- Exciting Developments for SpaceX's Starship: Join us as we delve into the upcoming 10th test flight of SpaceX's Starship, anticipated to launch in just three weeks. Discover the challenges faced in previous flights and the innovative strategies being employed to ensure the success of this monumental rocket, designed for full and rapid reusability. With a goal of 25 launches this year, the race is on for SpaceX to push the boundaries of space exploration.
- - Unveiling Secrets of a Neutron Star: Explore the groundbreaking findings regarding PSR J1023 0038, a rapidly spinning neutron star. New research reveals that its intense particle winds drive the radiation it emits, rather than the material it siphons from its companion star. This discovery opens new avenues for understanding pulsars and the dynamics of these extraordinary cosmic objects.
- - Witnessing Planet Formation: For the first time, astronomers have observed the earliest stages of planet formation around a baby star, Hops 315, located 1,300 light years away. Using the James Webb Space Telescope and ALMA, scientists captured the moment hot minerals crystallise into solid particles, providing invaluable insights into the processes that shaped our own solar system.
- - Record-Breaking Mars Meteorite Auction: We discuss the recent auction of the largest Mars meteorite ever found, NWA 16788, which sold for a staggering $4.3 million at Sotheby's. Learn about the unique characteristics of this extraordinary specimen and the implications of such sales for scientific research and collection.
- For more cosmic updates, visit our website at astronomydaily.io. Join our community on social media by searching for #AstroDailyPod on Facebook, X, YouTube Music, TikTok, and our new Instagram account! Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- Thank you for tuning in. This is Anna signing off. Until next time, keep looking up and stay curious about the wonders of our universe.
SpaceX Starship
[SpaceX](https://www.spacex.com/)
Neutron Star Research
[NASA](https://www.nasa.gov/)
Planet Formation Discovery
[James Webb Space Telescope](https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/webb/main/index.html)
Mars Meteorite Auction
[Sotheby's](https://www.sothebys.com/)
Astronomy Daily
[Astronomy Daily](http://www.astronomydaily.io/)
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00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 Anna: Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your daily dose
00:00:02 --> 00:00:05 of the latest cosmic happenings. I'm Anna and
00:00:05 --> 00:00:07 I'm thrilled to guide you through today's
00:00:07 --> 00:00:09 fascinating discoveries. We've got an
00:00:09 --> 00:00:12 exciting lineup for you. First, we'll dive
00:00:12 --> 00:00:14 into the highly anticipated next flight of
00:00:14 --> 00:00:17 SpaceX's Starship, the colossal rocket making
00:00:17 --> 00:00:19 headlines. Then we'll explore the astonishing
00:00:19 --> 00:00:22 secrets unveiled about a powerful rapidly
00:00:22 --> 00:00:25 spinning neutron star thanks to new X ray
00:00:25 --> 00:00:27 observations. Get ready for a cosmic first
00:00:27 --> 00:00:29 as we hear about astronomers witnessing a
00:00:29 --> 00:00:31 solar system being born right before their
00:00:31 --> 00:00:34 eyes. And finally, we'll talk about the multi
00:00:34 --> 00:00:36 million dollar auction of the largest Mars
00:00:36 --> 00:00:39 meteorite ever found on Earth that I reported
00:00:39 --> 00:00:41 on yesterday. We have the auction results.
00:00:41 --> 00:00:43 Stay with us for all these stories and more.
