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Space Nuts: Q&A on Mitsubishi's Role in Telescope Manufacturing, Jupiter's Storms, and Gravitational Waves
In this Q&A episode of Space Nuts, hosts Andrew Dunkley and Professor Fred Watson tackle a range of fascinating listener questions, from the involvement of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in telescope manufacturing to the mysteries of Jupiter’s storms and the nature of gravitational waves. Join them as they delve into these cosmic queries with their signature wit and expertise.
Key topics
- Thomas from Canberra asks about Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and their role in the manufacturing of telescope hardware at Siding Spring Observatory. Fred Watson explains the engineering behind the Anglo-Australian Telescope and the significance of its construction.
- Young listener Emily poses a question about Jupiter's Great Red Spot, prompting a discussion on the dynamics of storms and atmospheric patterns on the gas giant.
- Butch from the UK inquires about the Parker Solar Probe and its mission to study the sun, as well as the advancements in solar observation technology.
- Trent from North Georgia wonders if gravitational waves are slowed down by passing through matter, leading to an insightful explanation of how these waves interact with the fabric of spacetime.
- The episode wraps up with a lively discussion on the role of artificial intelligence in astronomy and its implications for the future of scientific research.
Timestamps
00:00 - Introduction to the Q&A format and listener interactions
01:20 - Thomas's question about Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Siding Spring Observatory
10:30 - Emily's question about storms on Jupiter
18:45 - Butch's inquiry on the Parker Solar Probe and solar missions
26:00 - Trent's question about gravitational waves and their speed
32:15 - Discussion on artificial intelligence in astronomy and its impact
40:00 - Closing remarks and listener engagement
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00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 Andrew Dunkley: Hello again and thank you for joining us.
00:00:02 --> 00:00:05 This is a Q and A edition of Space Nuts. Uh,
00:00:05 --> 00:00:07 my name is Andrew Dunkley. Uh, this is
00:00:07 --> 00:00:10 the episode where we answer questions from
00:00:10 --> 00:00:13 our audience and sometimes our studio
00:00:13 --> 00:00:15 audience. We've had, uh, people asking us
00:00:15 --> 00:00:17 questions live in recent times. Uh,
00:00:17 --> 00:00:20 coming up today, uh, we have actually
00:00:20 --> 00:00:22 received an email from a listener,
00:00:23 --> 00:00:26 um, Thomas in Canberra, asking about
00:00:26 --> 00:00:28 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and their
00:00:28 --> 00:00:30 involvement at Siding Spring. I know someone
00:00:30 --> 00:00:31 who might know something about.
00:00:32 --> 00:00:32 Generic: About that.
00:00:34 --> 00:00:36 Andrew Dunkley: Anyway, we'll talk about that. Um, we've got
00:00:36 --> 00:00:39 a young listener who's sent in a question,
00:00:40 --> 00:00:42 uh, about the storm on Jupiter.
00:00:43 --> 00:00:45 Uh, we've also got a question about a mission
00:00:45 --> 00:00:47 to the sun and,
00:00:47 --> 00:00:50 uh, the speed of gravitational waves. We'll
00:00:50 --> 00:00:52 try and tackle all of that on this Q A
00:00:52 --> 00:00:54 edition of space nuts.
00:00:54 --> 00:00:56 Generic: 15 seconds. Guidance is internal.
00:00:56 --> 00:00:59 10, 9. Ignition
00:00:59 --> 00:01:00 sequence start.
00:01:00 --> 00:01:01 Professor Fred Watson: Space nuts.
00:01:01 --> 00:01:04 Generic: 5, 4, 3, 2. 1, 2, 3, 4,
00:01:04 --> 00:01:06 5, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
00:01:06 --> 00:01:07 Andrew Dunkley: Space nuts.
00:01:07 --> 00:01:09 Generic: Astronauts report it feels good.
00:01:10 --> 00:01:12 Andrew Dunkley: And he's back again to solve all of those
00:01:12 --> 00:01:14 riddles. Professor Fred Watson Watson,
00:01:14 --> 00:01:15 Astronomer at large. Hello, Fred Watson.
00:01:15 --> 00:01:16 Professor Fred Watson: Hello, Andrew.
00:01:16 --> 00:01:17 Hello. Good to see you.
00:01:17 --> 00:01:18 Andrew Dunkley: Good to see you.
00:01:18 --> 00:01:20 Professor Fred Watson: Can I see you? Yes, I can see you.
00:01:20 --> 00:01:20 Andrew Dunkley: You can see me?
00:01:20 --> 00:01:23 Professor Fred Watson: Yeah, good to see you.
00:01:23 --> 00:01:25 Andrew Dunkley: I've got a bit of a box head at your end of
00:01:25 --> 00:01:26 things.
00:01:26 --> 00:01:29 Professor Fred Watson: You. You squashed him. But, um, you're
00:01:29 --> 00:01:31 looking nonetheless handsome for that. It's
00:01:31 --> 00:01:31 all right.
00:01:32 --> 00:01:33 Trent from North Georgia USA: Yeah.
00:01:33 --> 00:01:35 Andrew Dunkley: My wife wouldn't agree, but anyway, she
00:01:35 --> 00:01:36 might.
