- Uranus and Its Peculiar Moons: Dive into the strange world of Uranus, the planet that spins on its side and has a magnetic field unlike any other. Join us as we explore the latest research by astronomer Christian Soto, revealing unexpected findings about Uranus's moons, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon. Discover how micrometeorites might be affecting their appearances and what this means for our understanding of the planet's magnetosphere.
- - The Local Hot Bubble: Zoom out to the cosmic neighborhood of our solar system, encapsulated in a million-degree hot bubble of gas known as the Local Hot Bubble (LHB). Thanks to the Erocita X-ray telescope, we uncover the irregular shape and surprising features of this bubble, including a newly discovered tunnel leading to the constellation Centaurus, suggesting a complex interstellar structure that could reshape our understanding of galactic dynamics.
- - A Busy Launch Week Ahead: Get ready for an action-packed week of launches, with 10 missions scheduled worldwide. From SpaceX's Crew 11 mission to the International Space Station to the international collaboration of the NISAR satellite, we cover the highlights and significance of these missions, including the implications of rapid advancements in space technology.
- - Rethinking Habitability: Challenge your perceptions of where life can exist with groundbreaking research proposing the concept of the Radiolytic Habitable Zone (RHZ). Led by Demetra Attri, this study suggests that cosmic rays could support life in dark, underground environments on Mars and icy moons like Europa and Enceladus, redefining our search for extraterrestrial life.
- 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 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 and Avery signing off. Until next time, keep looking up and stay curious about the wonders of our universe.
Uranus Research
[Space Telescope Science Institute](https://www.stsci.edu)
Local Hot Bubble Findings
[Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics](https://www.mpe.mpg.de)
Launch Schedule Overview
[NASA Launch Schedule](https://www.nasa.gov/launchschedule)
Radiolytic Habitable Zone Study
[NYU Abu Dhabi](https://www.nyuad.nyu.edu)
Astronomy Daily
[Astronomy Daily](http://www.astronomydaily.io/)
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00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 Anna: Welcome, welcome, welcome to Astronomy
00:00:03 --> 00:00:06 Daily your go to source for everything
00:00:06 --> 00:00:08 happening beyond our blue planet. I'm
00:00:08 --> 00:00:09 Anna.
00:00:09 --> 00:00:11 Avery: And I'm Avery. We're so glad you could join
00:00:11 --> 00:00:14 us today for what promises to be a
00:00:14 --> 00:00:16 fascinating journey through the cosmos. We've
00:00:16 --> 00:00:19 got a packed show lined up delving into some
00:00:19 --> 00:00:22 truly mind bending discoveries and exciting
00:00:22 --> 00:00:24 news from across the solar system and beyond.
00:00:24 --> 00:00:27 Anna: That's right, we'll be unraveling the
00:00:27 --> 00:00:30 peculiar mysteries of Uranus and its moons,
00:00:30 --> 00:00:32 exploring a newly cosmic
00:00:32 --> 00:00:35 bubble surrounding our solar system and
00:00:35 --> 00:00:38 getting you up to speed on one of the busiest
00:00:38 --> 00:00:40 launch weeks we've seen this year.
00:00:40 --> 00:00:42 Avery: And um, stick around for what could be a
00:00:42 --> 00:00:45 groundbreaking discussion on how life might
00:00:45 --> 00:00:48 thrive in the most unexpected dark
00:00:48 --> 00:00:50 corners of the universe. It's a fresh
00:00:50 --> 00:00:52 perspective that challenges everything we
00:00:52 --> 00:00:55 thought we knew about habitability. So let's
00:00:55 --> 00:00:55 dive right in.
00:00:56 --> 00:00:58 Anna: Alright Avery, let's kick things off with a
00:00:58 --> 00:01:01 planet that truly lives up to its reputation
00:01:01 --> 00:01:03 for being a bit, well, weird.
00:01:03 --> 00:01:06 We're talking about Uranus, the seventh
00:01:06 --> 00:01:08 planet from the sun, which has always stood
00:01:08 --> 00:01:10 out from its solar system siblings.
