galileo discovered; Saturn has 62; Uranus has 27; Neptune has 14, NB: Some moons are still awaiting official 'moon status' confirmation (NASA) Galileo made his own telescope & discovered 4 of Jupiter's moons in 1610, which got him into trouble with the Catholic Church (BBC) Saturn has some very cool moons, including the beautiful Enceladus with its icy gesyers (Space.com) Our moon is pretty big by moon standards (Windows 2 The Universe) How the Moon formed: Violent cosmic crash theory gets double boost (Space.com) Our solar system gets pretty chilly out past Mars (NASA) What might the sun look like from other planets? (Futurism) NASA's 'Pluto Time' shows how bright it is on dwarf planet (Space.com) Pluto may have clouds (The New York Times) Chemical properties of methane (Wikipedia) Methane is quite common in the outer solar system (University of Oregon) Ceres is a dwarf planet (Wikipedia) Charon is the largest of the 5 known moons of the dwarf planet, Pluto (Wikipedia) Pluto's unusual orbit (Smithsonian) You need a telescope to see Pluto (EarthSky) The hypothetical planet, Vulcan (Wikipedia) Gravity Probe A helped figure out relativity (Wikipedia) Gravity Probe B helped figure out the curvature of space-time near Earth (Wikipedia) Why did we land on a comet? (Mental Floss) Røde microphones Corrections Woops! Lucy did bad maths: Light would travel a little over 1 billion km in 1 hour, not 65 billion km...so not as far as Pluto (Wolfram Alpha) Apparently we may have photographed an exoplanet: This is the first photo of a candidate 1,200 light-years away (Science Alert) More than 1,300 Earth's would fit inside Jupiter (NASA) Cheeky review? (If we may be so bold) It'd be amazing if you gave us a short review...it'll make us easier to find in iTunes: Click here for instructions. You're the best! We owe you a free hug and/or a glass of wine from our cellar Where are you from? Send us a postcard! Strange Attractor, c/ PO Box 9, Fitzroy, VIC 3065, Australia Click to subscribe in iTunes
The Discussion: Jeni’s astronomy research yields its first results in the hunt for exoplanet phase variation and we revisit our Star Wars podcast extras with a listener’s book review. The News: Rounding up the space and astronomy news this month we have: An ‘Earthlike planet detected by ESO around our nearest stellar neighbour The upcoming launch of OSIRIS Rex to sample an asteroid That bump in the data at CERN turns out to be a false hope That alien megastructure story just won’t foxtrot oscar The Cassini spacecraft spots methane filled canyons on Saturn’s moon Titan A meteorite lands in Yorkshire garden. Real or fake? Woobusters: Continuing our quest to debunk the myths and conspiracy theories that persist in every dark corner of the news and the internet. This month’s topic, picked at random from Paul’s festering Hat of Woo: Area 51 – the remote and secret installation in the Nevada desert where sanity gets dissected and reason is left to die. Q&A: Listeners’ questions via email, Facebook & Twitter take us on a journey into the astronomy issues that have always plagued our understanding or stretched our credulity. This month we get a question that probes certainty in science and how high certainty discoveries can still turn out to be wrong: Why when the Bicep two team found the evidence for primordial gravitational waves did they claim it was a five sigma result, and later wasn't it shown the result was not accurate? I thought a five sigma had a 1 in 350million chance of being wrong! There has to be something I don't understand about the sigma scale or the Bicep results? Rodney Cuthbertson.
Join Crystal, Alan, and Chris and the impromptu return of Angel as they welcome to Skywatchers Radio, Tom Schaefer. Tom is a science fiction author of the book “Tu & The Collectors” which talks about disclosure, mass colonization, and the imagining of mankind migrating to a larger Earthlike planet. (See http://tuandthecollectors.com/) The book talks about how technology is evolving towards a money-less economy, and how imaginary technologies like replication may already be in the works. Tom Schaefer, born 9/11/1958, was given up for adoption at 2 yrs of age, and grew up in the 1970's in the midwest, with his twin brother Tim, in a suburb of St. Louis, MO., in a highly religious middle class family.(Now atheist). Studied electronics in high school, and then joined the Navy in 1976. Served in the Submarine service aboard the USS Pogy (http://usspogy647.com/) as a mechanic. Not happy with the Navy, got out of the Navy and started a photography career, but also went on to studying electronics and computer engineering. Started a family and worked primarily in the computer business as a repair tech, but migrated into systems administration and was one of the earliest advocates for Linux. He currently does web development as his primary means of support. Tom's interest in UFOlogy began in the 1990's, with USENET groups like alt.conspiracy.area51. His UFOlogy interest was reignited as a new wave of sightings began to happen durng the 1990's and early 2000's with sighting in Mexico, as well as long running TV shows like X-Files and Ancient Aliens. Around 2005, Tom reignited his passion for photography, which was later recognized by The Brickell Gallery in Miami and presented by them at the City Of Miami's 114th birthday party in 2010 at the American Airlines Arena in Miami. Tom's also been involved in several music related projects (production, photography and even a little songwriting) with musicians in Nashville TN. Tom's been a long time Star Trek fan, but never really impressed with Star Wars. Tom started writing science fiction back in 2013 with his first novel, "Tu & The Collectors" which was released back on Sept 11, 2014. He's got additional Tu related books in production - "Tu: Aforetime" (prequel) and "Tu: Mayorga".
British comedian and actor Barry Castagnola (@BarryCastagnola) joins Jesse, Andy and Matt to discuss Midwest cold, royal warrants and drugs, Mick Jagger, chicks and number lines, lefthanded people, musicians and music stands, mudsharks and Who jackets, rodents of unusual size with giant teeth, high-speed lasers that can see molecules, an even larger reboot of the Large Hadron Collider, the doomsday list, a new Earthlike planet and TV apologies.
Justin and Randy tag along with the crew of the NX-01 as they investigate an eerily Earthlike planet in season 1, episode 4 of Star Trek: Enterprise, “Strange New World”. Spoiler alert: There’s no one on the planet, just hallucinogenic pollen.
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Another week, another space roundup. This week we talk about the redefinition of the term "Earthlike", salty soil on Mars, how you can participate in SETI, asteroid dust from Hayabusa, and the dangers of a warp drive.
Billions and Billions of Earthlike Planets?Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Timothy Zahn, the bestselling author, is this week's featured guest. Possibly best known for his Thrawn Trilogy, which is a series of Star Wars novels set in the time after the movie Return of the Jedi.Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the January 9, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 60 minutes]In this interview Timothy Zahn discusses several of his fears, hopes and worries about the future. He also talks about Wikipedia, Earthlike exoplanets, and how his master's degree in physics contributes both to the hardness of his science fiction and to the strength of his faith in God.After describing his ideas in science, theology and sociology he lightens the conversation with anecdotes of how he became a Star Wars playing card, as well as a question on the TV game show Jeopardy.News items in this episode include an announcement that the host of The Future And You (Stephen Euin Cobb) is now inside the virtual world Second Life and is going by the name: Boc Cryotank.
The Most Earthlike Extrasolar Planet Yet -- A Conversation With Co-Discoverer Stephane UdryLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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