00:00:45 --> 00:00:46 Let's kick things off with some exciting news
00:00:46 --> 00:00:49 from SpaceX as Elon Musk has announced that
00:00:49 --> 00:00:52 the next starship flight, the 10th test
00:00:52 --> 00:00:54 flight of this colossal rocket, is expected
00:00:54 --> 00:00:57 to launch in about three weeks. If all goes
00:00:57 --> 00:00:59 according to plan, this will be the fourth
00:00:59 --> 00:01:02 launch for starship this year. And it's a big
00:01:02 --> 00:01:05 deal because Starship is designed to be the
00:01:05 --> 00:01:07 biggest and most powerful rocket ever built,
00:01:07 --> 00:01:10 with both its super heavy booster and ship
00:01:10 --> 00:01:13 upper stage intended for full and rapid
00:01:13 --> 00:01:15 reusability. Now, Getting to Flight 10
00:01:15 --> 00:01:18 has been a bit of a bumpy ride. The ship
00:01:18 --> 00:01:20 upper stage that was originally slated for
00:01:20 --> 00:01:22 this mission actually exploded on a Test
00:01:22 --> 00:01:25 stand at SpaceX's Starbase site in South
00:01:25 --> 00:01:28 Texas back in June during preparations for a
00:01:28 --> 00:01:30 common pre launch engine trial. SpaceX
00:01:30 --> 00:01:33 quickly pinpointed the likely a failure
00:01:33 --> 00:01:35 of a pressurised nitrogen tank in the ship's
00:01:35 --> 00:01:38 nosecone area. The team is now working
00:01:38 --> 00:01:40 diligently to get a different ship vehicle
00:01:40 --> 00:01:43 ready for this upcoming Flight 10. It's
00:01:43 --> 00:01:45 no secret that the ship upper stage has faced
00:01:45 --> 00:01:47 some challenges in recent flights since
00:01:47 --> 00:01:50 SpaceX unfortunately lost the ship vehicle on
00:01:50 --> 00:01:53 flights 7, 8 and 9, which launched in
00:01:53 --> 00:01:54 January, March and May of this year
00:01:54 --> 00:01:57 respectively. For example, on Flight 8,
00:01:57 --> 00:01:59 which launched back in March, the
00:01:59 --> 00:02:02 171 foot tall ship upper stage was intended
00:02:02 --> 00:02:05 to deploy dummy Starlink satellites and then
00:02:05 --> 00:02:07 perform a controlled splashdown in the Indian
00:02:07 --> 00:02:10 Ocean. However, several of
00:02:10 --> 00:02:13 ship's six Raptor engines conked out towards
00:02:13 --> 00:02:15 the end of its ascent burn, causing the
00:02:15 --> 00:02:17 vehicle to tumble and SpaceX lost contact
00:02:17 --> 00:02:20 about nine minutes into the flight. It
00:02:20 --> 00:02:22 presumably detonated high in the sky shortly
00:02:22 --> 00:02:25 after. This mirrored what happened on Flight
00:02:25 --> 00:02:28 7, where the ship was also lost at a similar
00:02:28 --> 00:02:30 point in the mission. The anomaly on Flight 7
00:02:30 --> 00:02:33 was later traced to a harmonic
00:02:33 --> 00:02:35 response that was several times stronger in
00:02:35 --> 00:02:38 flight than observed during testing, leading
00:02:38 --> 00:02:40 to increased stress on propulsion system
00:02:40 --> 00:02:42 hardware, propellant leaks and sustained
00:02:42 --> 00:02:45 fires. For Flight 8, SpaceX
00:02:45 --> 00:02:47 had already taken steps to minimise the
00:02:47 --> 00:02:49 chances of recurrence, including a longer
00:02:49 --> 00:02:52 static fire test and hardware changes.
00:02:52 --> 00:02:55 In contrast to the ship, the super heavy
00:02:55 --> 00:02:56 booster has shown a more consistent
00:02:56 --> 00:02:59 performance. On Flight 7 and Flight
00:02:59 --> 00:03:01 8, the booster successfully returned to
00:03:01 --> 00:03:04 Starbase and was spectacularly caught by the
00:03:04 --> 00:03:06 launch tower's chopstick arms.
00:03:07 --> 00:03:09 This was a jaw dropping demonstration of a
00:03:09 --> 00:03:11 technique that SpaceX is refining.
