Highlights:
- The Return of Cosmos 482: Discover the fascinating history of the Soviet Cosmos 482 probe, which has been orbiting Earth for over 50 years. As it prepares to re-enter our atmosphere, learn about its remarkable journey and the legacy of the Venera program that aimed to explore Venus.
- China's Ambitious Venus Mission: Explore China's bold plans to sample Venus's toxic atmosphere between 2028 and 2035. This mission aims to investigate the extreme conditions on the planet and the potential for microbial life, challenging our understanding of planetary environments.
- The Search for Richie Planets: Get excited about the upcoming Nancy Chris Roman Space Telescope, set to revolutionize our understanding of rogue planets—those wandering worlds that don’t orbit stars. Learn how this mission will help uncover the mysteries of these elusive cosmic nomads.
- Ingenious Satellite Rescue: Hear about China's successful rescue mission of two lunar satellites using a gravity slingshot technique. This innovative approach showcases the creativity and problem-solving skills of space engineers in the face of challenges.
- Dark Energy Discoveries: Delve into groundbreaking findings from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument, suggesting that dark energy may not be constant. This revelation could challenge Einstein's theories and reshape our understanding of the universe's expansion.
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 - Update on the Cosmos 482 probe
10:00 - China's plans for Venus atmospheric sampling
15:30 - Richie planets and the Roman Space Telescope
20:00 - Satellite rescue mission using gravity slingshot
25:00 - Dark energy findings from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument
✍️ Episode References
Cosmos 482 Probe
[NASA](https://www.nasa.gov/)
China's Venus Mission
[China National Space Administration](http://www.cnsa.gov.cn/)
Nancy Chris Roman Space Telescope
[NASA Roman](https://roman.gsfc.nasa.gov/)
Satellite Rescue Mission
[China Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization](http://www.csu.edu.cn/)
Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument
[Argonne National Laboratory](https://www.anl.gov/)
Astronomy Daily
[Astronomy Daily](http://www.astronomydaily.io/)
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/astronomy-daily-exciting-space-discoveries-and-news--5648921/support.
00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 Anna: Welcome to a new episode of Astronomy Daily. I'm
00:00:02 --> 00:00:05 Anna, and today we're diving into some truly fascinating
00:00:05 --> 00:00:08 developments from across the cosmos. We have a packed
00:00:08 --> 00:00:11 show exploring everything from relics of the space race to cutting
00:00:11 --> 00:00:14 edge astronomical research. Coming up, we'll
00:00:14 --> 00:00:17 update you on a story I brought you last week as we track a, uh,
00:00:17 --> 00:00:20 Soviet Venus probe making its return to Earth
00:00:20 --> 00:00:22 after more than 50 years in orbit.
00:00:22 --> 00:00:25 Then we'll examine China's bold plan to sample
00:00:25 --> 00:00:28 Venus's toxic atmosphere. We'll also
00:00:28 --> 00:00:30 explore how the upcoming Roman Space Telescope will
00:00:30 --> 00:00:33 hunt for mysterious rogue planets wandering
00:00:33 --> 00:00:36 through our galaxy without a star to call home.
00:00:36 --> 00:00:39 Plus, we'll hear about an ingenious satellite rescue
00:00:39 --> 00:00:42 mission using gravity as a slingshot. And
00:00:42 --> 00:00:44 finally, look at new data that might challenge
00:00:44 --> 00:00:47 Einstein's theories about dark energy. It's an
00:00:47 --> 00:00:49 exciting day in space science, so let's get started.