00:01:36 --> 00:01:36 Trent from North Georgia USA: Different.
00:01:36 --> 00:01:37 Andrew Dunkley: There's a different storey.
00:01:37 --> 00:01:38 Professor Fred Watson: Yes.
00:01:39 --> 00:01:41 Andrew Dunkley: Uh, shall we tackle some questions?
00:01:41 --> 00:01:42 Professor Fred Watson: Why not?
00:01:42 --> 00:01:43 Andrew Dunkley: All right.
00:01:43 --> 00:01:46 Our first one comes from Thomas in Canberra.
00:01:46 --> 00:01:47 I was down in Canberra a couple of weeks ago,
00:01:47 --> 00:01:49 uh, and it was bitterly cold
00:01:50 --> 00:01:53 as always. Some years ago we visited
00:01:53 --> 00:01:55 Australia's very own Acropolis, um,
00:01:55 --> 00:01:58 um, Pantheon and the Temple of Fred Watson I.
00:01:58 --> 00:02:01 E. Siding Spring Observatory. Luckily for us,
00:02:01 --> 00:02:04 it was an open day, so we got got to
00:02:04 --> 00:02:07 tour inside the telescope hall. Uh, the
00:02:07 --> 00:02:09 guide pointed out that we were standing on a
00:02:09 --> 00:02:12 trapdoor several storeys up. Suffice to say
00:02:12 --> 00:02:15 we all stepped aside onto solid flooring. I
00:02:15 --> 00:02:17 noticed a plaque on the telescope hardware
00:02:17 --> 00:02:20 that read Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. My
00:02:20 --> 00:02:23 question is, what role does Mitsubishi play
00:02:23 --> 00:02:26 in manufacturing modern telescope hardware,
00:02:26 --> 00:02:28 if any? And is the telescope mirror made
00:02:28 --> 00:02:31 in Ohio and polished in England,
00:02:32 --> 00:02:35 still, uh, one of the best? Um, or he's
00:02:35 --> 00:02:37 asking if it's still one of the best. So. Ah,
00:02:37 --> 00:02:40 that's a good question. So, yeah, plenty to
00:02:40 --> 00:02:42 ply through on that, Fred Watson. Uh, I've
00:02:42 --> 00:02:45 been exactly there with you, doing a
00:02:45 --> 00:02:48 television show, I believe. It was at one
00:02:48 --> 00:02:51 stage many moons ago, but, uh, they kicked me
00:02:51 --> 00:02:53 out because I had a head for radio. But,
00:02:53 --> 00:02:56 um. Yeah, it's a good question. Uh, and
00:02:56 --> 00:02:59 very observant of Thomas to pick up on all of
00:02:59 --> 00:03:01 that. Except for the trapdoor. He missed
00:03:01 --> 00:03:01 that.
00:03:02 --> 00:03:05 Professor Fred Watson: Um, yeah, the trapdoor's
00:03:05 --> 00:03:07 quite important because that's what lets you,
00:03:07 --> 00:03:10 um, hoist things from the ground floor, which
00:03:10 --> 00:03:12 is, uh, eight storeys below,
00:03:13 --> 00:03:16 up seven storeys below, uh, up into the dome
00:03:16 --> 00:03:18 area. And there's an intermediate level,
00:03:18 --> 00:03:21 which is where we recoat the mirror every
00:03:21 --> 00:03:24 year. And I'm saying we because it
00:03:24 --> 00:03:26 used to be we when I was the astronomer in
00:03:26 --> 00:03:29 charge and worked, uh, there for many, many
00:03:29 --> 00:03:32 years. Uh, it's now other people, but, um, I
00:03:32 --> 00:03:34 hope they won't mind, um, including
00:03:35 --> 00:03:37 myself as part of their team, because I know
00:03:37 --> 00:03:40 them all pretty well. Um, so, uh, that
00:03:40 --> 00:03:43 trapdoor, uh, actually I do remember,
00:03:43 --> 00:03:46 um, hearing a storey. I didn't see this
00:03:46 --> 00:03:48 happen myself, but the trapdoor itself weighs
00:03:48 --> 00:03:51 probably about three tonnes. Uh, and it's on
00:03:51 --> 00:03:53 a hinge and it's got a kind of crane
00:03:53 --> 00:03:55 mechanism to lift it up. And I do remember
00:03:55 --> 00:03:57 somebody once telling me that it accidentally
00:03:57 --> 00:04:00 got let go and it slammed shut and the
00:04:00 --> 00:04:03 entire building shook, as you'd
00:04:03 --> 00:04:05 expect. Yeah, that, uh, wasn't in my time
00:04:05 --> 00:04:08 there, though, so, um. Indeed, the
00:04:08 --> 00:04:10 Anglo Australian Telescope, a joint project
00:04:11 --> 00:04:13 between the two governments, the Australian
00:04:13 --> 00:04:15 government and the British government. Um,
00:04:15 --> 00:04:18 really interesting storey, uh, how it
00:04:18 --> 00:04:20 all started and, uh, how it emerged.
