Black Holes, Time Twists & the Future of Life on Mars: A Q&A Episode
Space Nuts: Exploring the CosmosJune 03, 2025
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00:33:5731.14 MB

Black Holes, Time Twists & the Future of Life on Mars: A Q&A Episode

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Black Holes, Time Dimensions, and the Future of Life on Mars
In this thought-provoking episode of Space Nuts, host Andrew Dunkley and the ever-insightful Professor Fred Watson tackle a variety of intriguing questions from listeners. From the mysteries of black holes to the complex nature of time and the potential for life on Mars, this episode promises to stimulate your cosmic curiosity.
Episode Highlights:
- Black Holes and Time: Andrew and Fred Watson delve into a listener's question about black holes and the nature of time as one approaches the event horizon. Can time really reverse, or does it simply stop? The duo explores these mind-bending concepts and the implications of black hole physics.
- The Nature of Time: A fascinating discussion arises from a question about whether time can be considered a true dimension. Andrew and Fred Watson unpack the complexities of time as a dimension, including its unique properties compared to spatial dimensions and how it affects our understanding of the universe.
- Future Habitats on Mars: The conversation shifts to the potential for life on Mars and the impact of Milankovitch cycles on the planet's climate. Can Mars become a habitable world again, and what does that mean for the future of life in our solar system? The duo examines the possibilities and the ongoing search for extraterrestrial life.
- Listener Ideas and Cosmic Creativity: Andrew shares an exciting book premise suggested by a listener, exploring the idea of Martian microbes merging with human cells. This sparks a conversation about the implications of such a scenario and the creative possibilities it presents.
For more Space Nuts, including our continually updating newsfeed and to listen to all our episodes, visit our website. Follow us on social media at SpaceNutsPod on Facebook, X, YouTube Music, Tumblr, Instagram, and TikTok. We love engaging with our community, so be sure to drop us a message or comment on your favourite platform.
If you’d like to help support Space Nuts and join our growing family of insiders for commercial-free episodes and more, visit spacenutspodcast.com/about
Stay curious, keep looking up, and join us next time for more stellar insights and cosmic wonders. Until then, clear skies and happy stargazing.
(00:00) Welcome to Space Nuts with Andrew Dunkley and Fred Watson Watson
(01:20) Discussion on black holes and the nature of time
(15:00) Exploring the potential for life on Mars and Milankovitch cycles
(25:30) Listener Ash ideas and cosmic creativity
For commercial-free versions of Space Nuts, join us on Patreon, Supercast, Apple Podcasts, or become a supporter here: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/space-nuts-astronomy-insights-cosmic-discoveries--2631155/support.


00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 Andrew Dunkley: Hi there. Andrew Dunkley here and this is

00:00:02 --> 00:00:05 Space Nuts, a Q and A edition. Thanks for

00:00:05 --> 00:00:08 joining us. Coming up we're going to oh

00:00:08 --> 00:00:10 gosh, talk about something never before

00:00:10 --> 00:00:13 spoken of on Space Nuts. A black

00:00:13 --> 00:00:15 hole. A little bit of a different twist on

00:00:15 --> 00:00:17 this one though. We're also going to look at

00:00:17 --> 00:00:20 the. Dimension of time, our obsession

00:00:20 --> 00:00:23 with life, the malinkov cycles

00:00:23 --> 00:00:25 of Mars and Paddy's got an idea for

00:00:25 --> 00:00:28 me to write a book. That's all coming up

00:00:28 --> 00:00:30 on this edition of space nuts.

00:00:30 --> 00:00:33 Generic: 15 seconds. Guidance is internal.

00:00:33 --> 00:00:35 10, 9. Ignition

00:00:35 --> 00:00:38 sequence start. Space nuts. 5, 4, 3.

00:00:39 --> 00:00:41 2. 1. 2, 3, 4, 5, 5, 4,

00:00:41 --> 00:00:44 3, 2, 1. Space nuts. Astronauts

00:00:44 --> 00:00:46 report it feels good.

00:00:46 --> 00:00:49 Andrew Dunkley: And with all the answers is Professor

00:00:49 --> 00:00:50 Fred Watson Watson, astronomer at large.

00:00:50 --> 00:00:51 Hello friend.

00:00:52 --> 00:00:54 Professor Fred Watson: Hello Andrew. It's not all the answers but

00:00:55 --> 00:00:58 well, two or three of them, that's all

00:00:58 --> 00:00:58 we need.

00:00:59 --> 00:01:01 Andrew Dunkley: I thought I'd show you my background today.

00:01:01 --> 00:01:03 Professor Fred Watson: Yes, I was to ask you about that.

00:01:03 --> 00:01:05 Andrew Dunkley: All these rockets launching into space.

00:01:05 --> 00:01:08 That's from the sphere in Las Vegas.

00:01:08 --> 00:01:10 I took that photo when we went to a show

00:01:10 --> 00:01:12 there called Postcard From Earth.