00:03:12 --> 00:03:14 Flight 9 even featured the first ever reuse
00:03:14 --> 00:03:17 of a super heavy booster, putting the Flight
00:03:17 --> 00:03:20 7 booster back into action. Though on
00:03:20 --> 00:03:22 Flight 9, SpaceX didn't attempt to catch the
00:03:22 --> 00:03:24 booster again. It broke apart over the Gulf
00:03:24 --> 00:03:27 of Mexico shortly after initiating a landing
00:03:27 --> 00:03:30 burn. Over the long haul, SpaceX
00:03:30 --> 00:03:32 plans to employ this chopstick recovery
00:03:32 --> 00:03:35 strategy for both super Heavy and ship.
00:03:35 --> 00:03:37 This approach is key to making the reuse of
00:03:37 --> 00:03:40 each stage more efficient, with the ambitious
00:03:40 --> 00:03:42 goal of flying Starship multiple times per
00:03:42 --> 00:03:45 day. The ultimate vision, as articulated by
00:03:45 --> 00:03:48 Elon Musk, is that Starship's combination of
00:03:48 --> 00:03:51 immense power and full reusability will make
00:03:51 --> 00:03:54 Mars settlement economically feasible. The
00:03:54 --> 00:03:55 company has been steadily increasing its
00:03:55 --> 00:03:58 flight cadence, having flown in a fully
00:03:58 --> 00:04:00 stacked configuration for the first time in
00:04:00 --> 00:04:03 April of 2023, followed by another
00:04:03 --> 00:04:06 two flights in 2024 and already
00:04:06 --> 00:04:08 four so far this year. We should expect
00:04:08 --> 00:04:11 another significant boost in cadence, as
00:04:11 --> 00:04:13 SpaceX has already requested approval for an
00:04:13 --> 00:04:16 astounding 25 Starship launches from Starbase
00:04:16 --> 00:04:19 this year, so some quick turnarounds may be
00:04:19 --> 00:04:20 required if they wish to still reach that
00:04:20 --> 00:04:23 goal. And as of next year, SpaceX are
00:04:23 --> 00:04:26 looking to complete some 120 launches
00:04:26 --> 00:04:29 a year. It's so certainly a dynamic time in
00:04:29 --> 00:04:31 the world of space exploration, and we'll
00:04:31 --> 00:04:34 keep a close eye on Starship's next giant
00:04:34 --> 00:04:34 leap.
00:04:35 --> 00:04:37 Next up, we're diving into a groundbreaking
00:04:37 --> 00:04:40 discovery about a powerful, rapidly spinning
00:04:40 --> 00:04:42 neutron star known as PSR
00:04:42 --> 00:04:44 J1023
00:04:44 --> 00:04:46 0038, or
00:04:46 --> 00:04:48 J1023 for short.
00:04:48 --> 00:04:50 Astronomers have uncovered a major secret
00:04:50 --> 00:04:52 about this pulsar, revealing that the
00:04:52 --> 00:04:55 radiation it emits is primarily driven by
00:04:55 --> 00:04:58 the impact of its intense particle
00:04:58 --> 00:05:01 winds, rather than the material it strips
00:05:01 --> 00:05:03 away from its companion star. This is a
00:05:03 --> 00:05:06 significant finding that sheds new light on
00:05:06 --> 00:05:08 these fascinating cosmic objects.
00:05:08 --> 00:05:11 J1023 is truly a marvel.
00:05:12 --> 00:05:14 Located about 4 light years from Earth,
00:05:15 --> 00:05:17 it's part of a binary system where a dead
00:05:17 --> 00:05:19 star or neutron star spins an
00:05:19 --> 00:05:22 astounding 600 times per second while
00:05:22 --> 00:05:24 circling a low mass companion star that it
00:05:24 --> 00:05:27 feeds upon. Its rapid rotation
00:05:27 --> 00:05:29 categorises it as a millisecond pulsar.