00:04:21 --> 00:04:24 Um, it, uh, was uh,
00:04:24 --> 00:04:27 the. Basically the first thing that happened
00:04:27 --> 00:04:29 when, when they, you know, when the
00:04:29 --> 00:04:31 governments decided to spend the money on
00:04:31 --> 00:04:33 this. And it was, I think, 16 million was
00:04:33 --> 00:04:36 what they had at the time. That would be more
00:04:36 --> 00:04:38 like 100 million now to the same thing.
00:04:38 --> 00:04:41 Um, but back in the late, uh,
00:04:41 --> 00:04:44 1960s, actually, uh, they set up a
00:04:44 --> 00:04:46 project office and the project office looked
00:04:46 --> 00:04:47 at all the contractors and all the rest of
00:04:47 --> 00:04:50 it. And so, um, that,
00:04:51 --> 00:04:53 uh, office, which for a while
00:04:53 --> 00:04:56 was run by a very old friend of mine, Herman
00:04:56 --> 00:04:59 Wehner, um, who was in Canberra. He was
00:04:59 --> 00:05:01 an engineer, uh, in Canberra.
00:05:01 --> 00:05:04 Uh, so he would have been, I think, party
00:05:04 --> 00:05:06 to some of these decisions, along with
00:05:06 --> 00:05:08 another old friend, Ben Gascoigne, one of the
00:05:08 --> 00:05:10 great names in Australian astronomy.
00:05:11 --> 00:05:13 Um, and they elected to,
00:05:14 --> 00:05:17 uh, accept a bid from Mitsubishi
00:05:17 --> 00:05:20 Heavy Industries to build the mounting of the
00:05:20 --> 00:05:22 telescope. And by that I mean the part that
00:05:22 --> 00:05:24 actually points the thing around
00:05:25 --> 00:05:28 and this is, it is heavy engineering, because
00:05:28 --> 00:05:30 if I remember rightly, the moving parts of
00:05:30 --> 00:05:31 the telescope are about 60 tonnes or
00:05:31 --> 00:05:34 thereabouts, and yet you've got to point it
00:05:34 --> 00:05:37 with an accuracy of a second of
00:05:37 --> 00:05:39 arc, uh, which, you know, when you think of
00:05:39 --> 00:05:42 the number of microns, that means in terms of
00:05:42 --> 00:05:44 where the telescope structure is pointing,
00:05:44 --> 00:05:46 that's quite significant. Uh, the telescope
00:05:46 --> 00:05:49 floats on oil bearings. It actually floats on
00:05:49 --> 00:05:52 oil. Um, and so all of that
00:05:52 --> 00:05:54 has to come together and a company like
00:05:54 --> 00:05:56 Mitsubishi uh, were very, very well
00:05:56 --> 00:05:59 placed to deliver that.
00:05:59 --> 00:06:02 Now, uh, um, uh,
00:06:02 --> 00:06:05 Thomas's question is to an extent Mitsubishi
00:06:05 --> 00:06:07 M is still involved with this sort of thing.
00:06:07 --> 00:06:10 Uh, I think they would um, with
00:06:10 --> 00:06:13 having that expertise, I think they would um,
00:06:13 --> 00:06:16 sort of tender for contracts uh, whenever
00:06:16 --> 00:06:18 there was an opportunity. Now, um,
00:06:18 --> 00:06:20 if I'd had a bit more time and forethought
00:06:20 --> 00:06:23 and I could still cheque it. But um, the
00:06:23 --> 00:06:25 biggest telescope operated
00:06:26 --> 00:06:28 by Japanese astronomers is called
00:06:28 --> 00:06:30 Subaru. Uh, and
00:06:30 --> 00:06:33 Subaru is of course the Japanese word for the
00:06:33 --> 00:06:35 Pleiades. That's why you've got six stars on
00:06:35 --> 00:06:38 your Subaru car badge. Subaru, uh,
00:06:39 --> 00:06:41 is on the big island of Hawaii. It's an 8
00:06:41 --> 00:06:43 metre class telescope. It is one of the
00:06:43 --> 00:06:46 finest 8 metre telescopes in the world. I'm
00:06:46 --> 00:06:49 not sure whether Mitsubishi played
00:06:49 --> 00:06:51 a part in building
00:06:51 --> 00:06:53 Subaru but that might be the kind of thing
00:06:53 --> 00:06:56 that you might be able to tell me within a
00:06:56 --> 00:06:58 few minutes with Claude whispering into your
00:06:58 --> 00:07:01 ear or something. Were
00:07:01 --> 00:07:02 Mitsubishi involved with Subaru.
00:07:03 --> 00:07:06 Um, uh, the other side of the storey though
00:07:06 --> 00:07:08 is what we call the tube of the telescope
00:07:08 --> 00:07:11 which isn't a tube, it's an open structure
00:07:11 --> 00:07:14 for anybody standing in front of it. It's the
00:07:14 --> 00:07:17 white part, um, which contains all
00:07:17 --> 00:07:20 the optics that was built by the company
00:07:20 --> 00:07:22 I started my career working for. Sir Howard
00:07:22 --> 00:07:25 Grubb Parsons Co. Ltd. They indeed
00:07:25 --> 00:07:28 polished the mirrors. My uh,
00:07:28 --> 00:07:30 old friend and colleague David Sindon
00:07:31 --> 00:07:34 was the chief optician for that.
