Highlights:
- SpaceX's Falcon 9 Launch Attempt: Catch up on SpaceX's latest efforts as they prepare for a second attempt to launch a new Falcon 9 booster, designated B1095. This mission aims to deliver 23 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit, marking another significant milestone in SpaceX's launch capabilities.
- Asteroid 2025 KF's Close Approach: Learn about the house-sized asteroid 2025 KF making a close pass to Earth, coming within just 71,700 miles of our planet. While there's no danger, this encounter provides an opportunity to discuss the challenges of asteroid detection and monitoring.
- Challenges in Predicting Solar Storms: Explore the critical issues surrounding solar storm predictions. Despite advances in space weather forecasting, scientists struggle to determine the magnetic orientation of incoming storms until they are nearly upon us, posing risks to our technology-dependent society.
- New Insights on Ceres: Delve into exciting new research suggesting that Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt, may be hiding a frozen ocean beneath its surface. This discovery could reshape our understanding of this dwarf planet and its potential for future exploration.
- Terraforming Mars Feasibility: Discover fresh research indicating that terraforming Mars might be more achievable than previously thought. With advances in climate modeling and space technology, the possibility of transforming the Red Planet into a habitable world is now on the horizon.
For more cosmic updates, visit our website at astronomydaily.io. Join our community on social media by searching for #AstroDailyPod on Facebook, X, YouTubeMusic, 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 - SpaceX's Falcon 9 launch attempt
10:00 - Asteroid 2025 KF's close approach
15:30 - Challenges in predicting solar storms
20:00 - New insights on Ceres
25:00 - Terraforming Mars feasibility
✍️ Episode References
SpaceX Updates
[SpaceX](https://www.spacex.com/)
NASA Asteroid Monitoring
[NASA Near Earth Object Program](https://cneos.jpl.nasa.gov/)
Solar Storm Research
[NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory](https://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/)
Ceres Research
[NASA Dawn Mission](https://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/)
Terraforming Mars Study
[Nature Astronomy](https://www.nature.com/natureastronomy/)
Astronomy Daily
[Astronomy Daily](http://www.astronomydaily.io/)
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00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 Anna: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your source for
00:00:02 --> 00:00:04 the latest developments in space exploration
00:00:04 --> 00:00:07 and astronomical discoveries. I'm your host,
00:00:07 --> 00:00:09 Anna, and today we're diving into some
00:00:09 --> 00:00:11 fascinating stories from across the cosmos.
00:00:12 --> 00:00:14 The universe never ceases to amaze us, and
00:00:14 --> 00:00:16 today is no exception. We've got a packed
00:00:16 --> 00:00:19 episode covering everything from activities
00:00:19 --> 00:00:21 in our own backyard to discoveries that could
00:00:21 --> 00:00:23 reshape our understanding of distant worlds.
00:00:24 --> 00:00:26 First up, we'll look at SpaceX's second
00:00:26 --> 00:00:29 attempt to launch a brand new Falcon 9
00:00:29 --> 00:00:31 booster after an abort halted its first try.
00:00:32 --> 00:00:34 This Starlink delivery mission represents the
00:00:34 --> 00:00:36 fourth new booster brought into service by
00:00:36 --> 00:00:38 SpaceX this year alone, highlighting the
00:00:38 --> 00:00:41 company's continued expansion of its launch
00:00:41 --> 00:00:44 capabilities. Then we'll turn
00:00:44 --> 00:00:46 our attention to a house sized visitor making
00:00:46 --> 00:00:47 a surprisingly close approach to Earth.
00:00:48 --> 00:00:51 Asteroid 2025 KF will pass between our
00:00:51 --> 00:00:53 planet and the Moon on May 21,
00:00:54 --> 00:00:57 coming within just 71 miles
00:00:57 --> 00:01:00 of Earth's surface. While there's absolutely
00:01:00 --> 00:01:02 no danger to us, it provides an interesting
00:01:02 --> 00:01:05 opportunity to discuss these rocky wanderers
00:01:05 --> 00:01:08 and how astronomers track them. Our third
00:01:08 --> 00:01:10 story tackles a critical challenge facing our
00:01:10 --> 00:01:13 technological the limitations in
00:01:13 --> 00:01:15 predicting solar storms. Despite significant
00:01:16 --> 00:01:18 advances in space weather forecasting,
00:01:18 --> 00:01:20 scientists are still struggling to determine
00:01:20 --> 00:01:22 the magnetic orientation of incoming solar
00:01:22 --> 00:01:24 storms until they're practically on our
00:01:24 --> 00:01:27 doorstep. We'll explore why this matters and
00:01:27 --> 00:01:29 what's being done to improve our early
00:01:29 --> 00:01:32 warning systems. From there, we'll
00:01:32 --> 00:01:34 journey to the asteroid belt, where exciting
00:01:34 --> 00:01:37 new research suggests that Ceres, the largest
00:01:37 --> 00:01:39 object between Mars and Jupiter, may be
00:01:39 --> 00:01:42 hiding a frozen ocean. And finally, we'll
00:01:42 --> 00:01:44 examine fresh research suggesting that
00:01:44 --> 00:01:46 terraforming Mars, transforming the red
00:01:46 --> 00:01:48 planet to make it habitable for Earth life,
00:01:48 --> 00:01:50 might be more feasible than we thought.
00:01:51 --> 00:01:54 So let's blast off into today's cosmic news
00:01:54 --> 00:01:56 roundup, starting with SpaceX's latest launch
00:01:56 --> 00:01:59 attempt. SpaceX is making another attempt
00:01:59 --> 00:02:02 today to launch a brand new Falcon 9 booster
00:02:02 --> 00:02:05 after an unexpected abort halted yesterday's
00:02:05 --> 00:02:07 countdown. The new booster, designated
00:02:07 --> 00:02:10 B1095, was scheduled for
00:02:10 --> 00:02:13 liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape
00:02:13 --> 00:02:16 Canaveral at 11:19pm Eastern
00:02:16 --> 00:02:19 Daylight Time, carrying 23 Starlink
00:02:19 --> 00:02:21 satellites destined for low Earth orbit.