00:01:13 --> 00:01:15 And the basis of the story

00:01:16 --> 00:01:19 is that Earth's become uninhabitable due to

00:01:19 --> 00:01:22 global warming. So everyone basically went

00:01:22 --> 00:01:24 let's get out of Dodge. And that's the scene

00:01:24 --> 00:01:27 of all the rockets taking off as humanity

00:01:27 --> 00:01:29 leaves the planet. And the whole

00:01:29 --> 00:01:32 storyline basically is about people coming

00:01:32 --> 00:01:34 back to visit but we can't live here anymore

00:01:34 --> 00:01:37 because we messed it up so bad. And

00:01:37 --> 00:01:39 that, yeah, so that's the launch sequence

00:01:39 --> 00:01:41 from all the humans leaving the planet after

00:01:41 --> 00:01:43 we decimated it with global warming and

00:01:43 --> 00:01:46 climate change. and it's a

00:01:46 --> 00:01:49 360 degree sphere in Las

00:01:49 --> 00:01:52 Vegas, which you can walk around and

00:01:52 --> 00:01:54 it has pictures on the outside, but on the

00:01:54 --> 00:01:57 inside it's a visual screen that goes all

00:01:57 --> 00:02:00 around you. not only is it showing you

00:02:00 --> 00:02:03 pictures but you can also experience weather

00:02:03 --> 00:02:05 while you're there. So you fly over snow

00:02:05 --> 00:02:07 fields and you can feel the cold and the

00:02:07 --> 00:02:10 wind. you fly over an orchard in

00:02:10 --> 00:02:13 California, you can smell the citrus. it's

00:02:13 --> 00:02:15 really brilliant, really amazing facility

00:02:15 --> 00:02:17 that they've, they've built there and all

00:02:17 --> 00:02:20 centred around science. So yeah, loved it,

00:02:20 --> 00:02:22 Absolutely loved it. Notwithstanding the fact

00:02:22 --> 00:02:24 the Eagles are performing there pretty much

00:02:24 --> 00:02:26 as I speak. So they do all kind of thing as

00:02:26 --> 00:02:29 well. Yeah. But yeah, I like that, I like

00:02:29 --> 00:02:31 that as a backdrop. Sort of fits in with what

00:02:31 --> 00:02:34 we do. Space Nuts launching rockets, that

00:02:34 --> 00:02:34 kind of thing.

00:02:36 --> 00:02:38 Professor Fred Watson: So the reason why Earth, is uninhabitable. Is

00:02:38 --> 00:02:41 because of all these rockets leaving behind

00:02:41 --> 00:02:44 their trailer were nasty

00:02:44 --> 00:02:44 stuff.

00:02:44 --> 00:02:45 Andrew Dunkley: They dusted chemicals.

00:02:47 --> 00:02:49 It probably didn't help that many take.

00:02:49 --> 00:02:50 Professor Fred Watson: I don't think it would, no.

00:02:51 --> 00:02:53 Andrew Dunkley: Let's get down to some questions. And our

00:02:53 --> 00:02:55 first one comes from Mark, Painter. this one

00:02:55 --> 00:02:58 came via, Facebook. Dear Andrew and Professor

00:02:58 --> 00:02:59 Fred Watson. I have a few questions that

00:02:59 --> 00:03:02 puzzle me today. I'll start with, of course,

00:03:02 --> 00:03:05 black holes in the movie Interstellar.

00:03:06 --> 00:03:08 As they get closer to the black hole, time

00:03:08 --> 00:03:11 slows down relative to the outside observer.

00:03:11 --> 00:03:13 By extension, as we get close to the event

00:03:13 --> 00:03:16 horizon, time would stretch more and more and

00:03:16 --> 00:03:19 I assume follows an exponential curve

00:03:19 --> 00:03:21 to the point where time effectively stops.

00:03:22 --> 00:03:24 So then to enter the black hole, wouldn't

00:03:24 --> 00:03:27 time have to go in reverse? Could it be

00:03:27 --> 00:03:30 that all black holes are actually chunks that

00:03:30 --> 00:03:33 come from the Big Bang that did

00:03:33 --> 00:03:36 not, form, That did not

00:03:36 --> 00:03:37 form normal matter?

00:03:38 --> 00:03:39 Andrew Dunkley: Thanks in advance.

00:03:39 --> 00:03:41 Andrew Dunkley: We kind of talked about that in our last

00:03:41 --> 00:03:44 episode. The primordial black holes. And

00:03:45 --> 00:03:48 they're maybe being responsible

00:03:48 --> 00:03:51 for dark matter, which Fred Watson

00:03:51 --> 00:03:54 debunked pretty heavily. Yeah, there's

00:03:54 --> 00:03:57 a big up. Really? No, but, So he's

00:03:57 --> 00:03:59 asking about time being reversed. If you

00:03:59 --> 00:04:02 entered a black hole, I know something

00:04:02 --> 00:04:05 that would be reversed. Your life. But that's

00:04:05 --> 00:04:05 besides the point.

00:04:06 --> 00:04:09 Professor Fred Watson: Yeah, Just. Just to, elaborate on what you

00:04:09 --> 00:04:11 were just saying though, Andrew.

00:04:12 --> 00:04:15 primordial black holes may exist. We just

00:04:15 --> 00:04:17 don't know. and my comment was that I didn't

00:04:17 --> 00:04:20 think they would amount to forming

00:04:20 --> 00:04:22 the. The dark matter that, you know,

00:04:23 --> 00:04:26 looking for. But we do, we do know that,

00:04:26 --> 00:04:28 some black holes are actually formed

00:04:29 --> 00:04:32 from supernova explosions. The debris left

00:04:32 --> 00:04:35 over by supernova. The collapse of the core

00:04:35 --> 00:04:37 of a star that has sufficient mass,

00:04:38 --> 00:04:40 up to 22. Something like 22

00:04:40 --> 00:04:43 solar masses. So, the answer to the

00:04:43 --> 00:04:45 last bit of Mark's question there. Could it

00:04:45 --> 00:04:47 be that all the black holes are actually

00:04:47 --> 00:04:49 chunks that came from the Big Bang that did

00:04:49 --> 00:04:52 not form normal matter? And, some of

00:04:52 --> 00:04:55 them probably did, the primordial ones. But,

00:04:55 --> 00:04:58 some also didn't. We know that black

00:04:58 --> 00:05:00 holes are formed by. By stars getting to the

00:05:00 --> 00:05:02 ends of their lives. And regarding time

00:05:03 --> 00:05:06 reversal, Mark is absolutely right that

00:05:06 --> 00:05:09 as you, To an outside observer, the

00:05:09 --> 00:05:11 closer you get to the event horizon,

00:05:12 --> 00:05:14 the, More

00:05:15 --> 00:05:18 your time to the outside observer slows down,

00:05:18 --> 00:05:20 if I can put it that way. And when you cross

00:05:20 --> 00:05:22 the event horizon, basically time stops. So

00:05:22 --> 00:05:25 your person would be frozen, on the event

00:05:25 --> 00:05:27 horizon. Although they've actually fallen

00:05:27 --> 00:05:30 into it. They don't see the event horizon

00:05:30 --> 00:05:32 because that's ah, basically an optical

00:05:32 --> 00:05:35 illusion. It's the point at which light

00:05:35 --> 00:05:36 cannot escape.