00:01:11 --> 00:01:13 Avery: It really does. While most planets spin
00:01:13 --> 00:01:16 fairly upright and their moons orbit neatly,
00:01:17 --> 00:01:19 Uranus is just doing its own thing, tilted
00:01:19 --> 00:01:22 on its side at a whopping 98 degrees.
00:01:22 --> 00:01:25 Imagine Earth's north pole pointing towards
00:01:25 --> 00:01:27 say, the constellation Ophiuchus instead of
00:01:27 --> 00:01:30 Polaris the that's Uranus for you.
00:01:30 --> 00:01:32 Anna: And it's not just its tilt. Its
00:01:32 --> 00:01:35 magnetic field is also off kilter,
00:01:35 --> 00:01:37 differing by 59 degrees from its spin
00:01:37 --> 00:01:40 axis. That's like our magnetic poles being
00:01:40 --> 00:01:43 in Perth, Australia and northern Florida,
00:01:43 --> 00:01:46 which is quite the cosmic anomaly.
00:01:46 --> 00:01:49 Avery: This peculiar setup led astronomer Christian
00:01:49 --> 00:01:51 Soto and his team at the Space Telescope
00:01:51 --> 00:01:54 Science Institute to study how Uranus's
00:01:54 --> 00:01:56 magnetic field might interact with its four
00:01:56 --> 00:01:59 largest moons, Ariel, Umbriel,
00:01:59 --> 00:02:00 Titania and Oberon.
00:02:00 --> 00:02:03 Anna: You'd expect that because Uranus
00:02:03 --> 00:02:06 rotates faster than its moon's orbit, its
00:02:06 --> 00:02:08 magnetic field would catch the moons from
00:02:08 --> 00:02:11 behind and bombard their trailing sides with
00:02:11 --> 00:02:14 radiation. This process, called
00:02:14 --> 00:02:16 radiolysis, should create dark
00:02:16 --> 00:02:19 compounds, making those trailing sides appear
00:02:19 --> 00:02:21 darker in ultraviolet light.
00:02:21 --> 00:02:24 Avery: But here's where it gets truly puzzling. When
00:02:24 --> 00:02:26 the Hubble Space Telescope peered at these
00:02:26 --> 00:02:29 moons, it found the exact opposite. For
00:02:29 --> 00:02:31 Ariel and Umbriel, there was hardly any
00:02:31 --> 00:02:33 difference between their leading and training
00:02:33 --> 00:02:36 sides. And for the outer two moons, Titania
00:02:36 --> 00:02:39 and especially Oberon, it was their leading
00:02:39 --> 00:02:40 sides that were darker.
00:02:40 --> 00:02:43 Anna: This was completely startling to the
00:02:43 --> 00:02:46 researchers. It suggests that Uranus's
00:02:46 --> 00:02:48 magnetosphere might not be as active as
00:02:48 --> 00:02:51 previously thought. Or it's far more
00:02:51 --> 00:02:54 complex. But the Darkening on the leading
00:02:54 --> 00:02:56 sides points to another process entirely.
00:02:57 --> 00:02:59 Avery: And that process, Soto suggests, involves
00:02:59 --> 00:03:02 Uranus. Irregular moons. These are
00:03:02 --> 00:03:04 smaller, often captured asteroids with
00:03:04 --> 00:03:07 unusual, highly tilted orbits. The
00:03:07 --> 00:03:10 theory is that micrometeorites constantly hit
00:03:10 --> 00:03:12 these irregular moons, ejecting dust into
00:03:12 --> 00:03:13 their orbits.
00:03:13 --> 00:03:16 Anna: Over millions of years, this dust
00:03:16 --> 00:03:19 drifts inward, crossing the paths of the
00:03:19 --> 00:03:21 major moons. As the major moons orbit, they
00:03:21 --> 00:03:24 sweep up this dust primarily on their leading
00:03:24 --> 00:03:27 hemispheres. Soto likens it to driving
00:03:27 --> 00:03:30 fast on a highway and bugs hitting your
00:03:30 --> 00:03:30 windshield.