00:02:21 --> 00:02:23 Monday's launch attempt was automatically
00:02:23 --> 00:02:26 aborted with just under 2.5 minutes left in
00:02:26 --> 00:02:28 the countdown. Following the scrub,
00:02:28 --> 00:02:31 SpaceX engineers lowered the rocket into a
00:02:31 --> 00:02:33 horizontal position to address the issue.
00:02:33 --> 00:02:35 Though the company didn't publicly specify
00:02:35 --> 00:02:38 what caused the automatic abort, they did
00:02:38 --> 00:02:40 confirm that both the vehicle and its payload
00:02:40 --> 00:02:43 remained in good condition. By Late Tuesday
00:02:43 --> 00:02:45 afternoon, B1095 was back in its vertical
00:02:45 --> 00:02:48 position at the launch pad. Weather
00:02:48 --> 00:02:50 conditions looked extremely favorable for the
00:02:50 --> 00:02:52 rescheduled launch, with meteorologists from
00:02:52 --> 00:02:55 the U.S. space Force forecasting a 95%
00:02:55 --> 00:02:57 chance of acceptable conditions during
00:02:57 --> 00:03:00 tonight's brief launch window. Their only
00:03:00 --> 00:03:03 slight concern was the possibility of cumulus
00:03:03 --> 00:03:05 cloud formation that could violate launch
00:03:05 --> 00:03:07 criteria. This mission is
00:03:07 --> 00:03:10 particularly notable as it marks the fourth
00:03:10 --> 00:03:12 time this year that SpaceX has brought a
00:03:12 --> 00:03:14 brand new Falcon 9 booster into service.
00:03:15 --> 00:03:17 The company currently maintains 18 other
00:03:17 --> 00:03:20 active boosters in its fleet, though one of
00:03:20 --> 00:03:23 them, B1072, has only flown
00:03:23 --> 00:03:25 once as a Falcon Heavy side booster during
00:03:25 --> 00:03:27 last month's GOES U weather satellite launch.
00:03:28 --> 00:03:31 The Falcon 9's payload fairing contains 23
00:03:31 --> 00:03:33 Starlink satellites, with 13 of them
00:03:33 --> 00:03:35 specifically equipped for direct to cell
00:03:35 --> 00:03:38 phone communications capabilities. This
00:03:38 --> 00:03:40 represents an important expansion of
00:03:40 --> 00:03:41 Starlink's service offerings beyond
00:03:41 --> 00:03:44 traditional satellite Internet. As with most
00:03:44 --> 00:03:47 SpaceX launches these days, the plan includes
00:03:47 --> 00:03:48 a landing attempt for the first stage
00:03:48 --> 00:03:51 booster. Approximately eight minutes after
00:03:51 --> 00:03:54 liftoff, B1095 will target a
00:03:54 --> 00:03:56 precision touchdown on SpaceX's drone ship.
00:03:56 --> 00:03:59 Just read the instructions stationed in the
00:03:59 --> 00:04:02 Atlantic Ocean. If successful, this will
00:04:02 --> 00:04:04 mark the 121st landing on this particular
00:04:04 --> 00:04:07 vessel and contribute to SpaceX's impressive
00:04:07 --> 00:04:10 tally of 449 booster landings to
00:04:10 --> 00:04:12 date. The deployment of the Starlink
00:04:12 --> 00:04:15 satellites is scheduled to occur about 65
00:04:15 --> 00:04:17 minutes after launch. Once the second stage
00:04:17 --> 00:04:20 reaches the proper orbit. These new additions
00:04:20 --> 00:04:22 will join the growing Starlink constellation
00:04:23 --> 00:04:25 that now numbers in the thousands, providing
00:04:25 --> 00:04:27 Internet coverage to users around the globe.
00:04:29 --> 00:04:31 Next up, a little warning, but there's no
00:04:31 --> 00:04:34 need to panic. Our solar system is serving up
00:04:34 --> 00:04:36 another close cosmic encounter this week. A
00:04:36 --> 00:04:38 as astronomers have just spotted a house
00:04:38 --> 00:04:41 sized asteroid on track to zip past Earth
00:04:41 --> 00:04:43 tomorrow at an uncomfortably close distance.
00:04:43 --> 00:04:46 This newly discovered space rock, designated
00:04:46 --> 00:04:49 2025 KF will pass between Earth and
00:04:49 --> 00:04:52 the Moon on May 21. The asteroid
00:04:52 --> 00:04:53 will make its closest approach at
00:04:53 --> 00:04:56 approximately 1:30pm Eastern Time,
00:04:56 --> 00:04:57 coming within a mere
00:04:57 --> 00:05:00 71 miles of our
00:05:00 --> 00:05:02 planet. To put that in perspective, that's
00:05:02 --> 00:05:04 less than one third the distance between
00:05:04 --> 00:05:07 Earth and and the moon. While that might
00:05:07 --> 00:05:10 sound alarmingly close, NASA has confirmed
00:05:10 --> 00:05:13 that the asteroid poses no danger to Earth.
00:05:13 --> 00:05:16 During its flyby. 2025 KF
00:05:16 --> 00:05:18 will be traveling at a blistering speed of
00:05:18 --> 00:05:21 nearly 26 miles per hour relative to
00:05:21 --> 00:05:24 Earth. Its trajectory will take it closest to
00:05:24 --> 00:05:26 our planet's south polar region before
00:05:26 --> 00:05:28 continuing along its solar orbit. The
00:05:28 --> 00:05:31 asteroid's estimated diameter ranges between
00:05:31 --> 00:05:34 32 and 75ft, making it
00:05:34 --> 00:05:37 roughly the size of a modest house. What's
00:05:37 --> 00:05:39 Particularly interesting about this asteroid
00:05:39 --> 00:05:41 is how recently it was discovered.
00:05:41 --> 00:05:44 Astronomers at the MAP project in Chile's
00:05:44 --> 00:05:47 Atacama Desert only spotted it on May 19,
00:05:47 --> 00:05:49 just two days before its close approach.