00:07:34 --> 00:07:37 I am privileged to have in this
00:07:37 --> 00:07:40 room his notebook, uh, that
00:07:40 --> 00:07:42 he had all the notes when he was doing that
00:07:42 --> 00:07:45 polishing and one of the first things it
00:07:45 --> 00:07:48 says in the notebook, uh, when the mirror
00:07:48 --> 00:07:50 blank was delivered indeed from Ohio, as
00:07:51 --> 00:07:54 Thomas uh, said, um, uh, it was
00:07:54 --> 00:07:56 then a 20 tonne block of material,
00:07:57 --> 00:08:00 uh 4 metres in diameter. There's a comment in
00:08:00 --> 00:08:03 the notebook that says this thing is bloody
00:08:03 --> 00:08:06 big. Um, that's
00:08:06 --> 00:08:08 David Sinden. So he was the optician. It made
00:08:08 --> 00:08:10 a fantastic job working with his colleague
00:08:10 --> 00:08:12 David Brown, my first boss, David Brown
00:08:13 --> 00:08:16 and I worked a little bit on the mirror, um,
00:08:16 --> 00:08:18 actually preparing the um,
00:08:18 --> 00:08:21 hardware for the mirror to be supported
00:08:21 --> 00:08:23 while it was being ground and polished, uh,
00:08:23 --> 00:08:26 in the works in Newcastle on Tyne in England.
00:08:26 --> 00:08:29 I did that just Before I left, uh, Grub
00:08:29 --> 00:08:31 Parsons to go back to university to further
00:08:31 --> 00:08:33 my career in astronomy.
00:08:34 --> 00:08:36 Andrew Dunkley: Did you know at the time, or you wouldn't
00:08:36 --> 00:08:37 have probably known at the time you were
00:08:37 --> 00:08:39 working on it in the UK that you'd end up
00:08:39 --> 00:08:40 using it?
00:08:41 --> 00:08:44 Professor Fred Watson: Um, no, that's right. Not only did
00:08:44 --> 00:08:46 I end up using it, I ended up as its
00:08:46 --> 00:08:48 astronomer in charge, which I was for 20
00:08:48 --> 00:08:50 years. Um,
00:08:53 --> 00:08:55 it's a really good question. Um, thinking
00:08:56 --> 00:08:59 back to that time, I was a bit
00:08:59 --> 00:09:01 fixated on getting back to university because
00:09:01 --> 00:09:03 I wasn't happy with my degree and I wanted to
00:09:03 --> 00:09:06 do a research degree in astronomy, which I
00:09:06 --> 00:09:08 did. That's another storey. Um,
00:09:09 --> 00:09:12 and so I, um. You know, this, making these
00:09:12 --> 00:09:14 supports for the telescope mirror was, uh,
00:09:15 --> 00:09:17 something that I was quite keen to get out of
00:09:17 --> 00:09:20 the way and I probably just never gave it a
00:09:20 --> 00:09:21 thought that maybe one day I would use this
00:09:21 --> 00:09:23 telescope. Certainly would never have given
00:09:23 --> 00:09:26 it a thought that one day I'd be responsible
00:09:26 --> 00:09:28 for its scientific output, which I was for 20
00:09:28 --> 00:09:29 years.
00:09:29 --> 00:09:29 Trent from North Georgia USA: Yeah.
00:09:29 --> 00:09:32 Andrew Dunkley: And in answer to your query, the Subaru
00:09:32 --> 00:09:34 telescope in Hawaii was
00:09:34 --> 00:09:37 manufactured by Mitsubishi
00:09:37 --> 00:09:38 Electric company.
00:09:39 --> 00:09:41 Professor Fred Watson: There you go. Yeah, yeah, that was a, that
00:09:41 --> 00:09:44 was a guess, but, um, uh, obviously a
00:09:44 --> 00:09:46 reasonably informed guess.
00:09:46 --> 00:09:49 Andrew Dunkley: Yeah, indeed. Thanks, uh, for the question,
00:09:49 --> 00:09:52 Thomas, but, uh, yeah, um, it's an amazing
00:09:52 --> 00:09:54 facility and I, I, uh, up at
00:09:54 --> 00:09:56 Siding Spring. And I don't think people
00:09:56 --> 00:09:59 realise how massive that building
00:09:59 --> 00:09:59 is.
00:09:59 --> 00:10:00 Professor Fred Watson: Yeah.
00:10:00 --> 00:10:02 Andrew Dunkley: Until I sort of get up the top of the
00:10:02 --> 00:10:05 mountain and take a look. You can see it from
00:10:05 --> 00:10:07 just about everywhere. Uh, you can still see
00:10:07 --> 00:10:09 it quite clearly. Um, uh, in the
00:10:09 --> 00:10:11 aftermath of those tragic fires so many years
00:10:11 --> 00:10:12 ago.
00:10:13 --> 00:10:15 Um, but, uh, yeah, it's sort of
00:10:15 --> 00:10:18 like a big pimple on the top of a hill.