00:03:30 --> 00:03:33 Avery: And, um, the outer moons, Oberon and Titania,
00:03:33 --> 00:03:35 likely shield the inner ones, Ariel and
00:03:35 --> 00:03:38 Umbriel, from this dust. But even within the
00:03:38 --> 00:03:41 outer pair, they're still a mystery. Why is
00:03:41 --> 00:03:43 Oberon getting so much more dust than
00:03:43 --> 00:03:45 Titania? That's still one of the weird
00:03:45 --> 00:03:46 findings they're trying to figure out.
00:03:46 --> 00:03:49 Anna: This fascinating research highlights how
00:03:49 --> 00:03:52 much more there is to learn about our own
00:03:52 --> 00:03:54 solar system. So Soto hopes for a dedicated
00:03:54 --> 00:03:57 mission to Uranus in the future, perhaps in
00:03:57 --> 00:04:00 the early 2000 and 40s to truly unravel these
00:04:00 --> 00:04:03 mysteries. After all, as he put it, it
00:04:03 --> 00:04:04 is very weird.
00:04:04 --> 00:04:07 Avery: So why not from the mysteries of our own
00:04:07 --> 00:04:10 solar system? Let's zoom out a bit to our
00:04:10 --> 00:04:12 cosmic neighborhood. Our solar system isn't
00:04:12 --> 00:04:15 just floating in empty space. It resides
00:04:15 --> 00:04:18 within a massive million degree hot bubble
00:04:18 --> 00:04:21 of incredibly thin gas. And it's called the
00:04:21 --> 00:04:23 local hot bubble, or lhb.
00:04:24 --> 00:04:26 Anna: This LHB is essentially an
00:04:26 --> 00:04:29 invisible cocoon that glows in X ray
00:04:29 --> 00:04:32 light and stretches over a thousand light
00:04:32 --> 00:04:35 years across. And remarkably, despite
00:04:35 --> 00:04:38 its scorching temperature, its sparse
00:04:38 --> 00:04:40 atoms barely affect the surrounding matter.
00:04:41 --> 00:04:44 Some scientists even suggest this quiet
00:04:44 --> 00:04:47 warmth might have helped life flourish on
00:04:47 --> 00:04:47 Earth.
00:04:48 --> 00:04:50 Avery: For decades, the true shape and origin of
00:04:50 --> 00:04:53 this bubble remained a puzzle. But now,
00:04:53 --> 00:04:55 thanks to the sharp eyed Erocita X ray
00:04:55 --> 00:04:57 telescope and a team of scientists in
00:04:57 --> 00:05:00 Germany, the picture is finally coming
00:05:00 --> 00:05:01 into focus.
00:05:01 --> 00:05:03 Anna: The Max Planck Institute for
00:05:03 --> 00:05:06 Extraterrestrial Physics led the effort
00:05:06 --> 00:05:09 using Erocita to map the LHB in
00:05:09 --> 00:05:12 unprecedented detail. What made this
00:05:12 --> 00:05:14 telescope so crucial is its position
00:05:15 --> 00:05:17 far from Earth's atmosphere, allowing it to
00:05:17 --> 00:05:20 capture clear soft X rays ray emissions
00:05:20 --> 00:05:22 without interference from our own planet's
00:05:22 --> 00:05:24 solar wind interactions.
00:05:24 --> 00:05:27 Avery: And the findings? Well, the LHB is
00:05:27 --> 00:05:30 far from a smooth sphere. Lead researcher
00:05:30 --> 00:05:32 Michael Young described it as spikier and
00:05:32 --> 00:05:35 bumpier, with an irregular, jagged
00:05:35 --> 00:05:38 shape that bulges unevenly. It
00:05:38 --> 00:05:40 expands more freely towards the galactic
00:05:40 --> 00:05:43 poles, avoiding the denser midplane of the
00:05:43 --> 00:05:46 Milky Way, which makes sense as hot gas
00:05:46 --> 00:05:47 moves towards less resistance.