00:05:50 --> 00:05:52 This highlights one of the ongoing challenges
00:05:52 --> 00:05:54 in asteroid detection. Sometimes these
00:05:54 --> 00:05:56 smaller objects aren't identified until
00:05:56 --> 00:05:59 they're practically on our doorstep. Even if
00:05:59 --> 00:06:02 2025 kf were on a collision course with
00:06:02 --> 00:06:05 Earth, which it absolutely is not, its
00:06:05 --> 00:06:07 relatively small size means it would likely
00:06:07 --> 00:06:09 burn up in our atmosphere before reaching the
00:06:09 --> 00:06:12 ground. According to NASA, objects
00:06:12 --> 00:06:14 of this scale pose essentially zero threat to
00:06:14 --> 00:06:17 people on Earth. While close passes like this
00:06:17 --> 00:06:19 might seem rare, they're actually quite
00:06:19 --> 00:06:22 common. NASA has cataloged nearly
00:06:22 --> 00:06:24 40 near Earth asteroids since it
00:06:24 --> 00:06:27 began systematically monitoring the skies in
00:06:27 --> 00:06:30 1998. Of those, about
00:06:30 --> 00:06:32 4 are classified as
00:06:32 --> 00:06:34 potentially dangerous asteroids. Though
00:06:34 --> 00:06:37 scientists at the center for Near Earth
00:06:37 --> 00:06:39 Object Studies have reassured us that no
00:06:39 --> 00:06:42 asteroid capable of causing widespread damage
00:06:42 --> 00:06:44 is expected to strike Earth in the next
00:06:44 --> 00:06:47 century. For context, 2025
00:06:47 --> 00:06:49 KF's approach, while close, doesn't come
00:06:49 --> 00:06:52 anywhere near breaking records. The closest
00:06:52 --> 00:06:55 documented asteroid Flyby occurred in 2020,
00:06:55 --> 00:06:58 when a car sized asteroid passed just
00:06:58 --> 00:07:00 1 miles from Earth's
00:07:00 --> 00:07:03 surface. That's less than the distance from
00:07:03 --> 00:07:06 New York to Las Vegas. This latest
00:07:06 --> 00:07:09 cosmic visitor serves as another reminder of
00:07:09 --> 00:07:11 the dynamic nature of our solar system
00:07:11 --> 00:07:13 neighborhood. And the importance of continued
00:07:13 --> 00:07:16 asteroid monitoring efforts to keep track of
00:07:16 --> 00:07:17 our celestial surroundings.
00:07:18 --> 00:07:21 And another warning today. Imagine you're
00:07:21 --> 00:07:23 preparing for a major storm heading your way.
00:07:23 --> 00:07:26 But here's the catch. Meteorologists can tell
00:07:26 --> 00:07:28 you when it will arrive, but they won't know
00:07:28 --> 00:07:30 how severe it will be until it's practically
00:07:30 --> 00:07:32 on your doorstep. M that's essentially the
00:07:32 --> 00:07:34 challenge scientists face when it comes to
00:07:34 --> 00:07:37 predicting solar storms. And it's a problem
00:07:37 --> 00:07:39 with potentially massive implications for our
00:07:39 --> 00:07:42 technology dependent world. We've made
00:07:42 --> 00:07:44 remarkable progress in understanding space
00:07:44 --> 00:07:47 weather over the years. Scientists can now
00:07:47 --> 00:07:49 spot solar storm eons at their source, track
00:07:49 --> 00:07:52 their journey through space, and estimate
00:07:52 --> 00:07:54 when they'll reach Earth, Sometimes with up
00:07:54 --> 00:07:57 to 24 hours of advance notice. But
00:07:57 --> 00:07:59 there's one crucial piece of information that
00:07:59 --> 00:08:01 remains frustratingly elusive until the very
00:08:01 --> 00:08:04 last moments. The orientation of the
00:08:04 --> 00:08:06 storm's magnetic field, known as the BZ
00:08:06 --> 00:08:09 component. When a coronal mass
00:08:09 --> 00:08:12 ejection, or cme, blasts from the
00:08:12 --> 00:08:15 sun, it carries along plasma and magnetic
00:08:15 --> 00:08:17 fields. The orientation of these magnetic
00:08:17 --> 00:08:19 fields determines how strongly they'll
00:08:19 --> 00:08:22 interact with Earth's own magnetic shield. A
00:08:22 --> 00:08:24 southward oriented BZ connects more easily
00:08:24 --> 00:08:27 with Earth's field, allowing solar energy to
00:08:27 --> 00:08:29 pour in, which can supercharge Auroras at
00:08:29 --> 00:08:32 best or at worst disrupt satellites, radio
00:08:32 --> 00:08:35 communications, power grids, and GPS systems?
00:08:35 --> 00:08:37 A, northward oriented bz, meanwhile, might
00:08:37 --> 00:08:40 pass with minimal impact. The problem is that
00:08:40 --> 00:08:42 scientists currently can't determine this
00:08:42 --> 00:08:44 critical orientation until the storm is
00:08:44 --> 00:08:46 measured at what's called Lagrange Point 1,
00:08:47 --> 00:08:50 or L1, a position about a million
00:08:50 --> 00:08:52 miles from Earth in the direction of the Sun.
00:08:52 --> 00:08:54 At that point, we have just one or two hours
00:08:54 --> 00:08:57 of warning before potential impacts occur.
00:08:57 --> 00:09:00 Solar physicist Valentin Martinez Pillais
00:09:00 --> 00:09:03 puts it plainly. We need to start predicting
00:09:03 --> 00:09:06 what BZ is going to be as soon as the CME has
00:09:06 --> 00:09:08 occurred, not when we Measure it at L1, where
00:09:08 --> 00:09:11 we only have one or two hours warning. What
00:09:11 --> 00:09:13 makes this particularly concerning is that
00:09:13 --> 00:09:15 our vulnerability to space weather is
00:09:15 --> 00:09:18 actually increasing. The sun itself isn't
00:09:18 --> 00:09:20 changing its behavior. It's been firing off
00:09:20 --> 00:09:22 solar storms for billions of years. What's
00:09:22 --> 00:09:24 changed is our reliance on the very
00:09:24 --> 00:09:26 technologies most susceptible to these solar
00:09:26 --> 00:09:29 disruptions. Most of our current monitoring
00:09:29 --> 00:09:32 comes from a single vantage point, spacecraft
00:09:32 --> 00:09:34 positioned at that L1 point I mentioned.
