Planetary Alignments, Lunar Missions, and Gaia's Galactic Map: S04E29

Welcome again to Astronomy Daily. I'm your host, Steve Dunkley. It's the third of February twenty twenty five. The podcast I mean your whole Steve gun Clue. Yes, welcome back, one and all. Today Halle will present February's planet Parade for you. It's a bupper story, so stay around for that one. Also, she's talking briefly about something very interesting from the Russian Institute of Biomedical Problems. Halle, what's going on there? Hi, favorite human? In true Russian pragmatic style, they've completed a fascinating mission to the Moon without leading Earth. Okay, that's a neat trick. They are clever, and I hope you're going to tell us all about it, So more. On that soon. A very good and there's more from the Astronomy Daily newsletter in today's episode, of course, and. We'll let you will all know how you can receive that newsletter in your email every day so they can be across all the news events and research happening in orbit and beyond. Right, Halle, that's. Right, human, there's something different. Every day, Okay, So why don't we just launched right into the stories we've collected from the newsletter today. I'm looking forward deal planet parride today. Hallie. That's always a great revelation to what's happening. He is the February sky. There are some nice highlights to look forward to. Okay, say let's get to at Staggs's. Let's go on. November fourteenth, twenty twenty four, the Institute of Biomedical Problems IBMP of the Russian Academy of Sciences marked the successful completion of Serious twenty three, a year long biomedical isolation experiment simulating the conditions of deep space travel and lunar surface operations. For three hundred and sixty six days, a crew of six analog astronauts lived and worked in a sealed environment, a meticulously controlled Earth based stand in for interplanetary missions of the future. The Serious Scientific, International Research and Unique Terrestrial Station Project, launched in collaboration with NASA's Human Research Program and the IBMP in twenty seventeen, had previously conducted shorter experiments lasting seventeen, one hundred and twenty and two hundred and forty days. These missions, featuring international crews from Russia, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates, aimed to replicate the isolation and psychological strain of long term spaceflight. However, after twenty twenty two, IBMP decided to proceed with the ambitious serious twenty three experiment independently. The latest crew heild from Russia and Belarus Commander Yuri Chebiterev, flight Engineering Angelica Parfenova, medical officer Xenia Orlova, and researchers Olga Mastakeia, Xenia Shishanina and Rustam Zeropov, a mixed gender team of two men and four women. Astronomy Kai the podcast as someone who is no stratey to come dropouts on a planetary scale. Apollo eleven moonwalk, A buzz oldron has teamed up with Verizon to help promote the company's satellite based solution to cell service dead zones of all things Now, The ninety five year old astronauter who in nineteen seventy nine became one of the first humans, the second in fact, to step foot on the lunar surface, appears in a new Verazon advert alongside Paul Maricelli, the original can you hear Me Now? Test man to ask can you text me now? Fifty six years ago, he says I was one of the select few that made it into space and the first team to help America conquer the Moon order and said in a statement released by Verazon. Back then, he says space was the great unknown, and now we've never been closer to it. I can't look up into the sky without seeing a satellite fly by. It's remarkable to see how far the human race and technology has come. In the commercial, Aldron is seen wearing a silver jacket adorned with the Apollo eleven mission patch while planting a Verizon's satellite powered red and yellow flag at remote areas around the Earth. At each stop, whether it be on the desert floor of a canyon, at the base of a snow colored mountain, or in an area of wilderness already marked as a dead zone, the retired US Air Force general and doctor of Astronautics uses his Verazon issued android's smartphone to show that he can. Still send texts. Aldron's last test is shown as looping out around the Moon, pasted an American flag planted on its surface to a satellite in Earth orbit. They are a space suited Maricelli without a helmet, receives Aldron's message and reacts that's my line. It's been ten years since I asked America, can you hear me now? Back then, dead zones were everywhere, and it's safe to say today that they are only in the most remote places, like the dark Side of the Moon, he said in Verazon's release, making the common mistake of describing the far side of the Moon as the non existent Dark Side. Satellite is for sure the next frontier, he says. Verazon's customers with select new model phone updated software can send texts such as emergency SOS messages, including their location when they are in areas inside the United States without cellular coverage. According to the company, its US network provides a coverage to more than ninety nine percent of the places where people live, work and play, but its satellite service now covers the very few places throughout the country where customers cannot connect. For the service to work, the phones, which include Google's Pixel nine series and Samsung's Galaxy S