00:05:48 --> 00:05:51 Anna: This lumpiness likely reflects the chaotic
00:05:51 --> 00:05:54 forces that shaped it, such as Multiple
00:05:54 --> 00:05:56 overlapping supernova explosions and
00:05:56 --> 00:05:59 feedback from other stars. But perhaps the
00:05:59 --> 00:06:02 most surprising discovery was a previously
00:06:02 --> 00:06:05 unknown tunnel stretching towards the
00:06:05 --> 00:06:06 constellation Centaurus.
00:06:07 --> 00:06:09 Avery: This interstellar passage may connect the
00:06:09 --> 00:06:12 LHB with the neighboring superbubble, acting
00:06:12 --> 00:06:15 like a cosmic gateway. As co author
00:06:15 --> 00:06:18 Michael Freyberg explained, the existence of
00:06:18 --> 00:06:20 this tunnel carving a gap in the cooler
00:06:20 --> 00:06:23 interstellar medium was completely unknown
00:06:23 --> 00:06:26 until Erocita's sharper sensitivity
00:06:26 --> 00:06:26 revealed it.
00:06:27 --> 00:06:30 Anna: This new data from Erocita also helped
00:06:30 --> 00:06:33 settle a long standing debate. Scientists
00:06:33 --> 00:06:35 had proposed the LHB concept over
00:06:35 --> 00:06:38 50 years ago to explain faint X
00:06:38 --> 00:06:41 ray readings. But doubts arose in the
00:06:41 --> 00:06:44 90s when similar X rays were found to
00:06:44 --> 00:06:46 originate from solar wind interacting with
00:06:46 --> 00:06:49 Earth's atmosphere. Erocita's clear
00:06:49 --> 00:06:52 observations confirmed that much of that soft
00:06:52 --> 00:06:55 X ray background truly comes from the
00:06:55 --> 00:06:55 lhb.
00:06:56 --> 00:06:58 Avery: And the team also found a temperature
00:06:58 --> 00:07:00 difference across the bubble with the
00:07:00 --> 00:07:02 southern part being warmer than the northern
00:07:02 --> 00:07:05 side. This could point to recent heating
00:07:05 --> 00:07:07 events, perhaps new supernovas in the last
00:07:07 --> 00:07:10 few million years, suggesting the LHB
00:07:10 --> 00:07:13 isn't just a leftover but an active
00:07:13 --> 00:07:15 changing part of our uh, galactic landscape.
00:07:15 --> 00:07:18 Anna: And the idea of the Centaurus tunnel suggests
00:07:18 --> 00:07:21 it might be just one part of a larger system
00:07:21 --> 00:07:24 of tunnels like arteries running through the
00:07:24 --> 00:07:26 galaxy. These gaps between cold
00:07:26 --> 00:07:29 clouds could link the LHB to distant
00:07:29 --> 00:07:32 features like the Gum Nebula or other
00:07:32 --> 00:07:35 superbubbles, indicating the Milky Way is
00:07:35 --> 00:07:38 an interconnected structure and constantly
00:07:38 --> 00:07:39 shaped by explosive energy.
00:07:40 --> 00:07:42 Avery: It's truly mind boggling to think about.
00:07:43 --> 00:07:45 The team even mapped dense molecular clouds
00:07:45 --> 00:07:48 at the edges of the bubble, Some moving
00:07:48 --> 00:07:50 outward as if pushed by the original
00:07:50 --> 00:07:52 explosions that carved out the lhb.
00:07:53 --> 00:07:56 And fascinatingly, our sun is thought to have
00:07:56 --> 00:07:59 entered the LHB only a few million years ago.
00:07:59 --> 00:08:02 A ah, mere blank in its 4.6 billion year
00:08:02 --> 00:08:03 lifespan.
00:08:03 --> 00:08:06 Anna: The 3D model they built paints a
00:08:06 --> 00:08:08 vibrant layered picture of our solar
00:08:08 --> 00:08:10 system's galactic neighborhood, including
00:08:11 --> 00:08:13 supernova remains, molecular clouds,
00:08:14 --> 00:08:16 dust, and these newly discovered tunnels.