00:09:35 --> 00:09:37 These missions, like NASA's ACE and Discover
00:09:37 --> 00:09:40 satellites, can detect solar wind properties
00:09:40 --> 00:09:42 and measure the all important BZ component,
00:09:42 --> 00:09:44 But only when the storm is already nearly
00:09:44 --> 00:09:47 upon us. To truly forecast the
00:09:47 --> 00:09:50 strength of a solar storm before it hits, we
00:09:50 --> 00:09:52 need earlier measurements from multiple
00:09:52 --> 00:09:55 angles. Ideally, scientists would position
00:09:55 --> 00:09:57 satellites at various Lagrange points around
00:09:57 --> 00:10:00 the Sun Earth system to observe these
00:10:00 --> 00:10:01 magnetic structures from different
00:10:01 --> 00:10:03 perspectives while they're still developing.
00:10:04 --> 00:10:07 According to Martinez Pillay, the models are
00:10:07 --> 00:10:08 there so we know the equation we have to
00:10:08 --> 00:10:10 solve, but we don't have good data.
00:10:11 --> 00:10:14 He predicts it could take about 50 years for
00:10:14 --> 00:10:16 space weather forecasting to reach the same
00:10:16 --> 00:10:18 accuracy and predictability as Earth weather
00:10:18 --> 00:10:21 predictions, assuming we make the necessary
00:10:21 --> 00:10:24 investments. But waiting half a century might
00:10:24 --> 00:10:27 be too late. While extreme solar storms, like
00:10:27 --> 00:10:30 the famous carrington event of 1859 are rare,
00:10:30 --> 00:10:33 they do happen. If a similar event struck
00:10:33 --> 00:10:35 today, it could cause trillions in damage
00:10:35 --> 00:10:38 globally. By disabling satellites, Knocking
00:10:38 --> 00:10:40 out power grids for weeks or months, and
00:10:40 --> 00:10:42 severely disrupting communications and
00:10:42 --> 00:10:45 aviation. We've already had at least one
00:10:45 --> 00:10:47 near miss in recent memory. In July
00:10:47 --> 00:10:50 2012, the sun fired off a colossal
00:10:50 --> 00:10:52 CME that would have caused devastating
00:10:52 --> 00:10:55 impacts, except it missed Earth's orbital
00:10:55 --> 00:10:57 position by just one week. As one
00:10:57 --> 00:11:00 researcher put it, if that eruption had
00:11:00 --> 00:11:03 happened just a week earlier, we would still
00:11:03 --> 00:11:05 be picking up the pieces technologically a
00:11:05 --> 00:11:08 year later. The stakes are high, and the
00:11:08 --> 00:11:10 scientific community is increasingly aware
00:11:10 --> 00:11:12 that expanding our space weather monitoring
00:11:12 --> 00:11:14 capabilities isn't just about Scientific
00:11:14 --> 00:11:17 curiosity. It's about protecting our modern
00:11:17 --> 00:11:19 technological infrastructure from one of
00:11:19 --> 00:11:22 nature's most powerful phenomena. Looking
00:11:22 --> 00:11:24 toward the future, the several promising
00:11:24 --> 00:11:26 developments may significantly advance our
00:11:26 --> 00:11:28 ability to predict and prepare for solar
00:11:28 --> 00:11:31 storms. One of the most anticipated
00:11:31 --> 00:11:34 projects is the European Space Agency's Vigil
00:11:34 --> 00:11:36 mission, Scheduled to launch in 2031.
00:11:37 --> 00:11:39 Vigil represents a, major breakthrough in our
00:11:39 --> 00:11:41 solar monitoring capabilities because of its
00:11:41 --> 00:11:44 unique vantage point. Unlike our current
00:11:44 --> 00:11:46 observatories that sit at Lagrange point 1
00:11:46 --> 00:11:49 directly between Earth and the Sun, Vigil
00:11:49 --> 00:11:51 will position itself at Lagrange.5, a
00:11:51 --> 00:11:54 stable orbital location that trails Earth in
00:11:54 --> 00:11:56 its orbit around the Sun. This sideways
00:11:56 --> 00:11:59 perspective will allow scientists to observe
00:11:59 --> 00:12:01 solar eruptions from an entirely different
00:12:01 --> 00:12:04 angle, providing crucial data about the
00:12:04 --> 00:12:07 shape, speed, and most importantly, the
00:12:07 --> 00:12:10 magnetic orientation of CMEs before they
00:12:10 --> 00:12:12 head our way from L5.
00:12:12 --> 00:12:15 Vigil could potentially give us up to a one
00:12:15 --> 00:12:17 week's advance warning about incoming solar
00:12:17 --> 00:12:20 storms and their magnetic properties, A
00:12:20 --> 00:12:22 massive improvement over our current one to
00:12:22 --> 00:12:25 two hour window. As Martinez Pilit
00:12:25 --> 00:12:28 noted, it's better than nothing. But
00:12:28 --> 00:12:30 the vision for comprehensive space weather
00:12:30 --> 00:12:33 forecasting Extends well beyond a single
00:12:33 --> 00:12:35 satellite. The ideal monitoring system would
00:12:35 --> 00:12:37 include spacecraft stationed at multiple
00:12:37 --> 00:12:40 Lagrange points. L1, L3,
00:12:41 --> 00:12:44 L4 and L5, creating a
00:12:44 --> 00:12:46 network of sentinels watching the sun from
00:12:46 --> 00:12:48 all angles. This distributed approach would
00:12:48 --> 00:12:51 provide continuous observation of solar
00:12:51 --> 00:12:53 activity regardless of which side of the sun
00:12:53 --> 00:12:56 is facing Earth. While m establishing such
00:12:56 --> 00:12:57 a network would require significant
00:12:58 --> 00:13:00 international cooperation and investment, the
00:13:00 --> 00:13:02 technology to build it exists today.