twenty five, must be outdoors with a line of sight to the Viasat, EchoStar or other satellites that are part of the Skylight Satellite Connectivity service. The service may not work in parts of Alaska. In addition, AHST space Mobile, a satellite designer and manufacturer based in Midland, Texas, has a one hundred million dollar commitment from Verizon to provide direct to cellular satellite service when needed for Verizon's customers. This week, the Federal Communications Commission authorized AST to begin testing its service in the United States. This approval enables the first five of AST's commercial Bluebird satellites, already operating in low Earth orbit, to test connections with Verison's smartphones, supporting voice, full data, and video applications, as well as other native capabilities without the need of any specialized software or subdivice support or update. That's one giant leap for connectivity, says Aldred. In the commercial AST space Mobile also has an agreement to provide space based network services to AT. And C and its customers. Similarly, Demobile partner with SpaceX to use the Starlik Broadbands Internet constellation and its direct to sell capabilities. This is not Aldron's first appearance in a commercial. In the past, he has filmed ads for IBM and YouTube YouTube TV in twenty nineteen, a commercial for Quaker Oats in twenty sixteen, and in twenty fifteen a promotion to visit Switzerland. In nineteen eighty seven, Aldron joined Mercury astronauts Scott Carpenter and Gordo Cooper to advertise the Commodore Amiga five hundred home computer. Oh you remember that one. And in nineteen seventy two, a year after he left NASA, Aldron helped sell the Volkswagen VW Beetle, comparing its computer diagnostic system to the computer he used to fly to the Moon. Thank you for joining us for this Monday edition of Astronomy Daily, where we offer just a few stories from the now famous Astronomy Daily newsletter, which you can receive in your email every day, just like Hallie and I do. And to do that, just visit our url Astronomy Daily dot io and place your email address in the slot provided. Just like that, you'll be receiving all the latest news about science, space, science and astronomy from around the world as it's happening. And not only that, you can interact with us by visiting at astro Daily pod on x or at our new Facebook page, which is of course Astronomy Daily on Facebook. See you there. Astronomy Daily with Steve and Halle Space, space, science, and Astronomy. A safety panel is calling on NASA to reassess to plans for upcoming Artemis missions, arguing that the agency is packing too many objectives into each mission. At a January thirtieth public meeting of ASAP, the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel members reiterated past concerns about the number of first time objectives planned for Artemis three, the first crude lunar landing of the overall campaign and later missions. Each first milestone carries its own individual risk, and as these risks are compounded and aggregated, it only increases the overall risk posture for any individual flight mission, said panel member Bill bray It begs the question is it time for the agency to reassess the current mission objectives and its approach for Artemis three and beyond, with the goal to better balance the risks across all those flight tests. ASAP has previously expressed its concerns about the number of firsts on Artemis three, such as in its most recent annual report, were released in early twenty twenty four. That report listed thirteen separate firsts for the mission, mostly tied to the starship, lunar lander and new spacesuits being developed. By Axiom Space. That list has only grown since then, he noted, with changes to the heat shield for Orion, NASA announced in December that it would reformulate the aff goat material used in the heat shield for Artemis three and later missions to prevent the heat shield erosion seen on the Artemis one re entry. Those concerns extend beyond Artemis three, Bray said, with later missions incorporating the Lunar Gateway, the Blue Moon Crude lunelander, and a lunar rover. Each of these elements under development and delivery requires a near perfect program execution across a complex set of tests and milestones, and frankly, there's very little room for failure. Problems with a single key element, he concluded, will result in continued launch delays and an irregular and erratic cadence of mission flights and issue ASAP has also previously raised it also creates an increased risk posture for Artemis missions. Bray said that ASAP discussed the issue with Omikshatriya, Deputy Associate Administrator of NASA's Moon to Mars Program Office, at recent meetings. The panel urged NASA to treat each launch as a test objective like the Apollo program, with clear test objectives that could be balanced across all launch events and ensure a more regular cadence of missions. He didn't disclose NASA's response to those concerns, but said that ASAP will continue to press NASA to re examine its Artemis mission plans and consider reallocation of test objectives to achieve a more regular launch cadence with the others more balanced risk exposure. Well aer that so we are listening to Astronomy Daily podcast. The Gayer mission, launched by the European Space Agency, has completed a decade of groundbreaking astronomical observations, collecting over three trillion data points