00:08:17 --> 00:08:19 Mapping this cosmic web could provide
00:08:19 --> 00:08:22 incredible insights into how stars
00:08:22 --> 00:08:25 die, galaxies evolve and how
00:08:25 --> 00:08:27 material moves between star systems.
00:08:28 --> 00:08:30 Avery: It's a major step in understanding not just
00:08:30 --> 00:08:33 our immediate bubble, but, but the dynamic,
00:08:33 --> 00:08:36 often explosive forces that shape the space
00:08:36 --> 00:08:38 between stars. It's like finding a secret
00:08:38 --> 00:08:41 highway system in space right outside our
00:08:41 --> 00:08:42 galactic door.
00:08:43 --> 00:08:45 Anna: Well from cosmic bubbles and
00:08:45 --> 00:08:48 planetary tilt, let's bring it back to
00:08:48 --> 00:08:50 Earth for a moment and look at the immediate
00:08:50 --> 00:08:53 future of space travel. We have a ah, packed
00:08:53 --> 00:08:54 week of launches ahead.
00:08:54 --> 00:08:57 Avery: It's truly bustling. Anna. This week's
00:08:57 --> 00:08:59 launch manifest is one of the busiest of
00:08:59 --> 00:09:02 2025. So far we've. With 10
00:09:02 --> 00:09:04 launches scheduled from around the world,
00:09:04 --> 00:09:07 we're talking everything from crewed missions
00:09:07 --> 00:09:09 to secret government payloads.
00:09:10 --> 00:09:12 Anna: Kicking things off on July 29,
00:09:12 --> 00:09:15 ispace's Shuangquusian 1 rocket
00:09:15 --> 00:09:18 is set for its eighth flight from China after
00:09:18 --> 00:09:21 a year long hiatus following a failure on its
00:09:21 --> 00:09:23 seventh mission. The payload for this one is
00:09:23 --> 00:09:26 currently unknown, but ISPACE is clearly
00:09:26 --> 00:09:28 hoping this launch will restore some
00:09:28 --> 00:09:29 reliability to their rocket.
00:09:30 --> 00:09:33 Avery: Then later that day, SpaceX is launching
00:09:33 --> 00:09:35 its first batch of Starlink satellites. This
00:09:35 --> 00:09:38 week, Group 1029 from
00:09:38 --> 00:09:40 Cape Canaveral Falcon Booster
00:09:40 --> 00:09:43 B1069 will be making its
00:09:43 --> 00:09:46 impressive 26th flight after
00:09:46 --> 00:09:49 a quick 37 day refurbishment.
00:09:49 --> 00:09:51 That's a true workhorse.
00:09:51 --> 00:09:54 Anna: China's CASC has a launch on July
00:09:54 --> 00:09:56 30th with their Changxing 8A
00:09:57 --> 00:09:59 carrying an undisclosed number of Guawang
00:09:59 --> 00:10:02 communications satellites. These are part of
00:10:02 --> 00:10:04 China's planned mega constellation of
00:10:04 --> 00:10:07 Internet satellites, aiming to rival SpaceX's
00:10:07 --> 00:10:09 Starlink, at least within China.
00:10:10 --> 00:10:12 Avery: Also on July 30, we have a significant
00:10:13 --> 00:10:16 international mission, the joint NASA
00:10:16 --> 00:10:19 ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar, or
00:10:19 --> 00:10:21 NISAR satellite. This satellite is
00:10:21 --> 00:10:24 set to map Earth's elevation multiple times
00:10:24 --> 00:10:27 a month, focusing on ecosystem
00:10:27 --> 00:10:30 disturbances like earthquakes, tsunamis,
00:10:30 --> 00:10:32 volcanoes and ice sheet collapses.
00:10:33 --> 00:10:36 Anna: NASA is contributing the L band radar and
00:10:36 --> 00:10:39 a high rate telecommunications system, while
00:10:39 --> 00:10:41 ISRO is providing the satellite bus, the S
00:10:41 --> 00:10:44 band radar and the launch services from
00:10:44 --> 00:10:46 India. It's a great example of global
00:10:46 --> 00:10:48 collaboration in space science.