00:05:36 --> 00:05:38 Andrew Dunkley: We thought this, some

00:05:38 --> 00:05:41 episodes back about how if you were to

00:05:41 --> 00:05:44 cross the threshold, like, oh, space and

00:05:44 --> 00:05:45 time would flip.

00:05:46 --> 00:05:48 Professor Fred Watson: Yes, that's right, they do. that's. As you

00:05:48 --> 00:05:51 get close to it, it's exactly right. The

00:05:51 --> 00:05:53 dimensions flip. And we had quite a nice

00:05:53 --> 00:05:55 explanation as to why that would be.

00:05:55 --> 00:05:58 Andrew Dunkley: Which great YouTube video on it, I think.

00:05:58 --> 00:06:00 Professor Fred Watson: Yes, that was it. There was a YouTube video.

00:06:00 --> 00:06:03 Very nicely put. very nicely put.

00:06:03 --> 00:06:06 Why the. Effectively space and time

00:06:06 --> 00:06:09 flip. and that in a way sort

00:06:09 --> 00:06:12 of illuminates Mark's question as

00:06:12 --> 00:06:14 well. The, the time

00:06:14 --> 00:06:17 doesn't reverse for you. time basically

00:06:17 --> 00:06:19 disappears along with you

00:06:20 --> 00:06:22 and you get swallowed into the, into the

00:06:22 --> 00:06:25 black hole from your perspective. and

00:06:25 --> 00:06:27 you know, it's no good thinking about whether

00:06:27 --> 00:06:30 to an outside observer time might reverse

00:06:31 --> 00:06:33 because the outside observer can't see you

00:06:33 --> 00:06:36 because you're, by that time you're inside

00:06:36 --> 00:06:38 the event horizon. So nobody's going to see

00:06:38 --> 00:06:40 you, Nobody will feel your pain.

00:06:40 --> 00:06:41 Andrew Dunkley: No, no.

00:06:41 --> 00:06:43 Andrew Dunkley: But you'll be covered in spaghetti sauce.

00:06:43 --> 00:06:44 Professor Fred Watson: Spaghetti. Yes, that's right.

00:06:44 --> 00:06:46 Andrew Dunkley: In the movie Interstellar, of course he's

00:06:46 --> 00:06:49 referring to a situation where an

00:06:49 --> 00:06:52 astronaut did cross the plane into a black

00:06:52 --> 00:06:54 hole to help solve,

00:06:55 --> 00:06:58 a, a, a puzzle that they could only solve

00:06:58 --> 00:07:00 if they could get inside a black hole.

00:07:01 --> 00:07:01 Professor Fred Watson: Yes, that's right.

00:07:01 --> 00:07:02 Paddy: Yep.

00:07:03 --> 00:07:04 Professor Fred Watson: I, I did see the movie, but I don't remember

00:07:04 --> 00:07:07 the exact plot. I just remember thinking, no,

00:07:07 --> 00:07:10 that couldn't possibly happen. No. What are

00:07:10 --> 00:07:10 they talking about?

00:07:10 --> 00:07:13 Andrew Dunkley: All a gravity problem and they couldn't do

00:07:13 --> 00:07:16 it. Black hole. So that's,

00:07:16 --> 00:07:19 I had to go in, brilliant film, but that was

00:07:19 --> 00:07:21 probably where it jumped the shark, so to

00:07:21 --> 00:07:24 speak. in terms of reality. But

00:07:24 --> 00:07:26 who cares? It's science fiction. I loved it.

00:07:26 --> 00:07:29 Absolutely loved it. Thank you Mark, great to

00:07:29 --> 00:07:32 hear from you and thanks for reaching out on

00:07:32 --> 00:07:35 Facebook. Our next question comes from

00:07:35 --> 00:07:35 Craig.

00:07:35 --> 00:07:38 Craig: Hi professors, it's Craig calling from

00:07:38 --> 00:07:40 Sunny Marimbula in New South Wales.

00:07:41 --> 00:07:43 I have a question about dimensions.

00:07:45 --> 00:07:48 1, dimension, 2, 3.

00:07:49 --> 00:07:51 They all need time and we

00:07:51 --> 00:07:54 describe time as a dimension. But

00:07:54 --> 00:07:57 is it really? It's kind of

00:07:57 --> 00:08:00 like half a dimension. We can move in

00:08:00 --> 00:08:02 one vector but not in the other.

00:08:03 --> 00:08:05 Unless you can move faster than the speed of

00:08:05 --> 00:08:08 light and I don't think we can. So

00:08:08 --> 00:08:11 it's not really a full dimension.

00:08:11 --> 00:08:14 It's as I said, more like a Half a dimension.

00:08:14 --> 00:08:15 What are your thoughts?

00:08:16 --> 00:08:18 Andrew Dunkley: M. Okay, Craig, thank you.

00:08:19 --> 00:08:21 Andrew Dunkley: yes, half a dimension.

00:08:21 --> 00:08:23 Andrew Dunkley: We do describe time as a dimension

00:08:24 --> 00:08:26 and while you're talking I'm going to do some

00:08:26 --> 00:08:29 research because I remember us talking not so

00:08:29 --> 00:08:32 long ago about a paper that was

00:08:32 --> 00:08:35 released suggesting time travels

00:08:35 --> 00:08:36 in two directions at once.

00:08:38 --> 00:08:38 Was that.

00:08:40 --> 00:08:42 Professor Fred Watson: Yeah, that's that was

00:08:42 --> 00:08:45 for the. It's

00:08:45 --> 00:08:48 the way some quantum processes experience it.

00:08:48 --> 00:08:50 I think that was what it was about. Yeah. so

00:08:50 --> 00:08:53 time is a dimension. this

00:08:53 --> 00:08:56 emerged from sort of mathematical

00:08:56 --> 00:08:58 studies in the wake of Einstein's special

00:08:58 --> 00:08:59 theory of relativity.