00:00:51 --> 00:00:54 To kick things off, let's get an update. In
00:00:54 --> 00:00:57 the early 1970s, as the space race between the
00:00:57 --> 00:00:59 United States and Soviet Union was in full swing,
00:00:59 --> 00:01:02 the Soviets launched an ambitious mission to explore our
00:01:02 --> 00:01:05 nearest planetary neighbor. The Cosmos
00:01:05 --> 00:01:08 482 probe was designed to land on
00:01:08 --> 00:01:11 the inhospitable surface of Venus, protected by
00:01:11 --> 00:01:13 a 3.3-foot wide titanium shell lined with
00:01:13 --> 00:01:16 thermal insulation. Launched in
00:01:16 --> 00:01:19 1972, the mission unfortunately never
00:01:19 --> 00:01:21 reached its Venusian destination. A
00:01:21 --> 00:01:24 rocket anomaly during launch left the spacecraft
00:01:24 --> 00:01:27 stranded in an elliptical orbit around Earth,
00:01:27 --> 00:01:29 where it has remained for over five decades,
00:01:30 --> 00:01:33 silently circling our planet as a relic of early space
00:01:33 --> 00:01:36 exploration. That lengthy orbital
00:01:36 --> 00:01:38 journey appears to be coming to an end. The
00:01:38 --> 00:01:41 1 pound spacecraft is expected
00:01:41 --> 00:01:44 to re enter Earth's atmosphere shortly, with new
00:01:44 --> 00:01:45 predictions suggesting it would return around
00:01:45 --> 00:01:48 1:54am um, Eastern Time on May 10,
00:01:49 --> 00:01:52 though with a substantial margin of error of plus or
00:01:52 --> 00:01:54 minus nine hours due to its
00:01:54 --> 00:01:57 orbital path. Scientists calculated that the craft
00:01:57 --> 00:02:00 could re enter anywhere between 52 degrees north
00:02:00 --> 00:02:03 and 52 degrees south latitude, a
00:02:03 --> 00:02:06 zone covering most of Earth's surface. This
00:02:06 --> 00:02:09 created some uncertainty about exactly when and where the
00:02:09 --> 00:02:11 probe might return. However,
00:02:11 --> 00:02:14 experts stressed there was little cause for concern.
00:02:15 --> 00:02:18 Unlike other space debris that often breaks into multiple
00:02:18 --> 00:02:20 pieces, Kosmos 482
00:02:20 --> 00:02:23 was expected to remain largely intact during
00:02:23 --> 00:02:26 re entry, presenting a lower risk
00:02:26 --> 00:02:29 profile. As the Aerospace Corporation
00:02:29 --> 00:02:32 noted, while the risk is non zero, any
00:02:32 --> 00:02:35 one individual on Earth is far likelier to be struck by
00:02:35 --> 00:02:37 lightning than to be injured by Kosmos
00:02:37 --> 00:02:40 482. Astronomers and
00:02:40 --> 00:02:43 satellite trackers have been monitoring the probe for years.
00:02:44 --> 00:02:46 Astrophotographer Ralph Vanderburg of the Netherland
00:02:47 --> 00:02:49 has captured images of the craft for over a decade,
00:02:50 --> 00:02:52 recently photographing what some speculated might be a
00:02:52 --> 00:02:55 deployed parachute, though other experts
00:02:55 --> 00:02:57 attributed this to optical distortion.
00:02:57 --> 00:03:00 Cosmos 482 represents an important
00:03:00 --> 00:03:03 chapter in Venus exploration history. It
00:03:03 --> 00:03:06 was part of the Soviet Union's groundbreaking Venera
00:03:06 --> 00:03:09 program, which achieved remarkable firsts,
00:03:09 --> 00:03:12 including landing the first probe on Venus's surface in
00:03:12 --> 00:03:15 1970 with Venera 7, and later
00:03:15 --> 00:03:18 capturing the first color images from the planet's surface with
00:03:18 --> 00:03:20 Venera 13 in 1982.
00:03:21 --> 00:03:24 As this cold War artifact makes its final journey,
00:03:24 --> 00:03:27 it serves as a testament to the ambitious early days of
00:03:27 --> 00:03:30 planetary exploration and the technological
00:03:30 --> 00:03:33 challenges involved in venturing to our most extreme
00:03:33 --> 00:03:33 neighboring world.
00:03:35 --> 00:03:38 While on the subject of Venus, China
00:03:38 --> 00:03:41 has set its sights on one of the most hostile environments in our
00:03:41 --> 00:03:44 solar system with an ambitious new plan to collect samples from
00:03:44 --> 00:03:46 Venus's toxic atmosphere and return them to Earth.
00:03:47 --> 00:03:50 This joint initiative involves several major Chinese space
00:03:50 --> 00:03:53 organizations, including the Chinese Academy of
00:03:53 --> 00:03:55 Sciences, the China National Space Administration,
00:03:56 --> 00:03:58 and the China Manned Space Engineering Office.
00:03:59 --> 00:04:02 The mission is tentatively scheduled for launch somewhere
00:04:02 --> 00:04:04 between 2028 and
00:04:04 --> 00:04:07 2035, though specific
00:04:07 --> 00:04:09 details about the methodology remain limited.