00:10:48 --> 00:10:51 Avery: Later that same day, SpaceX is back at
00:10:51 --> 00:10:54 it with another Starlink launch, Group
00:10:54 --> 00:10:57 134 from Vandenberg.
00:10:57 --> 00:11:00 This flight will mark Falcon's 500th
00:11:00 --> 00:11:03 recovery attempt, really underscoring
00:11:03 --> 00:11:05 SpaceX's commitment to reusability.
00:11:05 --> 00:11:08 Anna: And speaking of secretive payloads, Rocket
00:11:08 --> 00:11:10 Lab is launching a suborbital mission called
00:11:10 --> 00:11:13 Jake 4 on their haste testbed.
00:11:13 --> 00:11:16 This is a highly secretive government payload
00:11:16 --> 00:11:19 believed to be a hypersonic reentry missile.
00:11:19 --> 00:11:22 Rocket Lab has completed three HASTE missions
00:11:22 --> 00:11:24 so far, showing a growing demand for
00:11:24 --> 00:11:26 launching payloads to suborbital space at
00:11:26 --> 00:11:28 hypersonic speeds.
00:11:28 --> 00:11:30 Avery: Another unknown payload is scheduled to
00:11:30 --> 00:11:33 launch from China on July 31, with
00:11:33 --> 00:11:36 X Pace's Kuaizhou 1A rocket
00:11:36 --> 00:11:38 making its 30th mission.
00:11:39 --> 00:11:41 Anna: But perhaps the biggest highlight of the week
00:11:41 --> 00:11:44 is SpaceX and NASA's Crew 11
00:11:44 --> 00:11:46 mission to the International Space Station.
00:11:46 --> 00:11:49 On July 31, four astronauts,
00:11:49 --> 00:11:52 including NASA's Zena Cardman and Mike
00:11:52 --> 00:11:55 Finke, JAXA's Kamiya Yui and
00:11:55 --> 00:11:58 Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platanov, will head to
00:11:58 --> 00:12:00 the ISS for a six month mission of Science
00:12:00 --> 00:12:01 and research.
00:12:01 --> 00:12:04 Avery: And of course, in true SpaceX fashion, the
00:12:04 --> 00:12:07 Booster B1094 will
00:12:07 --> 00:12:10 attempt a return to launch site landing. And
00:12:10 --> 00:12:13 the crew Dragon capsule Endeavor will be
00:12:13 --> 00:12:15 flying to the ISS for the sixth time as
00:12:16 --> 00:12:18 after 515 days of refurbishment.
00:12:19 --> 00:12:21 Anna: Wrapping up the week, SpaceX has a third
00:12:21 --> 00:12:24 Starlink mission on August 2nd. And then on
00:12:24 --> 00:12:27 August 4th, another Chinese Changzang 12
00:12:27 --> 00:12:29 rocket will launch from Winchinchuang
00:12:29 --> 00:12:32 carrying more Guawang satellites. Given
00:12:32 --> 00:12:34 that this is the second launch of Guawang
00:12:34 --> 00:12:37 satellites this week, it looks like China is
00:12:37 --> 00:12:39 pushing hard to expand its constellation
00:12:39 --> 00:12:42 rapidly, aiming to fulfill its goal of
00:12:42 --> 00:12:44 13 satellites and provide
00:12:44 --> 00:12:47 reliable Internet for its people. It's
00:12:47 --> 00:12:49 certainly going to be a busy week for space
00:12:49 --> 00:12:49 watchers.
00:12:50 --> 00:12:53 From the incredible pace of launches, let's
00:12:53 --> 00:12:55 shift our focus to something even more
00:12:55 --> 00:12:58 fundamentalthe very definition of where life
00:12:58 --> 00:13:01 can exist. A groundbreaking new study
00:13:01 --> 00:13:03 is challenging our traditional views on
00:13:03 --> 00:13:06 habitability, proposing that life doesn't
00:13:06 --> 00:13:07 always need sunlight to thrive.