00:09:01 --> 00:09:04 and so you can write down an

00:09:04 --> 00:09:06 equation, if I

00:09:07 --> 00:09:08 remember it rightly

00:09:10 --> 00:09:13 so you, excuse me, imagine yourself

00:09:13 --> 00:09:15 moving, in

00:09:16 --> 00:09:19 three dimensions, a

00:09:19 --> 00:09:22 distance which we'll call S. You've got

00:09:22 --> 00:09:24 three coordinates and actually in three

00:09:24 --> 00:09:26 dimensions you can write down an equation

00:09:26 --> 00:09:28 which we call the metric. And this is for

00:09:28 --> 00:09:31 normal non relativistic space which would be

00:09:31 --> 00:09:33 the S squared equals X squared plus Y squared

00:09:33 --> 00:09:36 plus Z squared. That would be a formal

00:09:36 --> 00:09:39 equation of how you would move in a three

00:09:39 --> 00:09:41 dimensional coordinate system. we,

00:09:43 --> 00:09:45 you know, we express these things

00:09:45 --> 00:09:47 mathematically. It's called a metric. That is

00:09:47 --> 00:09:50 the bottom

00:09:50 --> 00:09:52 line of this. but with

00:09:53 --> 00:09:55 relativity coming along people realise that

00:09:55 --> 00:09:58 yes, time behaves just like a dimension,

00:09:58 --> 00:10:01 and it is variable, it can be

00:10:01 --> 00:10:03 squashed and it can be extended. Just as

00:10:03 --> 00:10:06 we've been talking about time dilation, your

00:10:06 --> 00:10:09 time can look differently from the time

00:10:09 --> 00:10:12 of somebody else, who's in a different frame

00:10:12 --> 00:10:13 of reference from you, whether

00:10:13 --> 00:10:16 gravitationally or moving. so time is

00:10:16 --> 00:10:18 bendy, but

00:10:19 --> 00:10:22 you find that when you move to that

00:10:22 --> 00:10:24 relativistic situation you can write the

00:10:24 --> 00:10:26 equation down where you've got four

00:10:26 --> 00:10:29 dimensions, and one of them is time. And if I

00:10:29 --> 00:10:30 remember rightly, it's S squared equals X

00:10:30 --> 00:10:33 squared plus Y squared plus Z squared minus C

00:10:33 --> 00:10:36 squared T squared, where T is time.

00:10:36 --> 00:10:39 So it behaves just like a dimension.

00:10:40 --> 00:10:43 And that is why we call it a

00:10:43 --> 00:10:46 dimension, because it is, but it is clearly

00:10:46 --> 00:10:48 different in some ways from the three

00:10:48 --> 00:10:51 dimensions of space because. Exactly, as

00:10:51 --> 00:10:54 Craig says, we can move willy nilly about the

00:10:54 --> 00:10:56 three dimensions of space within reason of

00:10:56 --> 00:10:58 course, but we can move around them, but we

00:10:58 --> 00:11:01 can't move willy nilly around the dimension

00:11:01 --> 00:11:03 of time, except under certain circumstances

00:11:03 --> 00:11:05 where you're travelling at very high

00:11:05 --> 00:11:08 velocities and things of that sort. So it

00:11:08 --> 00:11:11 is a very unusual, it's an unusual

00:11:11 --> 00:11:14 dimension, but it is a dimension.

00:11:14 --> 00:11:16 I quite like the idea of it being half A

00:11:16 --> 00:11:19 dimension. but I think my mathematical

00:11:19 --> 00:11:22 friends would say no, it's definitely

00:11:22 --> 00:11:23 not half a dimension.

00:11:23 --> 00:11:26 Andrew Dunkley: Yes, I found several articles on what

00:11:26 --> 00:11:28 we'd spoken about, which was, a paper

00:11:28 --> 00:11:31 published late February, early March. In the

00:11:31 --> 00:11:34 quantum realm, time arrow might fly in

00:11:34 --> 00:11:37 two directions. Mark might want

00:11:37 --> 00:11:40 to, Craig, I mean, might want to look that

00:11:40 --> 00:11:43 up, and read a bit more about it. But

00:11:43 --> 00:11:45 yeah, it's a special circumstance I

00:11:45 --> 00:11:48 suppose would be the best way to

00:11:48 --> 00:11:51 describe it. but yeah, it's,

00:11:51 --> 00:11:53 it's, yeah, it's an interesting article.

00:11:54 --> 00:11:56 Professor Fred Watson: It's an interesting question from Craig too.

00:11:56 --> 00:11:58 Andrew Dunkley: Yes, very interesting. Thank you Craig. Great

00:11:58 --> 00:11:59 to hear from you.

00:12:00 --> 00:12:02 this is Space Nuts, Andrew Dunkley here with

00:12:02 --> 00:12:04 Professor Fred Watson Watson.

00:12:05 --> 00:12:07 Andrew Dunkley: Let's take a break from the show to tell you

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00:13:49 --> 00:13:51 Now back to the show.

00:13:54 --> 00:13:56 Andrew Dunkley: SpaceNuts. Okay, Fred Watson, we've got

00:13:56 --> 00:13:58 another audio question from a regular

00:13:58 --> 00:14:01 senderinera. Here's Mikey.

00:14:01 --> 00:14:03 Mikey: Hey friend. And Andrew. It is Mikey from

00:14:03 --> 00:14:06 Illinois. Once again, I'm sitting here

00:14:06 --> 00:14:08 at 5:30 in the morning as one does, pondering

00:14:08 --> 00:14:11 about life in the universe. And I Was just

00:14:11 --> 00:14:13 wondering why we're so fixated on life

00:14:14 --> 00:14:16 had already happening on other

00:14:16 --> 00:14:19 planets. we look for signs of life

00:14:19 --> 00:14:21 from the past on Mars, you know eventually on

00:14:21 --> 00:14:24 Venus and all these places that we go. But

00:14:24 --> 00:14:27 what are the odds that these places say

00:14:28 --> 00:14:30 Venus for example are

00:14:30 --> 00:14:33 on their infancy stage of life and

00:14:33 --> 00:14:35 Venus will eventually cool down

00:14:36 --> 00:14:39 one day and when the Earth is

00:14:39 --> 00:14:41 long gone, possibly because we've self

00:14:41 --> 00:14:44 annihilated ourselves, maybe one day

00:14:44 --> 00:14:46 millions of years in the future, Venus will

00:14:46 --> 00:14:49 be an oasis. I'm just

00:14:49 --> 00:14:51 curious on your guys thoughts of this and I

00:14:51 --> 00:14:53 mean what are, what are the chances that

00:14:54 --> 00:14:56 maybe some planet or somebody in our solar

00:14:56 --> 00:14:58 system as of right now may not be able to

00:14:58 --> 00:15:01 harbour life but someday in the future will

00:15:01 --> 00:15:03 be. Thanks guys.

