- Giant Planet Discovery: Dive into the astonishing discovery of TOI 6894 b, a gas giant orbiting the diminutive red dwarf star TOI 6894. This finding challenges our understanding of planet formation, as such small stars were not thought to possess enough material to form giant planets. With deep transits blocking 17% of the star's light, astronomers are eager to study its atmosphere using the James Webb Space Telescope.
- The Mystery of Heavy Elements: Explore the peculiar star Limos J 0804 5740, found within the remnants of a dwarf galaxy known as the Gaia Sausage. This actinide boost star holds clues to the origins of the universe's heaviest elements, such as uranium and thorium, which are produced through rapid neutron capture processes. Studying this star may help unravel the cosmic puzzle of how these elements are formed.
- China's Reusable Rocket: Learn about Space Epic's recent test launch of their reusable rocket booster, the Yangxing Zhi one, which successfully performed a soft landing in the ocean. Although it sank post-landing, the test demonstrated crucial capabilities for future missions, showcasing China's growing ambitions in space exploration alongside its emerging private sector.
- Galaxy Clusters on a Collision Course: Get the latest on NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory findings, revealing two galaxy clusters that have already collided and are now on a trajectory for a second encounter. These clusters, located 2.8 billion light years away, exhibit unique shock fronts and provide valuable insights into the dynamics of massive cosmic structures.
For more cosmic updates, visit our website at astronomydaily.io. Join our community on social media by searching for #AstroDailyPod on Facebook, X, YouTube Music, TikTok, and our new Instagram account! Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Thank you for tuning in. This is Anna signing off. Until next time, keep looking up and stay curious about the wonders of our universe.
Chapters:
00:00 - Welcome to Astronomy Daily
01:10 - Discovery of giant planet TOI 6894 b
10:00 - The mystery of heavy elements and Limos J 0804 5740
15:30 - China's reusable rocket Yangxing Zhi one
20:00 - Galaxy clusters on a collision course
✍️ Episode References
TOI 6894 b Discovery Details
[NASA Exoplanet Archive](https://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/)
Heavy Elements and R Process Research
[Nature Astronomy](https://www.nature.com)
Space Epic's Yangxing Zhi one Launch
[Space Epic](https://www.spaceepic.com/)
Chandra X-ray Observatory Findings
[NASA Chandra](https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/chandra/main/index.html)
Astronomy Daily
[Astronomy Daily](http://www.astronomydaily.io/)
For Commercial-Free versions become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/astronomy-daily-exciting-space-discoveries-and-news--5648921/support.
00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 Anna: Hello and welcome to Astronomy Daily. I'm your host, Anna,
00:00:03 --> 00:00:05 and I'm really excited to bring you your daily dose of cosmic
00:00:05 --> 00:00:08 happenings. Today we've got some really cool stuff to
00:00:08 --> 00:00:11 talk about. From a giant planet orbiting a tiny star
00:00:12 --> 00:00:14 to a weird star that might just solve one of astronomy's
00:00:14 --> 00:00:17 biggest mysteries. We will also cover China's reusable
00:00:17 --> 00:00:20 rocket and two galaxy clusters about to crash into
00:00:20 --> 00:00:23 each other again. So buckle up space fans.
00:00:23 --> 00:00:25 It's going to be an awesome ride.
00:00:26 --> 00:00:29 First up, we're diving into the head scratching
00:00:29 --> 00:00:32 discovery of a giant planet, TOI
00:00:32 --> 00:00:34 6894 b,
00:00:34 --> 00:00:37 orbiting a red dwarf star called TOI
00:00:37 --> 00:00:40 6894. Now, this
00:00:40 --> 00:00:43 star is tiny. I mean, we're talking about one fifth
00:00:43 --> 00:00:46 the size of our sun, which makes the discovery of
00:00:46 --> 00:00:48 this planet like a huge surprise.
00:00:49 --> 00:00:52 See, these small stars weren't thought to have enough material
00:00:52 --> 00:00:55 to even form giant planets. But there
00:00:55 --> 00:00:56 it is, TOI
00:00:56 --> 00:00:59 6894B, a
00:00:59 --> 00:01:01 gas giant roughly the size of Saturn.
00:01:02 --> 00:01:05 It's kinda like finding a fully grown elephant living in
00:01:05 --> 00:01:07 a mousehole, you know, this discovery
00:01:07 --> 00:01:10 kinda turns our understanding of planet formation on its
00:01:10 --> 00:01:13 head. The current theory suggests that the amount of
00:01:13 --> 00:01:15 material in the disc around a star which eventually
00:01:15 --> 00:01:18 forms planets is proportional to the star's mass.