00:13:08 --> 00:13:10 Avery: That's right, Anna. Uh, this study, led by
00:13:10 --> 00:13:13 Demetra Attri at NYU Abu Dhabi,
00:13:14 --> 00:13:17 suggests that high energy radiation from deep
00:13:17 --> 00:13:20 space, specifically galactic cosmic
00:13:20 --> 00:13:22 rays, could actually support life in
00:13:22 --> 00:13:25 dark underground environments on planets like
00:13:25 --> 00:13:28 Mars and moons such as Europa and
00:13:28 --> 00:13:31 Enceladus. It really flips the script on
00:13:31 --> 00:13:33 what makes a planet or moon livable.
00:13:33 --> 00:13:36 Anna: It's fascinating because we usually associate
00:13:36 --> 00:13:39 ionizing radiation with harm damage to
00:13:39 --> 00:13:42 cells, DNA and proteins. Space
00:13:42 --> 00:13:44 agencies even consider cosmic rays a major
00:13:44 --> 00:13:47 threat to astronauts. But this research
00:13:47 --> 00:13:49 highlights another side. In certain
00:13:49 --> 00:13:52 environments, radiation doesn't just destroy,
00:13:52 --> 00:13:53 it creates.
00:13:53 --> 00:13:56 Avery: Exactly. When these energetic charged
00:13:56 --> 00:13:59 particles hit ice or rock, they can break
00:13:59 --> 00:14:02 apart water molecules in a process called
00:14:02 --> 00:14:05 radiolysis. This reaction releases
00:14:05 --> 00:14:07 electrons and other useful products. On
00:14:07 --> 00:14:10 Earth, we found bacteria in deep South
00:14:10 --> 00:14:13 African gold mines that use these electrons
00:14:13 --> 00:14:15 as an energy source, much like plants use
00:14:15 --> 00:14:17 sunlight for photosynthesis, thriving
00:14:17 --> 00:14:20 kilometers below the surface without any
00:14:20 --> 00:14:21 light at all.
00:14:21 --> 00:14:23 Anna: So Autry's team used a, uh, physics
00:14:23 --> 00:14:26 simulation tool to calculate how much energy
00:14:26 --> 00:14:29 cosmic rays could deposit beneath the
00:14:29 --> 00:14:31 surfaces of Mars, Europa and
00:14:31 --> 00:14:34 Enceladus. They then estimated how much
00:14:34 --> 00:14:37 of that energy could support life, leading to
00:14:37 --> 00:14:39 a new concept they call the rhz,
00:14:40 --> 00:14:42 or Radiolytic Habitable Zone.
00:14:42 --> 00:14:45 Avery: This RHZ shifts the focus away from
00:14:45 --> 00:14:48 the traditional Goldilocks zone, that sweet
00:14:48 --> 00:14:50 spot around a star where temperatures allow
00:14:50 --> 00:14:53 for liquid water. Instead, the
00:14:53 --> 00:14:56 RHZ looks underground at places where
00:14:56 --> 00:14:58 water, ice and cosmic radiation
00:14:58 --> 00:15:01 combine to create energy rich environments.
00:15:01 --> 00:15:03 It depends on how much radiation penetrates,
00:15:03 --> 00:15:06 uh, a planet's thin atmosphere or icy shell,
00:15:06 --> 00:15:08 and how deep it can reach.
00:15:08 --> 00:15:10 Anna: Their simulations showed that Saturn's moon
00:15:10 --> 00:15:13 Enceladus actually had the greatest potential
00:15:13 --> 00:15:16 to support life through radiolysis. With
00:15:16 --> 00:15:19 Mars following closely and Jupiter's moon
00:15:19 --> 00:15:21 Europa coming in third. These icy
00:15:21 --> 00:15:24 bodies, often thought of as lifeless because
00:15:24 --> 00:15:26 of their cold, sunless surfaces, could
00:15:26 --> 00:15:29 harbor dense underground ecosystems
00:15:29 --> 00:15:31 fueled by this radiation.