00:05:30 --> 00:05:32 What makes J1023 even more special
00:05:33 --> 00:05:35 is its status as a transitional millisecond
00:05:35 --> 00:05:38 pulsar, a rare subclass because it clearly
00:05:38 --> 00:05:41 shifts between an active state, where it's
00:05:41 --> 00:05:42 accreting material and blasting out
00:05:42 --> 00:05:45 radiation, and a more dormant state where it
00:05:45 --> 00:05:47 behaves like a standard pulsar emitting radio
00:05:47 --> 00:05:50 waves. This makes J1023
00:05:50 --> 00:05:52 an invaluable cosmic laboratory for
00:05:52 --> 00:05:55 scientists. Traditionally, when a neutron
00:05:55 --> 00:05:57 star feeds on its companion, the stripped
00:05:57 --> 00:06:00 matter forms an accretion disc that swirls
00:06:00 --> 00:06:03 around the dead star, gradually feeding it
00:06:03 --> 00:06:05 while emitting powerful radiation across the
00:06:05 --> 00:06:08 electromagnetic spectrum. However,
00:06:08 --> 00:06:10 this new research tells a different story for
00:06:10 --> 00:06:13 J1023. The team used an
00:06:13 --> 00:06:14 impressive array of instruments for this
00:06:14 --> 00:06:17 study. NASA's Imaging X Ray Polarimetry
00:06:17 --> 00:06:20 Explorer, known as IXP, along with the
00:06:20 --> 00:06:22 European Southern Observatory's Very Large
00:06:22 --> 00:06:25 Telescope in Chile and the Carl G Jansky
00:06:25 --> 00:06:28 Very Large Array in New Mexico. This was
00:06:28 --> 00:06:31 the first survey of a binary X ray source
00:06:31 --> 00:06:33 observed across the X ray, optical and
00:06:33 --> 00:06:36 radio bands of the electromagnetic spectrum,
00:06:36 --> 00:06:38 allowing them to precisely determine the
00:06:38 --> 00:06:41 polarisation of the radiation coming from
00:06:41 --> 00:06:44 this pulsar. What they found
00:06:44 --> 00:06:47 was particularly exciting. Ixpe
00:06:47 --> 00:06:49 observed that a remarkable 12% of the x rays
00:06:49 --> 00:06:52 from J1023 were polarised, which
00:06:52 --> 00:06:54 is the highest level of polarisation ever
00:06:54 --> 00:06:57 seen from such a binary star system. While
00:06:57 --> 00:06:59 the radio waves and optical light emissions
00:07:00 --> 00:07:03 showed lower polarizations of 2% and 1%
00:07:03 --> 00:07:05 respectively, the optical polarisation was
00:07:05 --> 00:07:08 oriented in the same direction as the X ray
00:07:08 --> 00:07:11 polarisation. This alignment strongly
00:07:11 --> 00:07:13 suggests a, uh, common mechanism behind both
00:07:13 --> 00:07:16 phenomena. These findings confirm an earlier
00:07:16 --> 00:07:18 theory. The observed polarised emissions from
00:07:18 --> 00:07:21 binary systems like J1023
00:07:21 --> 00:07:24 are generated when the pulsar's powerful
00:07:24 --> 00:07:26 winds. Streams of high energy charged
00:07:26 --> 00:07:29 particles flowing from the dead star strike
00:07:29 --> 00:07:30 the matter in the surrounding accretion, uh,
00:07:30 --> 00:07:33 discs. This observation, though
00:07:33 --> 00:07:35 extremely challenging due to the low
00:07:35 --> 00:07:37 intensity of the X ray flux, was made
00:07:37 --> 00:07:40 possible by IXPE's exceptional sensitivity.
00:07:40 --> 00:07:43 This research could finally help scientists
00:07:43 --> 00:07:45 unlock the secrets of what truly powers
00:07:45 --> 00:07:47 pulsars, offering us a clearer picture of
00:07:47 --> 00:07:49 these incredible objects
00:07:50 --> 00:07:52 moving from distant pulsars.