00:01:19 --> 00:01:22 So a tiny star shouldn't have enough stuff to make a
00:01:22 --> 00:01:25 giant planet. But apparently nature
00:01:25 --> 00:01:27 loves to throw curveballs. Now,
00:01:27 --> 00:01:30 because TOI6894B has such
00:01:30 --> 00:01:33 deep transits, I mean, when it passes in front of its star,
00:01:33 --> 00:01:36 it blocks a whopping 17% of the light.
00:01:36 --> 00:01:39 It's a perfect candidate for atmosphere study. A team
00:01:39 --> 00:01:42 of astronomers has already applied for time with the James
00:01:42 --> 00:01:45 Webb Space Telescope to do just
00:01:45 --> 00:01:48 that. They are hoping to find a lot of methane in the
00:01:48 --> 00:01:51 exoplanet's atmosphere. That'll give us a better idea
00:01:51 --> 00:01:54 of how this planet formed and maybe help us refine
00:01:54 --> 00:01:57 our planet formation theories. Pretty cool, huh? Huh?
00:01:58 --> 00:02:00 Next up, let's talk about a really odd star,
00:02:01 --> 00:02:03 limos J 0804
00:02:04 --> 00:02:06 5740, residing in what's
00:02:06 --> 00:02:09 known as the Gaia Sausage. And no, it's not a
00:02:09 --> 00:02:12 galactic deli item. The Gaia Sausage is actually the
00:02:12 --> 00:02:15 remains of a dwarf galaxy that merged with our
00:02:15 --> 00:02:18 Milky Way billions of years ago. Now, this
00:02:18 --> 00:02:21 star, it may just help us solve one of astronomy's
00:02:21 --> 00:02:23 big mysteries. Where did the universe's heaviest
00:02:23 --> 00:02:26 elements come from? These elements, like uranium
00:02:26 --> 00:02:29 and thorium, are created through something called the
00:02:29 --> 00:02:32 R process. That's a rapid neutron
00:02:32 --> 00:02:34 capture process, essentially Atomic
00:02:34 --> 00:02:37 nuclei rapidly grab neutrons in extreme
00:02:37 --> 00:02:39 environments like neutron star mergers or
00:02:39 --> 00:02:42 supernovas, creating heavier elements. But
00:02:42 --> 00:02:45 here's the thing. We haven't quite figured out all the sources of the
00:02:45 --> 00:02:48 R process, and that's where Lemost J
00:02:48 --> 00:02:51
00:02:51 --> 00:02:54 comes in. This star is what they call an
00:02:54 --> 00:02:57 actinide boost star, meaning it has a high abundance of
00:02:57 --> 00:02:58 radioactive elements, actinides.
00:02:59 --> 00:03:02 So the star's unusual composition provides new
00:03:02 --> 00:03:05 clues about the different types of R process events that
00:03:05 --> 00:03:08 can occur in the universe. By studying it, astronomers,
00:03:09 --> 00:03:11 hope to better understand where these heavy elements
00:03:11 --> 00:03:14 come from and how they're created.
00:03:14 --> 00:03:17 It's like piecing together a cosmic puzzle, you know? You
00:03:19 --> 00:03:19 okay?
00:03:19 --> 00:03:22 So shifting gears a little, let's head over to China where
00:03:22 --> 00:03:25 a rocket startup called Space Epic, or Sepok
00:03:25 --> 00:03:27 if you like it short, recently showed off its
00:03:27 --> 00:03:30 reusable rocket booster, the Yangxing Zhi one.
00:03:30 --> 00:03:33 They had a test launch and get this, it did a soft landing right
00:03:33 --> 00:03:36 in the ocean. I mean, sadly it sank
00:03:36 --> 00:03:39 afterwards, but hey, the launch and the test were
00:03:39 --> 00:03:42 still a success. Apparently the whole point was
00:03:42 --> 00:03:44 to test things like the engine's thrust control,
00:03:44 --> 00:03:47 shutdown and restart capabilities. Plus they tested
00:03:47 --> 00:03:50 free descent, gliding and hovering before splashdown.