on two billion stars and celestial objects. The European Space Agency's Gaya spacecraft, which has been mapping the Milky Way, has completed its sky scanning phase. Over the past decade. It has made more than three trillion observations of around two billion stars and other celestial objects, transforming our understanding of our galaxy and surrounding universe. Gaya was launched on December nineteen, twenty thirteen, and after years of precise observations, its fuel supply. Is now running low. The spacecraft consumes about a dozen grams of cold gas per day to maintain stability and accuracy. The mission is not over yet. In coming weeks, Gay will undergo a series of technology tests before being placed into its final retirement orbit. Additionally, two major data releases are planned, one in twenty twenty six and another by the end of the decade, offering even more insights into our cosmic neighborhood. Today marks the end of science observations, and we are celebrating this incredible mission that has exceeded all of our expectations, lasting for almost twice its original foreseen lifetime, says ESA Director of Science Carol Mandell. The treasure trove of data collected by GAYA has given. Us unique insights into the origin and evolution of our Milky Way galaxy, and has also transformed astrophysics and solar system science in ways that we are not yet. To fully appreciate. GAYA built on unique European excellence with astrometry and will leave a long lasting legacy for future generations. After eleven years in space and surviving micro metiarite impacts and solar storms along the way, GAYA has finished collecting science data. Now all eyes turned towards the preparation of the next data releases, says GAYA Projects scientists Johann Solman. I'm thrilled with the performance of this incredible mission and excited about the discoveries that await us. GAYA has been charting the positions, distances, movements, brightness, changes, composition, and numerous other characteristics of stars by monitoring with its three instruments many times over the course of its mission. This has enabled GAYA to deliver on its primary goal of building the largest, most precise map of the Milky Way, showing us our home galaxy like no other mission has ever done. As such, we're now able to have the best reconstructed view of how the galaxy might look to an outside observer. This new artist's impression of the Milky Way incorporates GAYA data from a multitude of papers over the past decade. It contains major changes from previous models because has changed our impression of the Milky Way. Even basic ideas have been revised, such as the rotation of our galaxy central bar, the warp of the discs, the detailed structure of spiral arms, and the interstellar dust near the Sun. Says Stefan pain Wadner this scientific visualizer for the hauste Astronomy Germany and the IAU Office of Astronomy for education. Still, the distant parts of the Milky Way remain educated guesses based on incomplete data. With further Gayer data releases, our view of the Milky Way will become even more accurate. Gaya's repeated measurements of stellar distances, motions, and characteristics are key to performing galactic archaeology on our Milky Way, revealing missing links in our galaxy's complex history, and that'll help us learn more about our origins. From detecting ghosts of other galaxies and multiple streams of ancient stars that merged with the Milky Way in its early history, to finding evidence from an ongo collision with Sagittary's dwarf galaxy. Today, Gaya is rewriting the Milky Way's history and making predictions about its future. In the process of scanning stars in our own galaxy, Gaya has also spotted other objects, from asteroids in our Solar System backyard, to galaxies and quasars, the bright and active centers of galaxies powered by super massive black holes outside our Milky Way, for example, GAYA has provided pinpoint precision orbits of more than one hundred and fifty thousand asteroids and has such high quality measurements as to uncover possible moons around hundreds of them. It's also created the largest three dimensional map of about one point three million quasars, with the furthest shining bright when the universe was only one point five billion years old. GAYA has also discovered a new breed of black hole, including one with a mass of nearly thirty three times. The mass of our Sun. That one hiding in the Constantle Aquilla less than two thousand light years from Earth. The first time a black hole of stellar origin this big has been spotted within the Milky Way. It's impressive that these discoveries are based only on the first few years of GAYA data, and many were made in the last year alone. GAYA has been the discovery machine of the decade, a trend that is set to continue, says Anthony Brown, chair of the GAYA Data Processing and Analysis Consortium and based at Leading University in the Netherlands. The GAYA scientific and engineering teams are already working full steam on the preparations for GAYA Data Release four, expected in twenty twenty six. The data volume and quality improves with every release, and GAYA Data Iour, with an expected five hundred terabytes of data products, is no exception. Furthermore, it will cover the mission's first five and a half years, corresponding to the length of the originally foreseen duration of the mission. This is the GAYA release to the community he