00:15:04 --> 00:15:05 Andrew Dunkley: Thank you Mikey.

00:15:05 --> 00:15:07 Andrew Dunkley: that's a really interesting question. in

00:15:07 --> 00:15:09 terms of the Venus theory,

00:15:10 --> 00:15:13 you might argue that Venus has already been

00:15:13 --> 00:15:15 there because I remember a story way back

00:15:15 --> 00:15:18 when we talked about the potential for

00:15:18 --> 00:15:21 three planets in our own solar system that

00:15:21 --> 00:15:24 all could have potentially harboured life.

00:15:24 --> 00:15:27 We know of one, we live on it. But Mars and

00:15:27 --> 00:15:29 Venus were also cited as planets at some

00:15:29 --> 00:15:32 stage had what would

00:15:32 --> 00:15:35 have been a ah,

00:15:35 --> 00:15:37 chemistry, an environment

00:15:38 --> 00:15:40 that could have harboured life. And

00:15:41 --> 00:15:44 Mars lost its atmosphere which sort of put

00:15:44 --> 00:15:47 them to bed. Venus went rogue.

00:15:48 --> 00:15:50 Greenhouse effect. And that put their

00:15:51 --> 00:15:53 potential for life to bed but doesn't write

00:15:53 --> 00:15:55 off the possibility that they might have had

00:15:55 --> 00:15:55 it.

00:15:56 --> 00:15:59 Professor Fred Watson: That's true. and I think that's absolutely

00:15:59 --> 00:16:01 right. Both those planets might have had it.

00:16:02 --> 00:16:05 as you say Venus had the

00:16:05 --> 00:16:07 runaway greenhouse effect which put its

00:16:07 --> 00:16:10 surface temperature up to what is it, 450 or

00:16:10 --> 00:16:10 thereabouts.

00:16:10 --> 00:16:12 Andrew Dunkley: That's yeah, Celsius.

00:16:13 --> 00:16:16 Professor Fred Watson: so I think with Venus it's

00:16:16 --> 00:16:18 done its dash because as time

00:16:19 --> 00:16:22 goes on the likelihood is that Venus will

00:16:22 --> 00:16:25 get even more inhospitable to life.

00:16:25 --> 00:16:28 as the sun basically

00:16:28 --> 00:16:30 swells towards the end of its

00:16:30 --> 00:16:33 lifetime and I'm talking now about 3 billion

00:16:33 --> 00:16:35 years or so in the future it'll start

00:16:35 --> 00:16:37 swelling, Venus will get

00:16:38 --> 00:16:40 even hotter than it is now. Earth might

00:16:41 --> 00:16:43 very well become uninhabitable by then.

00:16:43 --> 00:16:46 Mars however might turn into a

00:16:46 --> 00:16:49 warm world. it's doubtful it would

00:16:49 --> 00:16:52 regain its atmosphere. it might regain

00:16:53 --> 00:16:56 a lot of water which probably would evaporate

00:16:56 --> 00:16:58 into space without pressure of an atmosphere.

00:16:58 --> 00:17:01 But yeah it's impossible. Future ah,

00:17:01 --> 00:17:03 habitable world even if it's not. Now we

00:17:03 --> 00:17:06 don't know whether any microbes on Mars, but

00:17:06 --> 00:17:08 that's why we're being so careful to avoid

00:17:08 --> 00:17:11 contaminating them if there are, Perhaps an

00:17:11 --> 00:17:13 even more interesting world is Titan.

00:17:15 --> 00:17:18 As the Goldilocks zone creeps outwards as the

00:17:18 --> 00:17:20 sun expands in its later years,

00:17:21 --> 00:17:23 Titan is going to become a much more

00:17:23 --> 00:17:25 desirable place. in terms of

00:17:26 --> 00:17:28 habitability. It's the only place in the

00:17:28 --> 00:17:30 world. Sorry, the only place in the universe

00:17:30 --> 00:17:33 that we know of where there are ah, lakes and

00:17:33 --> 00:17:36 rivers in equilibrium with its atmosphere.

00:17:36 --> 00:17:38 They are liquid natural gas rather than

00:17:38 --> 00:17:41 water. But I think it's a, you know, it's a

00:17:41 --> 00:17:43 big planet. It's bigger than the planet

00:17:43 --> 00:17:44 Mercury. Sorry, It's a big satellite. It's

00:17:44 --> 00:17:47 bigger than the planet Mercury. maybe that's

00:17:47 --> 00:17:50 a place where we could find living organisms

00:17:50 --> 00:17:52 some way down the track in the future.

00:17:52 --> 00:17:55 Andrew Dunkley: Not, not to mention Europa,

00:17:55 --> 00:17:57 Enceladus, Ganymede, Callista,

00:17:58 --> 00:17:58 Triton.

00:17:59 --> 00:18:01 Professor Fred Watson: All possible. Yapetus.

00:18:01 --> 00:18:03 Andrew Dunkley: Yapetus, yes, yes.

00:18:05 --> 00:18:07 the ice moons in

00:18:08 --> 00:18:11 orbiting the gas giants are all looking,

00:18:11 --> 00:18:14 being looked at favourably for potential life

00:18:14 --> 00:18:17 with their under ice oceans.

00:18:17 --> 00:18:20 So you can't say never. I mean we haven't

00:18:21 --> 00:18:24 yet. We haven't found it yet.

00:18:24 --> 00:18:26 But they have found the,

00:18:27 --> 00:18:29 the seeds of life in the, in the geysers

00:18:29 --> 00:18:32 coming out of Of one or two of these moons.