00:10:18 --> 00:10:21 It is, it's amazing. Thanks,
00:10:21 --> 00:10:23 Thomas. Uh, we've got a few live viewers,
00:10:23 --> 00:10:26 Fred Watson. We've got uh, Ollie in Geelong.
00:10:26 --> 00:10:28 G' day, Ollie. Danny, uh, says he's added
00:10:28 --> 00:10:31 Outback Astronomer to his, uh, audible wish
00:10:31 --> 00:10:33 list. Uh, we've got Turk listening from
00:10:33 --> 00:10:36 Sunnyvale in California and he's 35
00:10:36 --> 00:10:38 miles from the Lick Observatory. You can see
00:10:38 --> 00:10:41 it from his bedroom. Um, and uh, Moose
00:10:41 --> 00:10:43 is back again. He's found us again. Hi,
00:10:43 --> 00:10:46 Moose. You've, you've missed pretty much half
00:10:46 --> 00:10:49 the whole deal today, but we're on a bit
00:10:49 --> 00:10:51 earlier and uh, Tommy has
00:10:51 --> 00:10:54 messaged us, um, uh, in the evening
00:10:54 --> 00:10:57 in Frederikstad in Norway.
00:10:57 --> 00:10:59 So welcome everybody.
00:11:00 --> 00:11:02 Uh, let's go to an audio question.
00:11:02 --> 00:11:04 Fred Watson, this is Sandy, but
00:11:04 --> 00:11:06 it's not Sandy's question.
00:11:08 --> 00:11:09 This will become self obvious.
00:11:09 --> 00:11:11 Sandy from Melbourne: G' Day Fred Watson and Andrew. It's Sandy
00:11:11 --> 00:11:14 here again from Melbourne. Um, this time my
00:11:14 --> 00:11:16 little listening buddy, um, Emily, my
00:11:16 --> 00:11:19 daughter would like to ask a question. Um,
00:11:19 --> 00:11:21 she, she quite enjoys listening in the car,
00:11:22 --> 00:11:24 um, to your show with me. So I'm going to
00:11:24 --> 00:11:26 hand the, the microphone over to my daughter.
00:11:27 --> 00:11:30 Why does Jupiter have a storm on it?
00:11:31 --> 00:11:33 Excellent question. Thank you. Um, thank you
00:11:33 --> 00:11:35 friend Andrew. I hope you get a chance to
00:11:35 --> 00:11:37 answer this question and we're looking
00:11:37 --> 00:11:38 forward to the answer.
00:11:39 --> 00:11:42 Andrew Dunkley: Thank you, Sandy. Thank you, Emily. Hi Emily.
00:11:42 --> 00:11:44 Um, that's a great question and
00:11:45 --> 00:11:48 we've talked about the storm on Jupiter uh
00:11:48 --> 00:11:50 many times in the past and in fact I think
00:11:50 --> 00:11:53 there's more than one storm on Jupiter. But
00:11:53 --> 00:11:55 there's one big one that
00:11:55 --> 00:11:58 um, that's famously known as the Red
00:11:58 --> 00:11:59 Spot.
00:12:00 --> 00:12:03 Professor Fred Watson: It is in fact because it's big,
00:12:03 --> 00:12:05 it's called the Great Red Spot. Um,
00:12:06 --> 00:12:09 and um, I think there's another one sometimes
00:12:09 --> 00:12:11 called Little Red as well,
00:12:11 --> 00:12:13 Andrew Dunkley: which is uh, not far away
00:12:13 --> 00:12:15 from the big one.
00:12:15 --> 00:12:17 Professor Fred Watson: Yeah, um, Emily, your question's a great
00:12:17 --> 00:12:20 one. Uh, and so in
00:12:20 --> 00:12:23 the last episode we were talking about some
00:12:23 --> 00:12:26 of the patterns that we get in the cloud
00:12:26 --> 00:12:29 belts of Saturn. This
00:12:29 --> 00:12:32 hexagon pattern and the decagon pattern.
00:12:32 --> 00:12:35 And they are caused by um, the
00:12:35 --> 00:12:38 way atmospheres behave. So this is
00:12:38 --> 00:12:40 movements of air. Basically it's not air like
00:12:40 --> 00:12:43 we breathe here on Earth, but it's wind,
00:12:44 --> 00:12:46 uh, that give rise to these various patterns.
00:12:46 --> 00:12:48 And the same thing happens on Jupiter.
00:12:48 --> 00:12:51 Jupiter's got um, what we call the cloud
00:12:51 --> 00:12:54 belt. So a, uh, lot of um, you
00:12:54 --> 00:12:56 know, I don't know how many there are
00:12:56 --> 00:12:57 altogether, how many are recognised. It used
00:12:57 --> 00:12:59 to be eight or nine when I was a youngster.