00:15:31 --> 00:15:33 Avery: And the key here, as with so many discussions
00:15:33 --> 00:15:36 about extraterrestrial life, is water.
00:15:37 --> 00:15:39 Even small pockets of liquid water
00:15:39 --> 00:15:41 underground would allow these chemical
00:15:41 --> 00:15:43 reactions to happen more easily, providing a
00:15:43 --> 00:15:46 medium for complex molecules to form and
00:15:46 --> 00:15:49 react. It means those suspected oceans
00:15:49 --> 00:15:52 beneath the ice of Europa or Enceladus
00:15:52 --> 00:15:54 could be prime locations for alien life.
00:15:54 --> 00:15:57 Powered by cosmic rays hitting the surface
00:15:57 --> 00:15:57 ice.
00:15:58 --> 00:16:00 Anna: This study truly broadens our definition of
00:16:00 --> 00:16:03 habitability. Life might not need warmth from
00:16:03 --> 00:16:06 a star or even geothermal heat from a
00:16:06 --> 00:16:09 planet's core. Cosmic rays, long
00:16:09 --> 00:16:11 feared, could actually be a life giving
00:16:11 --> 00:16:12 energy source.
00:16:12 --> 00:16:14 Avery: In the right conditions, it completely
00:16:14 --> 00:16:17 redefines where we might look next. Instead
00:16:17 --> 00:16:20 of just focusing on warm, sunlit worlds, we
00:16:20 --> 00:16:23 can now consider cold, dark places. As long
00:16:23 --> 00:16:25 as they have some water beneath the surface
00:16:25 --> 00:16:27 and are exposed to cosmic rays, it
00:16:27 --> 00:16:29 offers hope that the universe may be teeming
00:16:29 --> 00:16:32 with life, quietly thriving in hidden
00:16:32 --> 00:16:34 oceans, powered by the stars themselves.
00:16:35 --> 00:16:37 Anna: What an episode. Avery. We've journeyed from
00:16:37 --> 00:16:40 the puzzling mysteries of Uranus and its
00:16:40 --> 00:16:42 strangely dark moons, which are still
00:16:42 --> 00:16:45 baffling scientists, to the incredibly
00:16:45 --> 00:16:47 dynamic local hot bubbles surrounding our
00:16:47 --> 00:16:48 solar system.
00:16:48 --> 00:16:50 Avery: It's been a whirlwind. And let's not forget
00:16:50 --> 00:16:53 the sheer excitement of this week's launch
00:16:53 --> 00:16:55 roundup. With so many missions heading into
00:16:55 --> 00:16:58 space, including crewed flights and
00:16:58 --> 00:17:00 groundbreaking Earth observation satellites.
00:17:01 --> 00:17:03 Anna: Absolutely. But perhaps the most mind bending
00:17:03 --> 00:17:06 discussion was about the radiolytic habitable
00:17:06 --> 00:17:09 zone, pushing the boundaries of where life
00:17:09 --> 00:17:11 could exist beyond our traditional sun
00:17:11 --> 00:17:14 drenched views. It really makes you rethink
00:17:14 --> 00:17:15 what's possible out there.
00:17:15 --> 00:17:17 Avery: It certainly does. It's been a privilege to
00:17:17 --> 00:17:20 share all this incredible space and astronomy
00:17:20 --> 00:17:22 news with our listeners today. Don't forget,
00:17:22 --> 00:17:24 if you want more news and commentary from us,
00:17:24 --> 00:17:27 simply visit astronomydaily.IO.
00:17:28 --> 00:17:30 Anna: We hope you enjoyed exploring the cosmos with
00:17:30 --> 00:17:32 us on Astronomy Daily. Thank you for tuning
00:17:32 --> 00:17:34 in, and we look forward to sharing more
00:17:34 --> 00:17:36 cosmic insights with you in our next episode,
00:17:36 --> 00:17:39 which will be tomorrow, of course. Until
00:17:39 --> 00:17:40 then, keep looking up.