00:04:10 --> 00:04:13 What we do know is that the mission faces extraordinary
00:04:13 --> 00:04:15 challenges and due to Venus's extreme environment,
00:04:16 --> 00:04:19 a planet where surface temperatures reach nearly 900
00:04:19 --> 00:04:22 degrees Fahrenheit, atmospheric pressure is
00:04:22 --> 00:04:25 90 times that of Earth, and the air consists
00:04:25 --> 00:04:28 primarily of carbon dioxide with clouds of sulfuric
00:04:28 --> 00:04:31 acid. Despite these hostile conditions,
00:04:31 --> 00:04:33 Venus continues to intrigue scientists,
00:04:33 --> 00:04:36 particularly after recent research suggested that microbial
00:04:36 --> 00:04:38 life could potentially exist there in some form.
00:04:39 --> 00:04:42 This Chinese mission aims to help settle that debate by bringing
00:04:42 --> 00:04:44 actual atmospheric samples back to Earth for
00:04:44 --> 00:04:47 detailed analysis. The mission
00:04:47 --> 00:04:50 will also investigate one of Venus's most puzzling
00:04:50 --> 00:04:53 features, how its clouds apparently absorb
00:04:53 --> 00:04:56 ultraviolet radiation when, according to
00:04:56 --> 00:04:59 our understanding of physics, they shouldn't be able to.
00:05:00 --> 00:05:02 This mysterious phenomenon has generated several
00:05:02 --> 00:05:05 scientific hypotheses that this mission could
00:05:05 --> 00:05:08 help confirm or rule out. Based on
00:05:08 --> 00:05:11 preliminary information, the ambitious undertaking
00:05:11 --> 00:05:14 will likely require at least two spacecraft working
00:05:14 --> 00:05:17 in tandem. One vessel would remain in orbit around
00:05:17 --> 00:05:19 Venus, while another would brave the planet's
00:05:19 --> 00:05:22 intensely stormy conditions, descending into the
00:05:22 --> 00:05:25 atmosphere to collect gases and particles before returning
00:05:25 --> 00:05:28 the samples to the orbiter. A similar
00:05:28 --> 00:05:30 concept was previously proposed by researchers
00:05:31 --> 00:05:33 at the Massachusetts Institute of technology in
00:05:33 --> 00:05:36 2022, though NASA ultimately didn't select
00:05:36 --> 00:05:39 it for development. That design featured a
00:05:39 --> 00:05:42 Teflon coated corrosion resistant balloon that
00:05:42 --> 00:05:45 would carry a collection canister through Venus's clouds
00:05:45 --> 00:05:48 before sending the samples back to orbit and eventually,
00:05:48 --> 00:05:51 Earth. The value of returning physical
00:05:51 --> 00:05:53 samples to Earth cannot be overstated.
00:05:53 --> 00:05:56 Laboratory facilities here would allow for far more
00:05:56 --> 00:05:59 sophisticated and comprehensive analysis than any
00:05:59 --> 00:06:01 spacecraft could perform on its own at Venus.
00:06:02 --> 00:06:05 However, the technical challenges of accomplishing this
00:06:05 --> 00:06:08 across tens of millions of kilometers presents
00:06:08 --> 00:06:10 extraordinary engineering hurdles.
00:06:11 --> 00:06:14 While several Russian probes did successfully land on
00:06:14 --> 00:06:17 Venus's surface in previous decades, they only
00:06:17 --> 00:06:20 survived for a couple of hours before succumbing to the extreme
00:06:20 --> 00:06:22 conditions, and none attempted a return
00:06:22 --> 00:06:25 journey. If China's mission succeeds,
00:06:25 --> 00:06:28 even with just a small sample of Venus's atmosphere,
00:06:28 --> 00:06:31 it would transform our understanding of Earth's nearest
00:06:31 --> 00:06:34 planetary neighbor and potentially provide insights
00:06:34 --> 00:06:36 into the evolution of our own world's climate and
00:06:36 --> 00:06:37 atmosphere.
00:06:38 --> 00:06:41 Next up, have you ever wondered about planets that don't
00:06:41 --> 00:06:44 orbit stars? Astronomers call these
00:06:44 --> 00:06:47 wandering worlds rogue planets, and they might
00:06:47 --> 00:06:49 be more common in our galaxy than we ever imagined.