00:13:03 --> 00:13:05 What's lacking is the prioritization and
00:13:05 --> 00:13:08 funding that matches the actual risk these
00:13:08 --> 00:13:10 solar events pose to our global
00:13:10 --> 00:13:13 infrastructure. The vulnerability of our
00:13:13 --> 00:13:15 modern world to severe space weather can't be
00:13:15 --> 00:13:17 overstated. A direct hit from a, Carrington
00:13:17 --> 00:13:19 level event could disable satellites
00:13:19 --> 00:13:22 controlling everything from GPS navigation to
00:13:22 --> 00:13:25 telecommunications. Power grids across
00:13:25 --> 00:13:27 continents could collapse as geomagnetically
00:13:27 --> 00:13:29 induced currents overwhelm transformers.
00:13:30 --> 00:13:32 Air travel would be disrupted as both
00:13:32 --> 00:13:34 communications and navigation systems fail.
00:13:35 --> 00:13:38 Banking systems, Internet infrastructure and
00:13:38 --> 00:13:41 essential services all depend on technologies
00:13:41 --> 00:13:43 susceptible to space weather effects.
00:13:44 --> 00:13:46 The economic impact of such an event has been
00:13:46 --> 00:13:48 estimated in the trillions of dollars,
00:13:49 --> 00:13:51 potentially exceeding the damage from the
00:13:51 --> 00:13:53 most severe natural disasters or pandemics.
00:13:54 --> 00:13:56 Unlike earthquakes or hurricanes that affect
00:13:56 --> 00:13:58 specific regions, A, major solar storm would
00:13:58 --> 00:14:01 impact entire hemispheres simultaneously.
00:14:02 --> 00:14:04 What makes this risk particularly concerning
00:14:04 --> 00:14:06 is that our historical record of solar
00:14:06 --> 00:14:09 activity is relatively short. The
00:14:09 --> 00:14:11 Carrington event of 1859 remains our
00:14:11 --> 00:14:14 benchmark for extreme solar storms. But the
00:14:14 --> 00:14:16 sun has likely produced even more powerful
00:14:16 --> 00:14:18 eruptions over its billions of years.
00:14:19 --> 00:14:22 We m simply don't know how bad it could get.
00:14:22 --> 00:14:25 Space weather scientists frequently remind us
00:14:25 --> 00:14:27 that the question isn't if another extreme
00:14:27 --> 00:14:30 solar storm will hit Earth, but when. The
00:14:30 --> 00:14:32 probability of a Carrington Level event
00:14:32 --> 00:14:34 occurring in the next decade is estimated
00:14:34 --> 00:14:37 between 1 and 2%, while the chance of one
00:14:37 --> 00:14:39 hitting in the next century approaches
00:14:39 --> 00:14:41 certainty, these aren't comfortable odds when
00:14:41 --> 00:14:43 weighed against the potential consequences.
00:14:44 --> 00:14:46 The good news is that with proper monitoring
00:14:46 --> 00:14:48 and warning systems, we could take protective
00:14:48 --> 00:14:50 measures. Satellites could be put into safe
00:14:50 --> 00:14:53 modes, power grid operators could implement
00:14:53 --> 00:14:56 load balancing to prevent cascading failures,
00:14:56 --> 00:14:58 and critical systems could be temporarily
00:14:58 --> 00:15:01 isolated or hardened against electromagnetic
00:15:01 --> 00:15:03 effects. But these mitigations depend
00:15:03 --> 00:15:06 entirely on having adequate warning time
00:15:06 --> 00:15:08 precisely what current systems can't provide.
00:15:09 --> 00:15:11 As we continue developing our technological
00:15:11 --> 00:15:14 civilization, expanding our space weather
00:15:14 --> 00:15:16 forecasting capabilities isn't just prudent
00:15:16 --> 00:15:18 it's essential for protecting the
00:15:18 --> 00:15:21 infrastructure that underpins modern society.
00:15:22 --> 00:15:24 M Moving on, let's take a look at a secret
00:15:24 --> 00:15:26 that's been uncovered in our own backyard.
00:15:26 --> 00:15:29 Tucked between Mars and Jupiter, the asteroid
00:15:29 --> 00:15:32 belt's largest resident has been hiding a
00:15:32 --> 00:15:35 fascinating secret. Ceres, a dwarf
00:15:35 --> 00:15:37 planet first discovered in 1801, may
00:15:37 --> 00:15:40 be far more watery than scientists have
00:15:40 --> 00:15:42 believed for centuries. According to
00:15:42 --> 00:15:44 groundbreaking research from Purdue
00:15:44 --> 00:15:46 University and NASA's Jet Propulsion
00:15:46 --> 00:15:48 Laboratory, this seemingly dry, cratered
00:15:48 --> 00:15:51 world might actually be a frozen ocean planet
00:15:51 --> 00:15:54 with an ice rich composition that rewrites
00:15:54 --> 00:15:56 our understanding of its formation and
00:15:56 --> 00:15:58 evolution. For decades, the
00:15:58 --> 00:16:00 scientific consensus held that Ceres was
00:16:00 --> 00:16:03 predominantly rocky and with ice making up
00:16:03 --> 00:16:06 less than 30% of its mass. But this
00:16:06 --> 00:16:08 new study, published in Nature Astronomy,
00:16:08 --> 00:16:10 proposes a dramatically different picture,
00:16:11 --> 00:16:13 suggesting that up to 90% of Ceres outer
00:16:13 --> 00:16:15 layers could be composed of ice.
00:16:16 --> 00:16:18 We think that there's lots of water ice near
00:16:18 --> 00:16:21 Ceres surface and that it gets gradually less
00:16:21 --> 00:16:24 icy as you go deeper and deeper, explained
00:16:24 --> 00:16:26 assistant professor Mike Sorry, who co led
00:16:26 --> 00:16:29 the research with PhD student Ian Pamerlo.