00:13:00 --> 00:13:02 Uh, these are different belts of cloud on the
00:13:02 --> 00:13:05 planet, all of which are moving east to west
00:13:05 --> 00:13:08 or west to east but at ah, different
00:13:08 --> 00:13:10 speeds. And it's
00:13:11 --> 00:13:14 those um, winds, if you like,
00:13:14 --> 00:13:16 these mass movements of
00:13:17 --> 00:13:19 atmospheric gas that cause
00:13:19 --> 00:13:22 what we call turbulence on the edge. It's
00:13:22 --> 00:13:25 where you find um,
00:13:26 --> 00:13:28 um, air swirling around in a circle.
00:13:29 --> 00:13:32 Um, many of us know about turbulence if we
00:13:32 --> 00:13:34 fly on aeroplanes because you run into it
00:13:35 --> 00:13:37 and it shakes the aircraft. And what you're
00:13:37 --> 00:13:39 talking about there is the same sort of
00:13:39 --> 00:13:42 thing. It's swirls of air that are not
00:13:42 --> 00:13:44 behaving in a nice smooth, uh, manner.
00:13:44 --> 00:13:47 And so uh, that's what happens at the
00:13:47 --> 00:13:50 boundaries of these cloud belts. And uh,
00:13:50 --> 00:13:52 sometime in the past, and it's
00:13:52 --> 00:13:55 certainly more than 300 years ago, uh, that
00:13:55 --> 00:13:58 was enough to form a storm,
00:13:58 --> 00:14:01 uh, between two of these cloud belts, uh and
00:14:01 --> 00:14:04 we still see that as the Great Red Spot. Uh,
00:14:04 --> 00:14:07 you might know Emily, and maybe Sandy
00:14:07 --> 00:14:09 will too. Your dad, um, that
00:14:10 --> 00:14:12 uh, the Great Red Spot seems to be changing.
00:14:12 --> 00:14:14 It's sort of grown and shrunk a bit a few
00:14:14 --> 00:14:17 times recently. So it's
00:14:17 --> 00:14:20 like uh, because this is, you know,
00:14:21 --> 00:14:23 when we look at Jupiter we're seeing the top
00:14:23 --> 00:14:24 of the cloud belts. We're not seeing a
00:14:24 --> 00:14:26 surface that doesn't change. We're seeing
00:14:26 --> 00:14:28 something that's very dynamic and active,
00:14:29 --> 00:14:32 always uh, in motion. And so maybe one day
00:14:32 --> 00:14:35 the Great Red Spot will just fizzle out and
00:14:35 --> 00:14:38 we won't have that beauty spot on the
00:14:38 --> 00:14:39 face of Jupiter anymore.
00:14:39 --> 00:14:42 Andrew Dunkley: No, uh, when you talk about
00:14:42 --> 00:14:44 storms on Earth, they come and go in minutes,
00:14:44 --> 00:14:47 hours, sometimes occasionally days.
00:14:48 --> 00:14:50 This one has been active for at least
00:14:50 --> 00:14:53 190 years. It was uh, first
00:14:53 --> 00:14:56 tracked in 1831 I think.
00:14:56 --> 00:14:58 Professor Fred Watson: Yeah, it may have been spotted before that as
00:14:58 --> 00:14:59 well. Some people think
00:15:00 --> 00:15:03 um, possibly um, even ah, Cassini or
00:15:03 --> 00:15:05 Huygens, one of these great observers of
00:15:05 --> 00:15:07 Saturn might have seen it.
00:15:09 --> 00:15:11 Andrew Dunkley: Maybe so, or he was just having a
00:15:11 --> 00:15:12 migraine but
00:15:15 --> 00:15:18 you just never know. But um, it's a
00:15:18 --> 00:15:20 fascinating thing that uh, is displayed on
00:15:20 --> 00:15:23 that planet. Uh, it's not the only gas giant
00:15:23 --> 00:15:25 that has a storm like that. Does Saturn have
00:15:25 --> 00:15:26 something similar?
00:15:26 --> 00:15:29 Professor Fred Watson: Well Saturn does have storms but they
00:15:29 --> 00:15:32 tend to be much more short lived. And that's
00:15:32 --> 00:15:34 where young Trevor Barry that we were talking
00:15:34 --> 00:15:37 about last episode, he monitored
00:15:37 --> 00:15:40 those storms so that the Cassini mission
00:15:40 --> 00:15:43 could home in on them uh, uh,
00:15:43 --> 00:15:44 when they were at their most active.
00:15:44 --> 00:15:47 Andrew Dunkley: So yeah, in fact it was Giovanni uh,
00:15:48 --> 00:15:50 Cassini who suggested that there was a
00:15:50 --> 00:15:52 permanent spot on Jupiter. And that was back
00:15:52 --> 00:15:55 in 1665. There you go. Yeah, so yeah,
00:15:55 --> 00:15:56 they've known about it for a long, it's been
00:15:56 --> 00:15:59 around for a very long time Emily, this
00:15:59 --> 00:16:00 particular storm.
00:16:01 --> 00:16:03 Um, and uh, Fred Watson started his career
00:16:03 --> 00:16:05 before the storm began
00:16:08 --> 00:16:10 Professor Fred Watson: when it was just a wisp of wind.
00:16:13 --> 00:16:15 Andrew Dunkley: Uh, thanks Emily, Lovely to hear from you.