00:07:52 --> 00:07:54 Let's turn our attention to something
00:07:54 --> 00:07:57 incredibly exciting that brings us closer to
00:07:57 --> 00:08:00 understanding our own origins. For the first
00:08:00 --> 00:08:03 time ever, scientists have witnessed the very
00:08:03 --> 00:08:05 earliest stages of planet formation around a
00:08:05 --> 00:08:08 baby star roughly 1
00:08:08 --> 00:08:10 light years away. This groundbreaking
00:08:10 --> 00:08:13 discovery means astronomers actually watched
00:08:13 --> 00:08:15 hot minerals crystallise into solid
00:08:15 --> 00:08:17 particles, effectively catching a planetary
00:08:17 --> 00:08:19 system at the precise, um, moment when
00:08:19 --> 00:08:21 planets begin to take shape. It's like having
00:08:21 --> 00:08:24 a cosmic time machine, offering an
00:08:24 --> 00:08:26 unprecedented glimpse into the birth of our
00:08:26 --> 00:08:29 own solar system. This breakthrough came from
00:08:29 --> 00:08:31 studying a young star named Hops315,
00:08:32 --> 00:08:34 which is encircled by a swirling disc of gas
00:08:34 --> 00:08:37 and dust called a protoplanetary disc.
00:08:37 --> 00:08:40 Using the incredible power of the James Webb
00:08:40 --> 00:08:41 Space Telescope and the Atacama Large
00:08:41 --> 00:08:44 Millimetre Array, or ALMA, astronomers
00:08:44 --> 00:08:47 detected silicon monoxide, or SiO,
00:08:47 --> 00:08:49 as it transitioned from gas into solid
00:08:49 --> 00:08:51 crystalline minerals. This is considered the
00:08:51 --> 00:08:54 absolutely crucial first step in planet
00:08:54 --> 00:08:56 formation. Melissa McClure, the lead author
00:08:56 --> 00:08:58 from Leiden University of highlighted the
00:08:58 --> 00:09:00 significance, stating that for the first time
00:09:01 --> 00:09:03 they've identified the earliest moment when
00:09:03 --> 00:09:05 planet formation is initiated around a star
00:09:06 --> 00:09:08 other than our Sun. This finding provides an
00:09:08 --> 00:09:11 unparalleled window into how rocky planets
00:09:11 --> 00:09:13 like Earth actually come into existence.
00:09:14 --> 00:09:16 It's fascinating to consider that in our own
00:09:16 --> 00:09:19 solar system, similar crystalline minerals
00:09:19 --> 00:09:21 are found trapped in ancient meteorites,
00:09:21 --> 00:09:23 primordial rocks that scientists used to date
00:09:23 --> 00:09:26 the beginning of our solar system. These
00:09:26 --> 00:09:28 meteorites contain the very same silicon
00:09:28 --> 00:09:31 monoxide compounds now being observed around
00:09:31 --> 00:09:34 hops 315, albeit in their fully
00:09:34 --> 00:09:36 solidified state. Merrill Van't Hoff from
00:09:36 --> 00:09:39 Purdue University eloquently described their
00:09:39 --> 00:09:41 discovery as a picture of the baby solar
00:09:41 --> 00:09:44 system, noting that we are truly
00:09:44 --> 00:09:46 seeing a system that looks like what our
00:09:46 --> 00:09:48 solar system looked like when it was just
00:09:48 --> 00:09:51 beginning to form. The research team
00:09:51 --> 00:09:54 pinpointed that this mineral formation is
00:09:54 --> 00:09:55 occurring in a region equivalent to the
00:09:55 --> 00:09:58 location of our own asteroid asteroid belt
00:09:58 --> 00:10:00 around the sun. This isn't a coincidence.
00:10:01 --> 00:10:03 It's exactly where astronomers would expect
00:10:03 --> 00:10:06 to find the building blocks of rocky
00:10:06 --> 00:10:09 planets. The process itself is quite elegant.