00:16:30 --> 00:16:32 Their computer simulations tested how Ceres
00:16:32 --> 00:16:35 surface has evolved over billions of years,
00:16:35 --> 00:16:38 revealing unexpected findings about the dwarf
00:16:38 --> 00:16:41 planet's composition and behavior. The key
00:16:41 --> 00:16:43 insight came from studying Ceres craters.
00:16:43 --> 00:16:46 Scientists previously believed that if Ceres
00:16:46 --> 00:16:48 had a high ice content, its craters would
00:16:48 --> 00:16:50 quickly deform. Behaving like honey or
00:16:50 --> 00:16:53 flowing glaciers since NASA's dawn mission
00:16:53 --> 00:16:55 observed many well preserved deep craters,
00:16:56 --> 00:16:58 researchers initially concluded Ceres
00:16:58 --> 00:17:00 couldn't be very icy. But the Purdue team
00:17:00 --> 00:17:03 discovered something surprising. When ice is
00:17:03 --> 00:17:05 mixed with even small amounts of rock, it
00:17:05 --> 00:17:07 behaves quite differently than pure ice.
00:17:08 --> 00:17:10 Even solids will flow over long timescales,
00:17:10 --> 00:17:13 Pamerlo noted. Ice flows more readily than
00:17:13 --> 00:17:16 rock. Craters have deep bowls, which produce
00:17:16 --> 00:17:18 High stresses that then relax to a lower
00:17:18 --> 00:17:20 stress state, resulting in a shallower bowl
00:17:20 --> 00:17:23 via solid state flow. Their models
00:17:23 --> 00:17:26 revealed that a gradational crust with higher
00:17:26 --> 00:17:28 ice concentration near the surface, gradually
00:17:28 --> 00:17:31 decreasing with depth, could maintain crater
00:17:31 --> 00:17:32 shapes for billions of years without
00:17:33 --> 00:17:35 significant deformation. This structure
00:17:35 --> 00:17:37 perfectly explains what the dawn mission
00:17:37 --> 00:17:40 observed during its exploration of Ceres
00:17:40 --> 00:17:43 between 2015 and 2018. The
00:17:43 --> 00:17:45 implications are profound. Rather than being
00:17:45 --> 00:17:48 just another large asteroid, Ceres, Ceres now
00:17:48 --> 00:17:50 appears to be more similar to the ocean moons
00:17:50 --> 00:17:52 of the outer solar system like Europa and
00:17:52 --> 00:17:54 Enceladus, except with a muddier,
00:17:54 --> 00:17:57 dirtier composition. The key
00:17:57 --> 00:18:00 difference is that Ceres ocean has likely
00:18:00 --> 00:18:03 completely frozen over time, preserving a
00:18:03 --> 00:18:05 record of its aquatic past in its icy shell.
00:18:06 --> 00:18:08 Perhaps most exciting is what this means for
00:18:08 --> 00:18:10 future exploration. At roughly
00:18:10 --> 00:18:12 950 kilometers in diameter,
00:18:13 --> 00:18:15 Ceres is substantial enough to have developed
00:18:15 --> 00:18:17 many features of larger planetary bodies,
00:18:17 --> 00:18:20 including craters, volcanoes and landslides.
00:18:21 --> 00:18:24 As Sory enthusiastically noted. To me, the
00:18:24 --> 00:18:26 exciting part of all this, if we're right, is
00:18:26 --> 00:18:27 that we have a frozen ocean world pretty
00:18:27 --> 00:18:30 close to Earth. Ceres may be a valuable point
00:18:30 --> 00:18:32 of comparison for the ocean Hosting icy moons
00:18:32 --> 00:18:35 of the outer solar system. Ceres,
00:18:35 --> 00:18:37 we think, is therefore the most accessible
00:18:37 --> 00:18:40 icy world in the universe. That makes it a
00:18:40 --> 00:18:42 great target for future spacecraft missions.
00:18:43 --> 00:18:46 Those bright enigmatic spots on Ceres surface
00:18:46 --> 00:18:47 that puzzled astronomers when first observed
00:18:47 --> 00:18:50 by dawn. They're likely remnants of that
00:18:50 --> 00:18:52 ancient ocean materials erupted onto the
00:18:52 --> 00:18:55 surface after freezing. These regions could
00:18:55 --> 00:18:57 offer incredible opportunities for future
00:18:57 --> 00:18:59 missions to collect samples from what was
00:18:59 --> 00:19:02 once a living ocean. All without traveling
00:19:02 --> 00:19:04 to the far reaches of the outer solar system.
00:19:05 --> 00:19:07 As we continue mapping water resources
00:19:07 --> 00:19:10 throughout our solar system, Ceres stands out
00:19:10 --> 00:19:12 as a potential treasure hiding in plain
00:19:12 --> 00:19:15 sight. An ancient ocean world disguised as a
00:19:15 --> 00:19:18 humble asteroid waiting just beyond Mars for
00:19:18 --> 00:19:21 our return. The story of Ceres is just
00:19:21 --> 00:19:23 one chapter in our solar system's
00:19:23 --> 00:19:26 surprisingly wet narrative. While Earth
00:19:26 --> 00:19:28 has long been considered the water world of
00:19:28 --> 00:19:30 our planetary neighborhood, we're discovering
00:19:30 --> 00:19:33 that H2O is far more common throughout space
00:19:33 --> 00:19:35 than we once believed. It just takes
00:19:35 --> 00:19:37 different forms depending on distance from
00:19:37 --> 00:19:40 the sun and local conditions. Take
00:19:40 --> 00:19:42 Europa, one of Jupiter's four large
00:19:42 --> 00:19:45 Galilean moons. This ice covered world
00:19:45 --> 00:19:48 harbors an ocean containing an estimated two
00:19:48 --> 00:19:50 to three times the volume of all Earth's
00:19:50 --> 00:19:52 oceans combined. Unlike Ceres
00:19:53 --> 00:19:55 Frozen waters Europa's subsurface ocean
00:19:55 --> 00:19:58 remains liquid today. Heated by tidal forces
00:19:58 --> 00:20:00 From Jupiter's massive gravitational pull.