00:06:50 --> 00:06:53 The upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is
00:06:53 --> 00:06:55 poised to revolutionize our understanding of these
00:06:55 --> 00:06:58 mysterious cosmic nomads. Over the
00:06:58 --> 00:07:01 past decade, scientists have speculated extensively
00:07:01 --> 00:07:04 about rogue planets in the Milky Way. These
00:07:04 --> 00:07:07 free floating worlds don't have a home star providing them
00:07:07 --> 00:07:09 warmth and light. Instead, they roam through
00:07:09 --> 00:07:12 the vastness of interstellar space, ejected
00:07:12 --> 00:07:15 from their original star systems with
00:07:15 --> 00:07:18 current technology, they're incredibly difficult to detect
00:07:18 --> 00:07:21 precisely because they don't shine or reflect light
00:07:21 --> 00:07:23 like planets orbiting stars.
00:07:24 --> 00:07:26 Astronomers estimate the Milky Way could contain millions
00:07:26 --> 00:07:29 or possibly billions of these planetary wanderers.
00:07:30 --> 00:07:33 If those numbers prove accurate, there could be more
00:07:33 --> 00:07:35 rogue planets in our galaxy than there are planets
00:07:35 --> 00:07:38 orbiting stars, a truly mind boggling
00:07:38 --> 00:07:41 possibility. Without the warming influence of
00:07:41 --> 00:07:44 a star, these worlds are likely frozen,
00:07:44 --> 00:07:46 icy, and seemingly inhospitable.
00:07:47 --> 00:07:50 The Roman Space Telescope will employ a specialized search
00:07:50 --> 00:07:52 called the Galactic Bulge Time Domain Survey
00:07:53 --> 00:07:56 to detect these elusive objects. Scientists expect
00:07:56 --> 00:07:58 this survey will help them find anywhere from several hundred
00:07:58 --> 00:08:01 to several thousand free floating planets,
00:08:01 --> 00:08:04 providing an unprecedented census of these mysterious
00:08:04 --> 00:08:07 worlds. Roman will use both the transit
00:08:07 --> 00:08:09 method and microlensing to spot these
00:08:09 --> 00:08:12 rogues. The transit method detects the dimming of
00:08:12 --> 00:08:14 light when one object passes in front of another.
00:08:15 --> 00:08:18 Microlensing, meanwhile, observes how gravity from
00:08:18 --> 00:08:21 a foreground object will warps the light from a background
00:08:21 --> 00:08:24 star, creating a distinctive pattern that can
00:08:24 --> 00:08:27 reveal even non luminous objects like rogue
00:08:27 --> 00:08:29 planets. What's particularly
00:08:29 --> 00:08:31 exciting is that Roman might help answer
00:08:31 --> 00:08:34 fundamental questions about how these planets
00:08:34 --> 00:08:37 form and get ejected from their original systems.
00:08:38 --> 00:08:41 The dynamics of early planetary systems are
00:08:41 --> 00:08:44 chaotic, with gravitational forces sometimes
00:08:44 --> 00:08:46 flinging newly formed planets out into interstellar
00:08:46 --> 00:08:49 space. By analyzing the mass
00:08:49 --> 00:08:52 distribution of rogue planets, scientists can
00:08:52 --> 00:08:54 better understand these formative processes.
00:08:55 --> 00:08:57 The telescope will be especially valuable for detecting
00:08:57 --> 00:09:00 smaller rogue planets, worlds less massive
00:09:00 --> 00:09:03 than Earth that have previously escaped our notice
00:09:04 --> 00:09:07 These smaller planets would theoretically require less
00:09:07 --> 00:09:09 energy to eject from their star systems than
00:09:09 --> 00:09:12 their larger counterparts, potentially making them the
00:09:12 --> 00:09:15 most common type of rogue planet. Though
00:09:15 --> 00:09:18 the Roman telescope is still a couple of years from launch,
00:09:18 --> 00:09:21 astronomers are already anticipating the transformative
00:09:21 --> 00:09:24 impact its observations will have beyond
00:09:24 --> 00:09:26 rogue planets. It might even detect other non
00:09:26 --> 00:09:29 luminous objects wandering through our galaxy,
00:09:29 --> 00:09:32 potentially including primordial black holes.
00:09:32 --> 00:09:35 When it comes to understanding the full population and
00:09:35 --> 00:09:37 characteristics of objects in our galaxy, the
00:09:37 --> 00:09:40 Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope promises to fill
00:09:40 --> 00:09:43 in crucial gaps in our knowledge, helping complete
00:09:43 --> 00:09:46 the cosmic census of our galactic neighborhood like never
00:09:46 --> 00:09:46 before.