00:10:09 --> 00:10:11 Close to young stars, the intense heat keeps
00:10:11 --> 00:10:14 silicon monoxide in a gaseous state. But as
00:10:14 --> 00:10:15 temperatures drop with increasing distance
00:10:15 --> 00:10:18 from the star, this gas starts to condense
00:10:18 --> 00:10:21 into solid crystals. These tiny particles
00:10:21 --> 00:10:23 then begin to stick together, gradually
00:10:23 --> 00:10:25 growing larger, until they form kilometre
00:10:25 --> 00:10:28 sized planetesimals, which are
00:10:28 --> 00:10:30 essentially the seeds that will eventually
00:10:30 --> 00:10:33 become full fledged planets. Edwin
00:10:33 --> 00:10:35 Bergen, a UH co author from the University of
00:10:35 --> 00:10:38 Michigan, emphasised that this process has
00:10:38 --> 00:10:40 never been seen before in a protoplanetary
00:10:40 --> 00:10:43 disc or anywhere else outside of our solar
00:10:43 --> 00:10:46 system. The detection required the combined
00:10:46 --> 00:10:48 might of two of astronomy's most powerful
00:10:48 --> 00:10:51 tools. The James Webb Space Telescope
00:10:51 --> 00:10:53 initially identified the chemical signatures
00:10:53 --> 00:10:56 of these crystalline minerals and then
00:10:56 --> 00:10:58 ALMA precisely pinpointed their exact
00:10:58 --> 00:11:01 location within the protoplanetary disc,
00:11:01 --> 00:11:04 revealing that they were forming in a narrow
00:11:04 --> 00:11:07 ring around the star. The observations not
00:11:07 --> 00:11:09 only showed gaseous silicon monoxide actively
00:11:09 --> 00:11:12 condensing into solid particles, but also
00:11:12 --> 00:11:14 revealed carbon monoxide streaming away from
00:11:14 --> 00:11:17 the star in a butterfly shaped wind, while
00:11:17 --> 00:11:19 silicon monoxide jets beamed outward in
00:11:19 --> 00:11:22 narrow streams. This discovery
00:11:22 --> 00:11:25 transforms HOPS 315 into a natural
00:11:25 --> 00:11:27 laboratory for studying planetary formation.
00:11:28 --> 00:11:31 Logan Francis, a UH postdoctoral researcher
00:11:31 --> 00:11:33 at Leiden University, pointed out that they
00:11:33 --> 00:11:35 are literally seeing these minerals at the
00:11:35 --> 00:11:37 same location in this extrasolar system as
00:11:37 --> 00:11:40 where we find them in asteroids in our own
00:11:40 --> 00:11:42 solar system. The findings strongly suggest
00:11:42 --> 00:11:45 that planet formation follows universal
00:11:45 --> 00:11:47 patterns across the galaxy. The same physical
00:11:47 --> 00:11:50 processes that created Earth and other rocky
00:11:50 --> 00:11:52 planets in our solar system are actively
00:11:52 --> 00:11:55 occurring around distant stars, providing
00:11:55 --> 00:11:57 astronomers with living examples of planetary
00:11:57 --> 00:12:00 birth. This opens up exciting new
00:12:00 --> 00:12:02 possibilities for understanding how common
00:12:02 --> 00:12:04 Earth like planets might be throughout the
00:12:04 --> 00:12:06 universe, all while offering direct
00:12:06 --> 00:12:08 observational evidence of the processes that
00:12:08 --> 00:12:11 shaped our cosmic neighbourhood 4.6 billion
00:12:11 --> 00:12:12 years ago.
00:12:13 --> 00:12:15 From the birth of solar systems to more
00:12:15 --> 00:12:17 tangible relics, let's talk about something
00:12:17 --> 00:12:20 incredibly rare that just changed hands for a
00:12:20 --> 00:12:22 hefty sum. As I reported
00:12:22 --> 00:12:25 yesterday, the largest Mars meteorite ever
00:12:25 --> 00:12:28 found on Earth was auctioned off at Sotheby's
00:12:28 --> 00:12:30 in New York city. This jagged
00:12:30 --> 00:12:33 54 pound chunk of the red planet formerly
00:12:33 --> 00:12:35 known as NWA 16788
00:12:36 --> 00:12:38 sold for an astonishing $4.3 million.