00:20:01 --> 00:20:03 Its smooth, cracked surface betrays the
00:20:03 --> 00:20:05 movement of liquid water beneath, making it
00:20:05 --> 00:20:08 one of astrobiologists prime targets in the
00:20:08 --> 00:20:10 search for Extraterrestrial life.
00:20:11 --> 00:20:13 Saturn's moon Enceladus presents an even more
00:20:13 --> 00:20:16 dramatic case, actively venting water into
00:20:16 --> 00:20:18 space through geysers erupting from its south
00:20:18 --> 00:20:21 pole. The Cassini spacecraft flew directly
00:20:21 --> 00:20:23 through these plumes, detecting not just
00:20:23 --> 00:20:26 water, but also salts, ice grains, and
00:20:26 --> 00:20:28 organic molecules. Even more exciting was the
00:20:28 --> 00:20:31 discovery of hydrothermal vents on Enceladus
00:20:31 --> 00:20:33 ocean floor, environments that on Earth teem
00:20:33 --> 00:20:35 with life despite complete darkness.
00:20:36 --> 00:20:38 Ganymede, Jupiter's largest moon and the
00:20:38 --> 00:20:40 largest in our solar system, possesses a
00:20:40 --> 00:20:42 subsurface ocean estimated to be around
00:20:42 --> 00:20:45 100km deep, with several layers of
00:20:45 --> 00:20:47 ice and liquid water arranged like a cosmic
00:20:47 --> 00:20:50 onion. Similarly, Callisto may host an
00:20:50 --> 00:20:53 ocean up to 150km thick beneath its
00:20:53 --> 00:20:56 heavily cratered surface. Even
00:20:56 --> 00:20:59 Titan, Saturn's haze shrouded moon, has a
00:20:59 --> 00:21:01 unique water story. Its surface features
00:21:01 --> 00:21:04 lakes and seas not of water, but of liquid
00:21:04 --> 00:21:06 methane and ethane. Yet beneath this alien
00:21:06 --> 00:21:09 landscape lies a hidden subsurface water
00:21:09 --> 00:21:12 ocean, likely 50 to 100 kilometers deep.
00:21:12 --> 00:21:14 Further out, Neptune's moon Triton shows
00:21:14 --> 00:21:16 evidence of subsurface liquid water mixed
00:21:16 --> 00:21:19 with ammonia, which acts as antifreeze in the
00:21:19 --> 00:21:21 frigid outer solar system. Pluto, too, may
00:21:21 --> 00:21:24 Harbor a 100 kilometer thick subsurface ocean
00:21:24 --> 00:21:26 kept liquid through insulation from gas
00:21:26 --> 00:21:29 hydrates and internal heat from radioactive
00:21:29 --> 00:21:32 decay. What makes Ceres unique among these
00:21:32 --> 00:21:34 worlds is its location. While Europa,
00:21:34 --> 00:21:37 Enceladus, and the others orbit gas giants in
00:21:37 --> 00:21:39 the outer solar system, Ceres sits relatively
00:21:39 --> 00:21:42 close to Earth in the asteroid belt. This
00:21:42 --> 00:21:44 proximity makes it, as Mike sorry put it, the
00:21:44 --> 00:21:46 most accessible icy world in the universe.
00:21:47 --> 00:21:49 The widespread presence of water throughout
00:21:49 --> 00:21:52 our solar system reshapes our understanding
00:21:52 --> 00:21:55 of planetary formation and evolution. It
00:21:55 --> 00:21:57 suggests water rich bodies may have been
00:21:57 --> 00:22:00 common building blocks of planets and raises
00:22:00 --> 00:22:02 intriguing questions about where Earth's own
00:22:02 --> 00:22:05 water came from. Did comets, asteroids,
00:22:05 --> 00:22:07 or Ceres like objects deliver it? More
00:22:07 --> 00:22:10 importantly, these discoveries expand our
00:22:10 --> 00:22:13 conception of habitable environments. If
00:22:13 --> 00:22:15 liquid water can exist in so many places
00:22:15 --> 00:22:18 beyond Earth, from the asteroid belt to the
00:22:18 --> 00:22:20 frigid outer reaches of our solar system,
00:22:20 --> 00:22:22 perhaps life, too might be more adaptable and
00:22:22 --> 00:22:24 widespread than we've imagined.
00:22:25 --> 00:22:28 Finally today, a topic our listeners raise
00:22:28 --> 00:22:31 with us on a regular basis. Mars,
00:22:31 --> 00:22:33 the Red planet that has captivated human
00:22:33 --> 00:22:36 imagination for centuries, might be closer to
00:22:36 --> 00:22:38 becoming a second home for humanity than we
00:22:38 --> 00:22:41 previously thought. New research
00:22:41 --> 00:22:43 published in Nature Astronomy suggests that
00:22:43 --> 00:22:45 terraforming Mars, transforming it into a
00:22:45 --> 00:22:48 habitable world, could be more feasible than
00:22:48 --> 00:22:51 earlier studies indicated. Led by
00:22:51 --> 00:22:53 Erica Alden Di Benedictis from Pioneer
00:22:53 --> 00:22:55 Research Labs, the study highlights three key
00:22:55 --> 00:22:58 advances that have changed the Terraforming
00:22:59 --> 00:23:01 dramatically improved climate modeling and
00:23:01 --> 00:23:03 engineering techniques, breakthroughs in
00:23:03 --> 00:23:06 understanding extremophilic organisms and
00:23:06 --> 00:23:08 synthetic biology. And significant
00:23:08 --> 00:23:10 developments in space technology,
00:23:10 --> 00:23:13 particularly SpaceX's Starship, which could
00:23:13 --> 00:23:16 potentially reduce payload costs to Mars by a
00:23:16 --> 00:23:19 factor of 1000. What's particularly
00:23:19 --> 00:23:21 interesting is that comprehensive research on
00:23:21 --> 00:23:24 Mars terraforming feasibility hadn't been
00:23:24 --> 00:23:26 substantially updated since 1991.