00:09:47 --> 00:09:50 Next Today, more Chinese space news. In what
00:09:50 --> 00:09:53 can only be described as an impressive display of cosmic
00:09:53 --> 00:09:56 problem solving, China's Technology and Engineering
00:09:56 --> 00:09:59 center for Space Utilization recently pulled off
00:09:59 --> 00:10:02 a remarkable rescue mission in space, saving a
00:10:02 --> 00:10:05 pair of wayward lunar satellites through an ingenious gravity
00:10:05 --> 00:10:08 slingshot technique. Back in March
00:10:08 --> 00:10:10 2024, China launched two satellites named
00:10:10 --> 00:10:13 Dro A and Dro B aboard a Long
00:10:13 --> 00:10:16 March rocket. These satellites were
00:10:16 --> 00:10:18 destined for what's called a, uh, distant retrograde orbit around
00:10:18 --> 00:10:21 the moon. That's what the DRO in their name stands
00:10:21 --> 00:10:24 for. Their mission was to provide navigation and
00:10:24 --> 00:10:27 tracking for spacecraft operating in Earth Moon space,
00:10:28 --> 00:10:30 essentially serving as celestial lighthouses.
00:10:31 --> 00:10:33 While the rocket's first and second stages performed
00:10:33 --> 00:10:36 flawlessly, a technical issue with the Yuan
00:10:36 --> 00:10:39 Zheng one's upper stage prevented the satellites
00:10:39 --> 00:10:42 from reaching their intended orbit. To make matters
00:10:42 --> 00:10:45 worse, mission control temporarily lost contact with
00:10:45 --> 00:10:48 the duo entirely. When the team
00:10:48 --> 00:10:51 finally located the satellites, they discovered the
00:10:51 --> 00:10:54 pair were spinning in an orbit much closer to Earth
00:10:54 --> 00:10:56 than planned. This could have spelled
00:10:56 --> 00:10:59 disaster for the mission, with years of work and
00:10:59 --> 00:11:01 significant investment potentially wasted.
00:11:02 --> 00:11:05 As Zhang Hao, a member of the rescue team, explained,
00:11:05 --> 00:11:07 it would also be a mental blow to the team.
00:11:08 --> 00:11:10 The challenge was particularly complex because the
00:11:10 --> 00:11:13 satellites had sustained partial damage during the launch,
00:11:13 --> 00:11:16 limiting their ability to capture enough sunlight to power
00:11:16 --> 00:11:19 the necessary course correction. This is where
00:11:19 --> 00:11:21 the team's creativity truly shined.
00:11:22 --> 00:11:25 Rather than attempting to force the satellites into position
00:11:25 --> 00:11:27 using their limited power resources,
00:11:28 --> 00:11:31 engineers devised a plan to use the natural
00:11:31 --> 00:11:33 gravitational forces of the Earth, moon, and sun
00:11:33 --> 00:11:36 to gradually slingshot the satellites toward their
00:11:36 --> 00:11:39 destination. This gravity assist
00:11:39 --> 00:11:42 technique essentially borrowed energy from these celestial
00:11:42 --> 00:11:44 bodies rather than relying on the satellite's own
00:11:44 --> 00:11:47 limited fuel reserves. As UH CSU
00:11:47 --> 00:11:50 researcher Mao Xinyuan put it, if you don't want
00:11:50 --> 00:11:53 to consume much energy, you must replace it with something
00:11:53 --> 00:11:56 else. We chose to consume more time in order to
00:11:56 --> 00:11:59 save energy. The patience paid off, though.
00:11:59 --> 00:12:02 The rescue operation took a substantial 123
00:12:02 --> 00:12:04 days to complete by mid July
00:12:04 --> 00:12:07 2024, both satellites had successfully reached their
00:12:07 --> 00:12:10 intended orbits around the moon. And about six weeks
00:12:10 --> 00:12:13 later, DRO A and DRO B separated
00:12:13 --> 00:12:16 from each other as planned. They're now working alongside
00:12:16 --> 00:12:19 a third satellite, drol, which had
00:12:19 --> 00:12:22 previously launched to low Earth orbit. Together,
00:12:22 --> 00:12:24 these satellites form a navigation network that can
00:12:24 --> 00:12:27 dramatically reduce the time needed to locate spacecraft
00:12:27 --> 00:12:30 in Earth Moon space. According to Mao, they
00:12:30 --> 00:12:33 can now pinpoint a spacecraft's position in just three
00:12:33 --> 00:12:36 hours compared to the two days or more required by
00:12:36 --> 00:12:38 traditional land based positioning systems.