00:18:32 --> 00:18:32 Professor Fred Watson: Yeah.

00:18:33 --> 00:18:34 Andrew Dunkley: Was it Cassini that did that?

00:18:34 --> 00:18:36 Professor Fred Watson: Yes, with Enceladus.

00:18:36 --> 00:18:37 Andrew Dunkley: Yeah, yeah.

00:18:37 --> 00:18:39 Professor Fred Watson: Such as some of us.

00:18:39 --> 00:18:41 Andrew Dunkley: No, it's The evidence is starting to build

00:18:41 --> 00:18:44 up. I do believe that we will

00:18:44 --> 00:18:47 find something in our own solar system in

00:18:47 --> 00:18:50 the not too distant future. That's

00:18:50 --> 00:18:51 my theory anyway.

00:18:53 --> 00:18:54 Professor Fred Watson: I hope you're right because I'd like.

00:18:54 --> 00:18:57 Andrew Dunkley: To know, and in

00:18:57 --> 00:19:00 answer to the initial question, why are we

00:19:00 --> 00:19:02 so obsessed with life? because

00:19:02 --> 00:19:05 we are living creatures and we want to know

00:19:05 --> 00:19:07 if there are any others beyond our planet. I

00:19:07 --> 00:19:10 mean it's, it's a natural thing to consider.

00:19:11 --> 00:19:13 And wouldn't it be great if we found it? It

00:19:13 --> 00:19:16 would be the, the probably the biggest

00:19:16 --> 00:19:18 discovery in the history. History of

00:19:18 --> 00:19:19 humanity.

00:19:19 --> 00:19:20 Professor Fred Watson: Yes, exactly.

00:19:20 --> 00:19:22 Andrew Dunkley: Even if it's a flea

00:19:24 --> 00:19:26 or krill, I'm still hanging.

00:19:28 --> 00:19:31 Yes, there's krill, there's whales.

00:19:31 --> 00:19:31 Professor Fred Watson: Yes.

00:19:33 --> 00:19:34 Andrew Dunkley: Thanks Mikey.

00:19:34 --> 00:19:37 Good to hear from you. And our next question

00:19:37 --> 00:19:39 comes from Fritz, who's put

00:19:40 --> 00:19:41 this one.

00:19:41 --> 00:19:44 Paddy: Hi, space nuts. This is Fritz from

00:19:44 --> 00:19:46 Northeast, rural Georgia.

00:19:48 --> 00:19:50 My question is for

00:19:50 --> 00:19:52 planetary scientists and Mars

00:19:53 --> 00:19:56 and water on the surface. Why

00:19:56 --> 00:19:58 aren't they discussing further the

00:19:58 --> 00:20:01 Milankovitch cycles and the influence

00:20:02 --> 00:20:04 on Mars having wetter, warmer

00:20:05 --> 00:20:08 phases? This is part of the

00:20:08 --> 00:20:11 obliquity the axle tilt which can

00:20:11 --> 00:20:13 range between 10 to

00:20:13 --> 00:20:16 66.0degrees

00:20:17 --> 00:20:20 over a range of 120

00:20:20 --> 00:20:22 years up to a longer modulation

00:20:23 --> 00:20:26 of as much as 1.25 million

00:20:26 --> 00:20:29 years. And even at 40%

00:20:29 --> 00:20:32 it could trigger significant ice

00:20:32 --> 00:20:34 redistribution or melting.

00:20:35 --> 00:20:37 And this could change

00:20:38 --> 00:20:41 what's a cold dry period to a surface

00:20:41 --> 00:20:44 of flowing water at times and

00:20:44 --> 00:20:46 a wetter period at times.

00:20:47 --> 00:20:50 And this happens regularly and Mars will

00:20:50 --> 00:20:52 have a wet and warm period

00:20:53 --> 00:20:55 again. So I'm surprised

00:20:55 --> 00:20:57 planetary scientists don't discuss this when

00:20:57 --> 00:20:59 they talk about the loss of water. But water

00:20:59 --> 00:21:02 is there in the permafrost and

00:21:02 --> 00:21:05 such and where did it all go and everything.

00:21:05 --> 00:21:07 But it's not discussed how it will return.

00:21:08 --> 00:21:10 Thanks a lot and love the show.

00:21:11 --> 00:21:12 Can't wait to hear more.

00:21:12 --> 00:21:12 Andrew Dunkley: Thank you.

00:21:12 --> 00:21:14 Andrew Dunkley: Fritz, you kind of touched on that when you

00:21:14 --> 00:21:17 were talking about Mikey's question and

00:21:17 --> 00:21:20 how Venus is probably a write off but

00:21:20 --> 00:21:23 Mars will actually get back to a state of

00:21:23 --> 00:21:24 having liquid water.

00:21:26 --> 00:21:27 what's the Malinkov cycle?

00:21:29 --> 00:21:31 Professor Fred Watson: actually the Milankovitch

00:21:32 --> 00:21:35 is yes the name of the person

00:21:36 --> 00:21:38 who put the idea on the map that

00:21:40 --> 00:21:43 various periodicities and they're to do

00:21:43 --> 00:21:46 with the eccentricity or non

00:21:46 --> 00:21:49 circularity of an orbit, the incline

00:21:49 --> 00:21:51 of the you know, the axis in the orbit, and

00:21:52 --> 00:21:55 other parameters like that, these things vary

00:21:55 --> 00:21:58 in cycles. Mars has had exactly

00:21:58 --> 00:22:01 as Fritz says, a really big

00:22:01 --> 00:22:04 range in its axial tilt, 10 to 60

00:22:04 --> 00:22:06 degrees is what he quoted. And I think that's

00:22:06 --> 00:22:08 about right. we think the reason why that

00:22:08 --> 00:22:10 hasn't happened on Earth is because the moon

00:22:10 --> 00:22:13 actually stabilises the Earth's rotation. So

00:22:13 --> 00:22:15 it's the tilt of its axis has remained much

00:22:16 --> 00:22:19 much closer to its present 23 and a half

00:22:19 --> 00:22:22 degrees. but the answer

00:22:22 --> 00:22:24 to Fritz's question is that actually

00:22:24 --> 00:22:26 planetary scientists do look at this and you

00:22:26 --> 00:22:29 don't have to look that far to find papers

00:22:29 --> 00:22:32 that refer to these M.