00:03:50 --> 00:03:53 Pretty cool right? Now this Yangxing Zhe booster is kinda
00:03:53 --> 00:03:56 interesting. It's made from lightweight, thin walled aluminium,
00:03:56 --> 00:03:58 stainless steel and runs on liquid oxygen and
00:03:58 --> 00:04:01 methane. It's about 4.2 metres in diameter and
00:04:01 --> 00:04:04 almost 27 metres tall. Now I know what you're
00:04:04 --> 00:04:06 thinking, how does this stack up against SpaceX?
00:04:07 --> 00:04:09 Well, SpaceX's Falcon 9 booster is a bit narrower, but
00:04:09 --> 00:04:12 it's taller. And speaking of SpaceX,
00:04:12 --> 00:04:15 it's kind of wild how they've turned landing and
00:04:15 --> 00:04:18 reusing boosters into like a near daily thing.
00:04:19 --> 00:04:21 Meanwhile, China is catching up with a bunch of space startups
00:04:21 --> 00:04:24 popping up recently. And you
00:04:24 --> 00:04:27 know, with China working on its own mega satellite
00:04:27 --> 00:04:30 constellation and planning some seriously ambitious missions,
00:04:30 --> 00:04:33 including their own version of the Hubble telescope, it's
00:04:33 --> 00:04:36 clear they are becoming a major player in space exploration.
00:04:37 --> 00:04:40 Space Epoch is hoping to reach orbit later this year.
00:04:41 --> 00:04:43 So yeah, it's definitely going to be interesting to see what these China
00:04:43 --> 00:04:45 based startups do in the coming years.
00:04:47 --> 00:04:49 Alright. Ah, next up in our cosmic headlines, NASA's
00:04:49 --> 00:04:52 Chandra X Ray Observatory has spotted something pretty
00:04:52 --> 00:04:55 wild. We're talking about two galaxy clusters
00:04:55 --> 00:04:57 known as PSZ2 G1,
00:04:58 --> 00:05:00 81.06 plus 48.47
00:05:00 --> 00:05:03 that have already collided once and are now heading back for a
00:05:03 --> 00:05:06 second smash up. Now, galaxy clusters
00:05:06 --> 00:05:09 just so, you know, are like the biggest structures in the
00:05:09 --> 00:05:12 universe held together by gravity. They're
00:05:12 --> 00:05:14 basically massive collections of galaxies,
00:05:14 --> 00:05:16 superheated gas, and dark matter.
00:05:17 --> 00:05:20 These two clusters are about 2.8 billion light
00:05:20 --> 00:05:23 years away. And after their first collision, they
00:05:23 --> 00:05:26 created these huge parentheses shaped shock fronts,
00:05:26 --> 00:05:28 kind of like sonic booms, but on a cosmic
00:05:28 --> 00:05:31 scale. These shock fronts are now separated by
00:05:31 --> 00:05:34 about 11 million light years, which is apparently
00:05:34 --> 00:05:37 the largest separation astronomers have ever seen.
00:05:37 --> 00:05:40 But get this. Chandra and XMM Newton
00:05:40 --> 00:05:43 data show that these clusters are now slowing down
00:05:43 --> 00:05:45 and turning around for another collision.
00:05:45 --> 00:05:48 Astronomers have spotted three new shock fronts that seem
00:05:48 --> 00:05:50 to be early signs of this second crash.
00:05:51 --> 00:05:54 What's really interesting is that the total mass of this
00:05:54 --> 00:05:57 system is less than other colliding
00:05:57 --> 00:05:59 galaxy clusters, making it a pretty
00:05:59 --> 00:06:02 unusual case. This event is
00:06:02 --> 00:06:04 giving scientists a, peek into the dynamics of these
00:06:04 --> 00:06:07 massive structures and how they evolve over
00:06:07 --> 00:06:10 time. So that's your
00:06:10 --> 00:06:13 Astronomy Daily News summary for today. From a tiny
00:06:13 --> 00:06:16 star with a giant planet to colliding galaxy clusters,
00:06:17 --> 00:06:19 I've been your host, Anna, and I hope you enjoyed our little
00:06:19 --> 00:06:22 tour of the cosmos. For all the latest space
00:06:22 --> 00:06:25 and astronomy news, don't forget to visit our website at
00:06:25 --> 00:06:28 astronomydaily IO where you can catch up on
00:06:28 --> 00:06:31 our constantly updating news feed. Until tomorrow,
00:06:31 --> 00:06:33 thanks for tuning in and keep looking up
00:06:47 --> 00:06:48 stories.
00:06:55 --> 00:06:56 We told.