00:12:39 --> 00:12:42 This remarkable save demonstrates not only China's growing
00:12:42 --> 00:12:45 expertise in space operations, but also the
00:12:45 --> 00:12:47 ingenuity that makes space exploration possible
00:12:47 --> 00:12:49 even when things don't go according to plan.
00:12:51 --> 00:12:53 And wrapping things Up Today,
00:12:54 --> 00:12:57 some of the most fundamental aspects of our universe may be up
00:12:57 --> 00:12:59 for reconsideration, as
00:13:00 --> 00:13:02 recent findings from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic
00:13:02 --> 00:13:05 Instrument, or dece, suggest that
00:13:05 --> 00:13:08 dark energy, the mysterious force thought to be
00:13:08 --> 00:13:11 driving the accelerated expansion of our cosmos,
00:13:11 --> 00:13:14 might not be constant after all. This
00:13:14 --> 00:13:16 potential discovery challenges one of modern physics
00:13:16 --> 00:13:19 cornerstone ideas. Einstein's
00:13:19 --> 00:13:22 cosmological constant. For those unfamiliar with
00:13:22 --> 00:13:25 the history, Einstein originally introduced this concept in
00:13:25 --> 00:13:27 1917 as an addition to his
00:13:27 --> 00:13:30 equations of general relativity. At the
00:13:30 --> 00:13:33 time, he was trying to create a model for a static
00:13:33 --> 00:13:35 universe, one that neither expanded nor
00:13:35 --> 00:13:38 contracted. When astronomers later discovered the
00:13:38 --> 00:13:40 universe was indeed expanding, Einstein
00:13:40 --> 00:13:43 reportedly called the cosmological constant
00:13:43 --> 00:13:46 his greatest blunder. Fast forward to
00:13:46 --> 00:13:49 the 1990s, when astronomers made the shocking discovery
00:13:49 --> 00:13:52 that the universe wasn't just expanding, it was
00:13:52 --> 00:13:55 doing so at an accelerating rate. This
00:13:55 --> 00:13:58 unexpected cosmic acceleration led scientists to
00:13:58 --> 00:14:01 revive the idea of a cosmological constant,
00:14:01 --> 00:14:04 but now, as an explanation for the mysterious dark
00:14:04 --> 00:14:07 energy driving this acceleration. For years,
00:14:07 --> 00:14:10 the simplest explanation has been that dark energy
00:14:10 --> 00:14:12 maintains a constant value throughout space and time.
00:14:13 --> 00:14:15 But DC's first year observations hint at something
00:14:15 --> 00:14:18 potentially revolutionary dark energy that
00:14:18 --> 00:14:21 changes over time. Andrew Hearin, a physicist
00:14:21 --> 00:14:24 at Argonne National Laboratory and DESE member,
00:14:24 --> 00:14:27 puts it in perspective. If the DECE result
00:14:27 --> 00:14:29 holds up, it means that a cosmological constant is not the
00:14:29 --> 00:14:32 origin of cosmic acceleration. It's much more
00:14:32 --> 00:14:35 exciting. It would mean that space is pervaded by a
00:14:35 --> 00:14:38 dynamically evolving fluid with negative gravity,
00:14:38 --> 00:14:41 which has never been observed in any tabletop experiment on
00:14:41 --> 00:14:44 Earth. To help investigate these potentially
00:14:44 --> 00:14:46 groundbreaking observations, research researchers at
00:14:46 --> 00:14:49 Argonne have turned to aurora, one of the world's most
00:14:49 --> 00:14:52 powerful exascale supercomputers. They're
00:14:52 --> 00:14:55 running enormous simulations that model how the universe
00:14:55 --> 00:14:57 evolves under different dark energy scenarios.
00:14:58 --> 00:15:01 The team created two massive simulations, one
00:15:01 --> 00:15:03 assuming constant dark energy, as Einstein's theory
00:15:03 --> 00:15:06 suggests, and another where it changes over time.