00:22:32 --> 00:22:35 Milankovitch cycles. in terms

00:22:35 --> 00:22:38 of Mars climate. I found a nice one

00:22:38 --> 00:22:40 by some Swiss authors published in

00:22:41 --> 00:22:44 2019. this is

00:22:44 --> 00:22:46 called time scales of the climate record in

00:22:46 --> 00:22:49 the south polar ice cap of Mars. And it's

00:22:49 --> 00:22:51 basically linking the

00:22:52 --> 00:22:53 ice layer deposits

00:22:55 --> 00:22:58 basically in the south polar ice cap of Mars,

00:22:58 --> 00:23:01 the largest water ice reservoirs on Mars as

00:23:01 --> 00:23:03 they say in the abstract of their paper, and

00:23:03 --> 00:23:05 linking them to climate oscillations, the

00:23:05 --> 00:23:08 Milankovitch cycles of Mars's orbit.

00:23:08 --> 00:23:11 and so that's quite an interesting paper.

00:23:11 --> 00:23:12 As I said I don't Know whether I mentioned

00:23:12 --> 00:23:15 published in 2019 in Geophysical

00:23:15 --> 00:23:18 Research Letters. and there are other papers

00:23:18 --> 00:23:20 too that talk about the climatic effect

00:23:21 --> 00:23:24 of these orbital cycles. So it's not

00:23:24 --> 00:23:26 something that's being ignored by planetary

00:23:26 --> 00:23:27 scientists. I think the view that they've

00:23:27 --> 00:23:30 come to though is that they're

00:23:30 --> 00:23:33 giving you relatively modest changes in

00:23:33 --> 00:23:36 climate. the fact that the

00:23:36 --> 00:23:38 solar parameters will themselves change over

00:23:38 --> 00:23:41 time, as we were discussing in Mikey's

00:23:41 --> 00:23:44 question, that means that even without those

00:23:44 --> 00:23:46 you might find that Mars is warming up enough

00:23:46 --> 00:23:48 that perhaps we will see a warm wet planet

00:23:48 --> 00:23:50 one day, but we won't be around to see it

00:23:50 --> 00:23:52 here on planet Earth because we'll be gone by

00:23:52 --> 00:23:52 then.

00:23:52 --> 00:23:55 Andrew Dunkley: Yeah, however, as you said

00:23:55 --> 00:23:58 with Mikey's question, that water will

00:23:58 --> 00:23:58 probably.

00:23:58 --> 00:24:01 Professor Fred Watson: Get, it depends what, yeah, what the,

00:24:01 --> 00:24:04 what the circumstances are. But yeah, check

00:24:04 --> 00:24:07 out Mars and Milankovitch cycles and there's

00:24:07 --> 00:24:09 quite a few papers that refer to it.

00:24:09 --> 00:24:11 Andrew Dunkley: Very good, thank you Fritz. Great question

00:24:11 --> 00:24:14 though. Love those curveballs. That's ah,

00:24:14 --> 00:24:15 a rip up.

00:24:16 --> 00:24:18 Andrew Dunkley: Let's take a little break from the show to

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00:27:33 --> 00:27:34 Now back to the show.

00:27:35 --> 00:27:37 Andrew Dunkley: Okay, we checked all four systems and being

00:27:37 --> 00:27:40 with a go Space Nuts, one final

00:27:41 --> 00:27:43 thought and this one comes from

00:27:44 --> 00:27:47 Paddy. He said hi Andrew and Fred Watson. I

00:27:47 --> 00:27:49 have a premise for a book for Andrew. your

00:27:49 --> 00:27:52 discussion on Martian water provoked the

00:27:52 --> 00:27:54 thought what if humans are on Mars,

00:27:54 --> 00:27:57 drink unfiltered water and ingest a

00:27:57 --> 00:28:00 Martian microbe that merges with human

00:28:00 --> 00:28:03 cells like mitochondria did,

00:28:03 --> 00:28:05 resulting in whatever you wish to

00:28:06 --> 00:28:09 knew the story with. I hope you

00:28:09 --> 00:28:11 like the idea. Cheers from Patty. I do like

00:28:11 --> 00:28:14 the idea. Funny, funny you should bring that

00:28:14 --> 00:28:17 up Patty because this is my last show

00:28:17 --> 00:28:19 for a few months. Judy and I and

00:28:20 --> 00:28:22 going around the world basically and we're

00:28:22 --> 00:28:25 going to take our time. and Judy said,

00:28:25 --> 00:28:27 you know, I don't want you to get bored. Why,

00:28:27 --> 00:28:29 why don't you write a book while you're away.

00:28:29 --> 00:28:32 And I was trying to come up with concepts. I

00:28:32 --> 00:28:35 was thinking about maybe, you know, a story

00:28:36 --> 00:28:38 revolving around Earth building its own

00:28:39 --> 00:28:41 Dyson Sphere or some kind of megastructure.

00:28:42 --> 00:28:44 But, now you've given me something else to

00:28:44 --> 00:28:47 think about. So might. Might

00:28:47 --> 00:28:50 go down that road. Although it's kind of been

00:28:50 --> 00:28:52 done before. There was a movie many, many

00:28:52 --> 00:28:55 years ago about a, meteorite

00:28:55 --> 00:28:58 that hit Earth and it had some

00:28:58 --> 00:29:01 kind of viral thing in it that.

00:29:01 --> 00:29:03 That was basically killing people. And the

00:29:03 --> 00:29:04 whole story centred around a bunch of

00:29:04 --> 00:29:07 scientists that were basically in

00:29:07 --> 00:29:09 lockdown in some facility in the middle of

00:29:09 --> 00:29:11 the desert trying to figure out how to stop

00:29:11 --> 00:29:13 it. I can't remember what it was called, but

00:29:13 --> 00:29:16 it's a great film. Fabulous film.