has been waiting for, and it's exciting to think that this only covers half of the collected data, says Antonello Vallinari, Deputy Chair of DPAK Instituto. And there's now dear Astrophicia Astronomic lest Observatory in Padua, Italy. Sorry about my pronunciation, folks, I'm Australian. Even though the mission has now stopped collecting data, it will be the business as usual for us for many years to come as we make these incredible data sets ready to use, she says. GAYA data release set for is set to expand its binary star catalog, the largest such catalog to date. GAYA has a unique ability to tease out the tiny motions of pairs of celestial objects orbiting close to each other, and has already spotted previously hidden companions around bright stars Incidentally, gaya's largest targeted observation on January ten was a binary pair sixty one Signy. This iconic star attracted the attention of nineteenth century astronomers to yield some of the first proper motion and parallax measurements techniques used by GAYA on some billion stars, and astute science fiction readers will remember sixty one Signey from Clifford CEMAC's Wonderful, Wonderful story Time and Again, starring the ineffable Asher Sutton. Gaya's exoplanet discoveries are also set to increase with the forthcoming data sets, thanks to the longer time frame of observations making it easier to spot wobbling stars. Over the next few months, will continue to downlink every last drop of data from Gaya and that at the same time, the processing teams will ramp up their preparations for the fifth and final major data release at the end of the decade. This will conclude with an incredible coordinated effort between hundreds of experts across the Science Operations Centers here at ESAC, the mission operations team flying GAIA from ESA's European Space Operations Center in Germany, and a huge consortium of data processing specialists who have together ensured the smooth running of this beautiful mission. For so long. While today marks the end of science observations, a short period of technology testing now begins. The tests have the potential to further improve gay or calibrations, learn more about the behavior of certain technology after ten years in space, and even aid the design of future space missions. After several weeks of testing, GAY will leave its current orbit around lagrange point two one point five million kilometers from the Earth in a direction away from the Sun, to be put into its final heliocentric orbit far away from Earth's sphere of influence. This spacecraft will be passivated on twenty twenty seven March twenty twenty five to avoid harm or interference with other spacecraft. During the technology tests, Gaya's orientation will be changed, meaning it will be temporarily become several magnitudes brighter, looking observations through small telescopes a lot easier. It won't be visible to the naked eye, though a guide to locating Gaya has been set up so amateur astronomers are invited to share their observations. GAY will treat us with this final gift as we bid farewell. Shining amongst the stars ahead of its well earned retirement. It's a moment to celebrate this as this transformative mission, and thank all the teams for more than a decade of hard work operating Gaya, planning its observations, and ensuring its prescuous data are returned smoothly to Earth. You're listening to Astronomy Daily with Steve Dunky. February brings a rare planetary parade with five great planets in clear view and a special alignment of Mercury and Saturn on February twenty fourth. Throughout February, a striking gathering of the five greatest planets Venus, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, and Saturn, along with the moral Lusiburanus and Neptune, will be the main celestial attraction in the evening sky. Later in the month, anyone with a clear unobstructed view of the horizon may be able to see all five bright planets stretching across the sky. Two of these planets, Mercury and Saturn, will appear especially close together on Monday, February twenty fourth, the highlight of this month long planetary display. While this planetary alignment isn't particularly rare, it is relatively uncommon. Spotting two, three, or even four bright planets at once is not unusual, but the chance to see all five together doesn't come around often. Looking ahead, a similar alignment will occur in late October twenty twenty eight, though that event will take place before sunrise, requiring early risers to catch the view. By far, the most prominent of the five planets is Venus. Although it reached its greatest angular distance east of the Sun on January tenth, it continues to shine brilliantly in the west southwest sky at dusk throughout February, a breathtaking evening lantern. This will remain at peak brightness for much of the month, and if you observe it through steadily held binoculars or a small telescope, you'll see it as a crescent. As February progresses, Venus's disc will appear larger as it moves closer to Earth, while its crescent thins as the planet aligns more closely with the Earth' sun line of sight. The next planet to spot is Saturn, the famed Lord of the Rings. To find it, simply look toward Venus and extend an imaginary line straight downward. The first bright star like object you come across will be Saturn. Your first impression might be wow, it's so dim, but in reality, Saturn shines as brightly as a first