00:16:15 --> 00:16:17 This is Space Nuts Andrew Dunkley here with
00:16:17 --> 00:16:19 Professor Fred Watson Watson.
00:16:21 --> 00:16:23 Okay, we checked all four systems and
00:16:23 --> 00:16:25 Professor Fred Watson: being with a girl, space nats.
00:16:25 --> 00:16:28 Andrew Dunkley: Our next question, uh, comes from
00:16:29 --> 00:16:32 Butch, I think. Yes. In Suffolk in the
00:16:32 --> 00:16:33 uk. Hey Andrew, Professor Fred Watson,
00:16:33 --> 00:16:36 possibly Jonty and Huw in the studio, not Huw
00:16:36 --> 00:16:38 in the studio, I can tell you that now. Love
00:16:38 --> 00:16:41 the show, uh, been with you for over two
00:16:41 --> 00:16:44 years now. I went to a planetarium show in
00:16:44 --> 00:16:46 Greenwich in the UK six years ago for my
00:16:46 --> 00:16:49 46th birthday. Uh, this was hosted by
00:16:49 --> 00:16:52 impressionist John Kulshaw. He was
00:16:52 --> 00:16:54 amazing and One of the scientists with him
00:16:54 --> 00:16:57 was working on the mission satellite to
00:16:57 --> 00:17:00 the sun and explained how they can
00:17:00 --> 00:17:03 film and track and circle the sun,
00:17:03 --> 00:17:04 uh, and the heat involved.
00:17:05 --> 00:17:07 Just wondering if you were aware of this
00:17:07 --> 00:17:10 or had more information or opinions on it.
00:17:10 --> 00:17:12 Quite an incredible mission really. There was
00:17:12 --> 00:17:15 also a quiz after prizes were
00:17:15 --> 00:17:18 astronaut food. I won nothing.
00:17:18 --> 00:17:20 He says, uh, thanks for the excellent
00:17:20 --> 00:17:23 podcast, love listening to you and uh, the
00:17:23 --> 00:17:26 listener question. Thanks Butch. Uh, I
00:17:26 --> 00:17:29 bought some astronaut food when I was in um,
00:17:29 --> 00:17:31 NASA in Florida. Um,
00:17:32 --> 00:17:34 it's not all that palatable
00:17:35 --> 00:17:37 in my opinion. Probably
00:17:37 --> 00:17:40 more designed for sustaining life than
00:17:41 --> 00:17:43 enjoying food. Would that be, that'd be fair
00:17:43 --> 00:17:44 remark?
00:17:44 --> 00:17:45 Professor Fred Watson: Well, I think that's right. Although I
00:17:45 --> 00:17:48 suspect things have moved on quite a bit. I
00:17:48 --> 00:17:51 think, um, the International Space Station
00:17:51 --> 00:17:54 has some, some quite nice gourmet meals
00:17:54 --> 00:17:56 now. Seems to be, particularly when there are
00:17:56 --> 00:17:58 Italian astronauts on board. They get great
00:17:58 --> 00:18:00 coffee, you know.
00:18:00 --> 00:18:00 Great, great.
00:18:01 --> 00:18:04 Andrew Dunkley: Why am I not surprised? Yes. Um, because
00:18:04 --> 00:18:05 they're gearing up for the restaurant at the
00:18:05 --> 00:18:07 end of the universe probably.
00:18:07 --> 00:18:10 Professor Fred Watson: Right? Yeah, yeah. Um, so
00:18:10 --> 00:18:13 I'm, I'm guessing, uh, from what Butch
00:18:13 --> 00:18:15 said that um, I mean there are, there are
00:18:16 --> 00:18:18 several solar, ah, spacecraft
00:18:18 --> 00:18:21 or spacecraft observing the sun.
00:18:21 --> 00:18:24 Um, soho, the Solar Heliospheric
00:18:24 --> 00:18:26 Observatory was one of the first. There's a
00:18:26 --> 00:18:28 pair of spacecraft called stereo, uh, that
00:18:28 --> 00:18:31 are in orbit around the sun
00:18:31 --> 00:18:33 at uh, slightly different positions so they
00:18:33 --> 00:18:36 get a stereo view of the sun. Um, I'm
00:18:36 --> 00:18:37 wondering if the one that he's thinking of
00:18:37 --> 00:18:39 though is the Parker solar probe.
00:18:39 --> 00:18:42 And that's because that one of all
00:18:42 --> 00:18:45 those uh, solar spacecraft is the one
00:18:45 --> 00:18:48 that goes closest to the sun. And
00:18:48 --> 00:18:51 indeed as that mission has evolved, I think
00:18:52 --> 00:18:55 they've thrown caution to the
00:18:55 --> 00:18:58 winds and got closer and closer to the sun.