00:29:16 --> 00:29:19 scared the bajeebis out of me. It

00:29:19 --> 00:29:21 was. It wasn't the Blob or anything like

00:29:21 --> 00:29:24 that. This was just a micro. But it had, It.

00:29:24 --> 00:29:27 It just was highly volatile and,

00:29:27 --> 00:29:29 and very destructive and. Yeah,

00:29:30 --> 00:29:32 but look, definitely food

00:29:32 --> 00:29:34 for thought, Patti. I'll. I'll give it some

00:29:34 --> 00:29:37 consideration and wonder how I can

00:29:37 --> 00:29:40 actually merge that with a Dyson spear angle.

00:29:41 --> 00:29:43 Professor Fred Watson: Sure you'll manage it, Andrew. I look forward

00:29:43 --> 00:29:45 to hearing about it. when you come back in

00:29:45 --> 00:29:48 August, we'll probably get a full

00:29:48 --> 00:29:50 rundown of what the plot is. Yes.

00:29:51 --> 00:29:53 Andrew Dunkley: a few people have contacted me saying, oh,

00:29:53 --> 00:29:56 when are you in New York? I might. And things

00:29:56 --> 00:29:56 like that.

00:29:56 --> 00:29:57 Professor Fred Watson: So cool.

00:29:58 --> 00:29:59 Andrew Dunkley: We might be able to track a few people down

00:29:59 --> 00:30:02 and have a chat. But look, what I'm going to

00:30:02 --> 00:30:05 try and do during the trip is do some

00:30:05 --> 00:30:07 monologues back into the show so I can give

00:30:07 --> 00:30:10 you updates of, of what we're doing. So if

00:30:10 --> 00:30:11 anyone's interested. If you're not, I'll just

00:30:11 --> 00:30:12 stay out of it.

00:30:13 --> 00:30:15 Professor Fred Watson: I think that would be great. I think you

00:30:15 --> 00:30:17 should, do that. It will, be something that

00:30:17 --> 00:30:20 Heidi and I can fit into the, into the scheme

00:30:20 --> 00:30:22 of things, I hope. And, and enjoy it very

00:30:22 --> 00:30:24 much. So we look forward to that every

00:30:24 --> 00:30:25 week.

00:30:25 --> 00:30:27 Andrew Dunkley: But, there's some really interesting

00:30:27 --> 00:30:29 places. So, there might be something to talk

00:30:29 --> 00:30:32 about. we'll see. It looks like every

00:30:32 --> 00:30:34 time we go somewhere there's a volcano, it

00:30:34 --> 00:30:35 erupts.

00:30:35 --> 00:30:35 Professor Fred Watson: So.

00:30:37 --> 00:30:40 Andrew Dunkley: Might be able to. That, we'll see how it

00:30:40 --> 00:30:42 goes. but yeah, we've been planning this trip

00:30:42 --> 00:30:44 for a long, long time and yeah, we, we head

00:30:44 --> 00:30:45 off next week.

00:30:45 --> 00:30:45 Andrew Dunkley: So.

00:30:46 --> 00:30:48 Andrew Dunkley: Very exciting, very exciting.

00:30:49 --> 00:30:51 and that brings us to the end. Thanks to

00:30:51 --> 00:30:53 everybody who contributed. Keep the questions

00:30:53 --> 00:30:55 coming because Heidi will need them to try

00:30:55 --> 00:30:57 and stump Fred Watson. which is very, very

00:30:57 --> 00:30:59 hard to do. but yes,

00:31:00 --> 00:31:03 just go to our website and send them via the

00:31:03 --> 00:31:05 AMA tab. So there's two

00:31:05 --> 00:31:08 URLs Space Nuts IO or

00:31:08 --> 00:31:11 Space Nuts podcast.com

00:31:11 --> 00:31:14 and keep those, keep those messages coming

00:31:14 --> 00:31:16 in. and Heidi and Fred Watson will

00:31:16 --> 00:31:18 tackle them over the next few months. Gosh,

00:31:18 --> 00:31:21 it's hard to believe it'll be that long. But,

00:31:21 --> 00:31:23 yeah, I've never been away from home for that

00:31:23 --> 00:31:26 long in my life. But you

00:31:26 --> 00:31:28 know, it'll be exciting. And thank you as

00:31:28 --> 00:31:30 always, Fred Watson. Thank you very much as

00:31:30 --> 00:31:31 always.

00:31:31 --> 00:31:33 Professor Fred Watson: A pleasure, Andrew. And yeah, have a great

00:31:33 --> 00:31:36 trip. We hope everything goes well for you.

00:31:36 --> 00:31:38 I look forward to seeing your emails from

00:31:38 --> 00:31:41 time to time. Find out what's happening. I'd

00:31:41 --> 00:31:42 be interested to know whether you'll be

00:31:42 --> 00:31:43 homeless when you get back.

00:31:44 --> 00:31:47 Andrew Dunkley: It's a distinct possibility. We put an ass on

00:31:47 --> 00:31:49 the market and just deal with all that when

00:31:49 --> 00:31:49 we get home.

00:31:50 --> 00:31:53 Professor Fred Watson: There you go. Nice, good, good, good stuff.

00:31:53 --> 00:31:55 And so have a great time, both you and Judy.

00:31:55 --> 00:31:57 And we'll speak again in August.

00:31:57 --> 00:31:59 Andrew Dunkley: Indeed. Thank you, Fred Watson. Thanks as

00:31:59 --> 00:32:01 always been, it's been terrific.

00:32:01 --> 00:32:04 And thanks, to Huw in the studio who

00:32:04 --> 00:32:06 couldn't be with us today. Tried to ride a,

00:32:07 --> 00:32:09 Milankovich cycle and the chain fell off.

00:32:10 --> 00:32:12 And from me, Andrew Dunkley. Thanks for your

00:32:12 --> 00:32:14 company. See you in a few months.

00:32:14 --> 00:32:14 Professor Fred Watson: Bye.

00:32:14 --> 00:32:14 Andrew Dunkley: Bye.

00:32:16 --> 00:32:18 Generic: You've been listening to the Space Nuts

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