00:12:40 --> 00:12:41 Interestingly, the bidding war wasn't quite
00:12:41 --> 00:12:44 as fervent as some expected, even though its
00:12:44 --> 00:12:46 starting price was already set at $2 million.
00:12:47 --> 00:12:49 Still, the final sale price surpassed the
00:12:49 --> 00:12:52 initial maximum estimate of $4 million, with
00:12:52 --> 00:12:54 extra fees pushing the total lot price to
00:12:54 --> 00:12:57 around $5.3 million. Cassandra Hatton,
00:12:57 --> 00:12:59 the vice chairman of science and natural
00:12:59 --> 00:13:02 history at Sotheby's, highlighted that NWA
00:13:02 --> 00:13:05 16788 isn't just notable for its
00:13:05 --> 00:13:08 size, being about 70% larger than the
00:13:08 --> 00:13:11 next biggest Mars meteorite on Earth, but
00:13:11 --> 00:13:14 also for its appearance. She noted that it
00:13:14 --> 00:13:16 literally looks just like the surface of the
00:13:16 --> 00:13:19 Red Planet, distinguishing it from smaller,
00:13:19 --> 00:13:21 less striking Martian meteorites that often
00:13:21 --> 00:13:24 sell for tens of thousands. The
00:13:24 --> 00:13:26 identity of the new owner of this unique
00:13:26 --> 00:13:29 piece of Mars remains private, as buyers
00:13:29 --> 00:13:31 often choose to stay anonymous for various
00:13:31 --> 00:13:34 reasons, including safety or a desire to be
00:13:34 --> 00:13:36 an anonymous donor to a museum. This
00:13:36 --> 00:13:39 Mars rock was just one of many rare items
00:13:39 --> 00:13:41 sold at the auction, which also included a
00:13:41 --> 00:13:44 juvenile ceratosaurus skeleton for $26
00:13:44 --> 00:13:46 million and a Tyrannosaurus rex foot
00:13:46 --> 00:13:49 for 1.4 million. The auctioning of
00:13:49 --> 00:13:52 scientific objects often sparks debate. While
00:13:52 --> 00:13:54 some argue such items should be freely
00:13:54 --> 00:13:56 donated to scientific laboratories or public
00:13:56 --> 00:13:59 spaces, Hatton suggests that attaching
00:13:59 --> 00:14:01 monetary value can incentivize collectors to
00:14:01 --> 00:14:03 properly care for them perhaps even better
00:14:03 --> 00:14:06 than underfunded museums. She also points out
00:14:06 --> 00:14:08 that many collectors do end up donating their
00:14:08 --> 00:14:11 purchases or allowing them to be displayed,
00:14:11 --> 00:14:13 sometimes even providing additional funds for
00:14:13 --> 00:14:15 the institution to care for the objects or
00:14:15 --> 00:14:17 support postdoctoral researchers
00:14:18 --> 00:14:21 to verify its authenticity. A small piece of
00:14:21 --> 00:14:23 NWA 16788
00:14:24 --> 00:14:27 was indeed broken off and sent to a lab for
00:14:27 --> 00:14:29 analysis, with the findings published in the
00:14:29 --> 00:14:32 Meteoritical Bulletin making data available
00:14:32 --> 00:14:33 for scientists.
00:14:34 --> 00:14:36 And that brings us to the end of another
00:14:36 --> 00:14:39 fascinating episode of Astronomy Daily.
00:14:39 --> 00:14:41 Thank you for tuning in. Don't forget to
00:14:41 --> 00:14:44 visit our website, astronomydaily IO
00:14:44 --> 00:14:46 where you can catch up on all the latest
00:14:46 --> 00:14:48 space and astronomy news with our constantly
00:14:48 --> 00:14:50 updating news feedback. And if you're a
00:14:50 --> 00:14:52 completionist, you can listen to all our back
00:14:52 --> 00:14:55 episodes. Let me know if you do and I'll give
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00:15:08 --> 00:15:10 then, this is Anna signing off and reminding
00:15:10 --> 00:15:11 you to keep looking up.