00:15:07 --> 00:15:10 Starting with identical initial conditions, they can track
00:15:10 --> 00:15:12 even the smallest differences that emerge as these
00:15:12 --> 00:15:15 virtual universes evolve. These
00:15:15 --> 00:15:18 simulations would have taken weeks of compute time on our earlier
00:15:18 --> 00:15:21 supercomputers, but each simulation took just
00:15:21 --> 00:15:24 two days on Aurora, explained computational scientist
00:15:24 --> 00:15:27 Adrian Pope. This dramatic speedup
00:15:27 --> 00:15:29 allows researchers to respond much faster to new
00:15:29 --> 00:15:32 cosmological observations. Gillian
00:15:32 --> 00:15:35 Belts Morman, a postdoctoral research fellow
00:15:35 --> 00:15:38 at Argonne, emphasized the value of these
00:15:38 --> 00:15:40 simulations. Since we can't create a, uh, mini
00:15:40 --> 00:15:43 universe to conduct experiments, we can test
00:15:43 --> 00:15:46 theories by using really big computers like Aurora
00:15:46 --> 00:15:49 to simulate the growth of structure in the universe over
00:15:49 --> 00:15:52 time. While these simulations can't
00:15:52 --> 00:15:55 directly confirm dese's findings, they provide
00:15:55 --> 00:15:58 a crucial testing ground for examining different measurement
00:15:58 --> 00:16:00 techniques and determining whether the patterns observed
00:16:00 --> 00:16:03 by DECE represent genuine new physics
00:16:03 --> 00:16:06 or are uh, artifacts of how we collect and analyze
00:16:06 --> 00:16:09 data. To maximize the impact of this
00:16:09 --> 00:16:12 work, the Argonne team has made all their simulation
00:16:12 --> 00:16:15 data publicly available, allowing the broader
00:16:15 --> 00:16:18 scientific community to explore different analysis
00:16:18 --> 00:16:20 methods and help determine whether Einstein's
00:16:20 --> 00:16:23 cosmological constant truly needs to be replaced
00:16:23 --> 00:16:25 with a more dynamic model of dark energy.
00:16:26 --> 00:16:29 If confirmed, this finding would represent
00:16:29 --> 00:16:32 one of the most significant shifts in our understanding of
00:16:32 --> 00:16:35 the universe in decades, potentially opening
00:16:35 --> 00:16:37 doorways to entirely new physics beyond our
00:16:37 --> 00:16:39 current standard model of cosmology.
00:16:41 --> 00:16:44 That wraps up today's episode of Astronomy Daily.
00:16:44 --> 00:16:47 What an incredible journey through our cosmic neighborhood
00:16:47 --> 00:16:50 we've had. From a Soviet probe completing its 50
00:16:50 --> 00:16:53 year orbit of Earth to China's ambitious plans
00:16:53 --> 00:16:56 to sample Venus's toxic atmosphere, the hunt
00:16:56 --> 00:16:58 for rogue planets wandering our galaxy, an
00:16:58 --> 00:17:01 ingenious satellite rescue mission, and potentially
00:17:01 --> 00:17:04 revolutionary discoveries about the very nature of dark energy.
00:17:05 --> 00:17:08 I'm your host, Anna, and I want to thank you for joining
00:17:08 --> 00:17:11 me as, uh, we explored these fascinating developments in space science
00:17:11 --> 00:17:14 and astronomy. The universe continues to surprise
00:17:14 --> 00:17:16 us, challenging our understanding and pushing the
00:17:16 --> 00:17:19 boundaries of what we know. And before I go,
00:17:19 --> 00:17:22 a quick reminder to visit our website at
00:17:22 --> 00:17:25 astronomydaily IO um, where you can sign up for our
00:17:25 --> 00:17:28 free daily newsletter and listen to all our back episodes
00:17:29 --> 00:17:31 we're constantly updating with the latest astronomical
00:17:31 --> 00:17:34 discoveries and space explorations. Exploration news that you won't want
00:17:34 --> 00:17:37 to miss. Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast
00:17:37 --> 00:17:39 on Apple Podcasts, Spotify,
00:17:40 --> 00:17:43 YouTubeMusic, or wherever you get your podcast to
00:17:43 --> 00:17:46 stay connected to the cosmic frontier. Until
00:17:46 --> 00:17:47 next time, keep looking Up
00:17:59 --> 00:18:00 Is the soul
00:18:02 --> 00:18:04 Mhm.