00:23:27 --> 00:23:29 This new paper outlines a three phase
00:23:29 --> 00:23:31 approach that could potentially transform the
00:23:31 --> 00:23:34 red planet over time. In the short term,
00:23:34 --> 00:23:36 we now know Mars possesses sufficient ice
00:23:36 --> 00:23:38 reserves and soil nutrients to potentially
00:23:38 --> 00:23:40 support life. If temperatures could rise by
00:23:40 --> 00:23:43 at least 30 degrees Celsius, new warming
00:23:43 --> 00:23:45 methods look promising, including solar
00:23:45 --> 00:23:48 mirrors, engineered aerosols and surface
00:23:48 --> 00:23:50 modifications using materials like silica
00:23:50 --> 00:23:52 aerogels. These appear more efficient than
00:23:52 --> 00:23:55 earlier proposals and combined with our
00:23:55 --> 00:23:57 increased launch capacity, could potentially
00:23:57 --> 00:23:59 warm Mars enough within this century to
00:23:59 --> 00:24:01 permit liquid water and support the first
00:24:01 --> 00:24:04 extremophilic organisms. The mid
00:24:04 --> 00:24:06 to long term vision would involve introducing
00:24:06 --> 00:24:08 pioneer species engineered to withstand
00:24:08 --> 00:24:11 Mars's unique low pressure,
00:24:11 --> 00:24:14 toxic oxychlorine salts, extreme temperature
00:24:14 --> 00:24:17 swings, intense radiation and scarce
00:24:17 --> 00:24:20 water. These hardy organisms would initiate
00:24:20 --> 00:24:22 ecological succession, gradually transforming
00:24:22 --> 00:24:24 the planet's chemistry and potentially
00:24:24 --> 00:24:27 beginning oxygen production. While initial
00:24:27 --> 00:24:29 human habitation would still require
00:24:29 --> 00:24:31 protective environments, the ultimate goal
00:24:31 --> 00:24:34 could be creating a 100 millibar oxygen
00:24:34 --> 00:24:36 atmosphere sufficient for humans to breathe
00:24:36 --> 00:24:38 outside without pressure suits. Most
00:24:38 --> 00:24:41 remarkably, this atmosphere could be created
00:24:41 --> 00:24:43 entirely from resources already present on
00:24:43 --> 00:24:46 Mars. This transformation would take hundreds
00:24:46 --> 00:24:48 of years, but the research suggests a
00:24:48 --> 00:24:50 sustainable, ecologically minded approach.
00:24:51 --> 00:24:53 Rather than diverting attention from Earth's
00:24:53 --> 00:24:56 environmental challenges, Mars terraforming
00:24:56 --> 00:24:58 research could provide valuable insights for
00:24:58 --> 00:25:00 planetary sustainability. Technologies
00:25:00 --> 00:25:02 developed for Mars, like desiccation
00:25:02 --> 00:25:05 resistant crops and improved ecosystem
00:25:05 --> 00:25:07 modeling, could benefit our home planet as
00:25:07 --> 00:25:10 well. Of m course, ethical questions abound,
00:25:11 --> 00:25:13 particularly regarding potential indigenous
00:25:13 --> 00:25:15 Martian life, which should be thoroughly
00:25:15 --> 00:25:17 investigated before any large scale
00:25:17 --> 00:25:19 terraforming begins. The researchers
00:25:19 --> 00:25:22 emphasize that Mars could serve as a crucial
00:25:22 --> 00:25:24 testbed for proving scientific theories about
00:25:24 --> 00:25:26 planetary engineering knowledge we might
00:25:26 --> 00:25:29 someday need to preserve Earth's habitability
00:25:29 --> 00:25:31 in the face of our own climate crisis.
00:25:31 --> 00:25:33 While full transformation would take
00:25:33 --> 00:25:36 centuries, the research suggests the first
00:25:36 --> 00:25:38 steps could begin sooner than many have
00:25:38 --> 00:25:41 assumed, marking the beginning of humanity's
00:25:41 --> 00:25:43 potential expansion beyond the blue
00:25:43 --> 00:25:44 boundaries of our homeworld.
00:25:46 --> 00:25:48 Well, what a journey through our cosmic
00:25:48 --> 00:25:49 neighborhood we've had today. From launch
00:25:49 --> 00:25:51 pads at Cape Canaveral to the distant
00:25:51 --> 00:25:53 possibility possibility of a green Mars, our
00:25:53 --> 00:25:56 solar system continues to reveal its secrets
00:25:56 --> 00:25:58 and possibilities. Each of these stories
00:25:58 --> 00:26:00 represents another piece in our expanding
00:26:00 --> 00:26:03 understanding of the solar system, A picture
00:26:03 --> 00:26:05 that grows more detailed, more surprising and
00:26:05 --> 00:26:08 more promising. With each new discovery.
00:26:09 --> 00:26:12 This has been Astronomy Daily. I'm M. Anna,
00:26:12 --> 00:26:14 and I hope you'll join me again tomorrow for
00:26:14 --> 00:26:16 our next journey through the cosmos. If you'd
00:26:16 --> 00:26:18 like to stay up to date with all the latest
00:26:18 --> 00:26:20 space and astronomy news, visit our
00:26:20 --> 00:26:23 website@astronomydaily.IO, where our
00:26:23 --> 00:26:25 constantly updating newsfeed brings you the
00:26:25 --> 00:26:27 universe in real time. Subscribe to the
00:26:27 --> 00:26:30 podcast on Apple podcasts, Spotify, and
00:26:30 --> 00:26:32 YouTubeMusic, or wherever you get your
00:26:32 --> 00:26:34 podcasts. And don't forget to follow us on
00:26:34 --> 00:26:37 social media. Just search for Astro Daily Pod
00:26:37 --> 00:26:39 on Facebook, X, YouTubeMusic, YouTubeMusic,
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00:26:42 --> 00:26:44 Until next time, keep looking up. The
00:26:44 --> 00:26:46 universe is an amazing place and and we're
00:26:46 --> 00:26:48 just beginning to understand it.