magnitude star. However, when compared to Venus, which is a full six magnitudes brighter, Saturn appears significantly fainter, only about one slash two fifty as bright. Saturn is typically more radiant, but right now, its ring system is nearly edge on from Earth's perspective, contributing little reflected light. To catch a glimpse of the rings, now appearing as a thin bright light bisecting the planet's disc, you'll need a small telescope with at least thirty x magnification. During the first two weeks of February, watch as the gap between Venus and Saturn gradually widens. In the second half of the month, Saturn will become increasingly difficult to spot against the brightening evening twilight, eventually fading into the Sun's glare by month's end. Then there's Jupiter, unmistakable with its silvery white brilliants, though only one tenth as bright as Venus, the largest planet in our solar system appears high in the south at dusk, accompanied by two famous naked eye star clusters, the Pleiades and Hyades, as well as several bright winter stars. The most notable is the orange hued Aldeboran, positioned just below Jupiter. With binoculars or a small telescope, you can also spot Jupiter's for largest moons, first observed by Galileo in sixteen ten with his crude telescope. Make a special effort to view them on the night of February twenty fifth to twenty six, when three of them, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto form a strike kingly tight triangle on one side of the planet, while Io sits alone on the other. The triangle will appear tightest at twelve thirty nine am Eastern time on February twenty six, five thirty nine GMT or nine thirty nine pm Pacific time on February twenty fifth. Now, look halfway up in the eastern sky for orange yellow Mars, which blazes into view as night falls during February. It is accompanied by the twin stars of Gemini, Polyx, and Castor. This striking trio spends nearly the entire night, crossing the sky, forming a distinctive triangle that gradually shifts in size and shape as the month progresses. Mars was at opposition and closest to Earth in January. During February, as Earth moves ahead in its orbit, Mars lags behind, causing it to fade by about three quarters of a magnitude over the course of the month. The fifth and final planet is the smallest in our Solar system, Mercury. This rocky little world becomes visible during the final week of February, shining almost as brightly as Serious, the brightest star in the sky, at magnitude minus one point two. It will set just over an hour after the Sun on February twenty fourth. Remember when we said we'd come back to Saturn. Well, on February twenty fourth, Mercury will be in conjunction with Saturn, with the two planets appearing relatively close, just one point five degrees apart. This will be your chance to complete the set and say you've seen all five evening planets at once. Mercury will be positioned to Saturn's right and shining about eight times brighter. To spot them, you'll need a flat, unobstructed west southwest horizon and a very clear, transparent sky. Start looking about thirty minutes after sunset, scanning two fist wits at arm's length directly below Venus. We strongly recommend using binoculars to scan near the horizon. Mercury should be easy to pick up, and once you've found it, you should have no trouble seeing it with the naked eye. Saturn, however, is another story. While it's likely visible through binoculars, spotting it without optical aid will be a challenge, but if you succeed, you'll have seen all five and one. This round of planetary bingo, we've covered the five brightest planets visible to the naked eye, but two more can be spotted with good binoculars or a small telescope. A star chart or atlas will help pinpoint their exact locations in the sky. Urinus can sometimes be spotted with the naked eye by those with excellent eyesight, a clear, dark sky, and prior knowledge of where to look. At its brightest, it shines at magnitude plus five point six and is easily identifiable with good binoculars. A small telescope may reveal its tiny greenish disc. Finally, we come to the most distant of the eight classical planets, Neptune. It will spend all of twenty twenty five in the constellation Pisces at its peak magnitude of plus seven point eight. This bluishued world is visible only with good binoculars or a telescope. Try spotting it on the evening of February first, when it appears near a brilliant Venus and a waxing crescent moon. Later in the month, it feeds into the bright evening twilight as it approaches conjunction with the Sun. On March twentieth, Astronomy Day with Steve and Helene Space Space Science and. Astronomy, and thanks for staying with us for the first show in February twenty twenty five, it looks like this year is going to fly by faster than twenty twenty four. Did what do you think? Hell, it sure feels that way. I mean, January's just gone. Stop the world human I want to get off, ha ha, No chance, halle. We ride this one all the way to the end well, which, by staggering coincidence, is about now. So it's goodbye, Oh Sandy. A little fulllorn there Halle. But it's just for another. Week and listeners can enjoy my cousin Anna doing astronomy daily weekdays until we are back next Monday. Oh that busy, busy girl unstoppable. Oh that's for sure. Anyway, we'll see you all next week. Bye day the podcast, I mean. Your host, Steve Dunklin. H