00:18:58 --> 00:19:00 It's got a very, very robust heat shield on
00:19:00 --> 00:19:03 it, uh, which they point sunwards when
00:19:03 --> 00:19:06 it's near the sun, uh, to protect the
00:19:06 --> 00:19:08 spacecraft from the heat. Uh, its mission is
00:19:08 --> 00:19:11 all about trying to sample the
00:19:11 --> 00:19:14 solar corona, the outer atmosphere of the
00:19:14 --> 00:19:17 sun, which as many of our listeners will
00:19:17 --> 00:19:20 know, is heated to very, very high
00:19:20 --> 00:19:22 temper, uh, in the region of
00:19:23 --> 00:19:25 15 million degrees Celsius,
00:19:26 --> 00:19:28 whereas that's right, the surface
00:19:28 --> 00:19:31 is at about five, five and a half thousand
00:19:32 --> 00:19:34 Celsius. And yet you've got this
00:19:34 --> 00:19:37 region above, uh, and
00:19:37 --> 00:19:39 we tend to think of heat rising by
00:19:39 --> 00:19:42 convection. Uh, why is the surface so
00:19:42 --> 00:19:45 cool compared with the heat of the
00:19:45 --> 00:19:47 corona? And the clues that come from the
00:19:47 --> 00:19:49 Parker solar probe and other spacecraft seem
00:19:49 --> 00:19:51 to relate it directly to the magnetic
00:19:51 --> 00:19:54 activity of the Sun. The sun is a hotbed of
00:19:54 --> 00:19:57 magnetism, which is only really
00:19:57 --> 00:20:00 becoming, uh, better understood. I might
00:20:00 --> 00:20:03 just throw in a bit of advice though, for
00:20:03 --> 00:20:05 Butch, because there's just lately, within
00:20:05 --> 00:20:08 the last couple of weeks, we've seen some
00:20:08 --> 00:20:10 extraordinary images of the solar, uh,
00:20:10 --> 00:20:13 surface. It's not really a surface, it's
00:20:13 --> 00:20:16 the gas region that we can see. It's called
00:20:16 --> 00:20:18 the photosphere. They've come from the Daniel
00:20:18 --> 00:20:21 K Inouye Solar Telescope, which is
00:20:21 --> 00:20:24 on top of a mountain, uh, on the
00:20:24 --> 00:20:26 island of Maui in Hawaii. It's, uh, the
00:20:26 --> 00:20:29 summit of Haleakala. And that's the biggest
00:20:29 --> 00:20:32 telescope, uh, in the world, able, uh,
00:20:32 --> 00:20:34 to look at the sun and the images. The detail
00:20:34 --> 00:20:37 that's coming back is quite
00:20:37 --> 00:20:38 extraordinary.
00:20:38 --> 00:20:40 Um, and what,
00:20:41 --> 00:20:44 uh, has come from these latest images, and
00:20:44 --> 00:20:46 this is a little bit off the track, but it's
00:20:46 --> 00:20:48 interesting, uh, something that's fascinated
00:20:48 --> 00:20:50 me for a long time. Things called, uh,
00:20:50 --> 00:20:53 Kelvin. Hello. Well, let me get it
00:20:53 --> 00:20:56 out. Kelvin Helmholtz instabilities,
00:20:56 --> 00:20:59 if you want to look that up. Uh,
00:20:59 --> 00:21:01 they're a little bit like what we were
00:21:01 --> 00:21:03 talking about with Emily's question, where
00:21:03 --> 00:21:05 you've got two masses of
00:21:06 --> 00:21:08 atmosphere shearing against one another,
00:21:08 --> 00:21:11 they're moving at different speeds and you,
00:21:11 --> 00:21:14 uh, sometimes get these regular patterns
00:21:14 --> 00:21:16 which are called Calvin Helmholtz
00:21:16 --> 00:21:19 instabilities. They're quite striking. Um,
00:21:20 --> 00:21:23 we saw some in Japan last year which, uh,
00:21:23 --> 00:21:25 I took a photograph of. Um, this was with
00:21:25 --> 00:21:28 clouds because clouds kind of reveal where
00:21:28 --> 00:21:30 they're taking place. But these have now been
00:21:30 --> 00:21:32 seen in the atmosphere of the sun.
00:21:32 --> 00:21:34 Uh, people have thought they would find them,
00:21:34 --> 00:21:36 but, yes, they have now been revealed.
00:21:36 --> 00:21:38 Andrew Dunkley: Wow, that's exciting, isn't it?
00:21:38 --> 00:21:39 Professor Fred Watson: Yeah.
00:21:39 --> 00:21:42 Andrew Dunkley: Um, and you mentioned the Parker solar
00:21:42 --> 00:21:44 probe, which may well be the mission that
00:21:44 --> 00:21:46 Butcher, uh, is referring to. But, um,
00:21:47 --> 00:21:49 it's become famous because of,
00:21:49 --> 00:21:52 uh, the speed, speeds that it's achieved.
00:21:52 --> 00:21:53 Professor Fred Watson: Yeah, that's right.
00:21:53 --> 00:21:56 Andrew Dunkley: In fact, it's the fastest object
00:21:56 --> 00:21:59 ever made by human beings. It, uh,
00:21:59 --> 00:22:01 reached a top speed on 24 December 2024, of
00:22:01 --> 00:22:05 692
00:22:05 --> 00:22:07 kilometres per hour. That's 430
00:22:07 --> 00:22:10 miles an hour, skimming about 3.8
00:22:10 --> 00:22:13 million miles above the solar surface.
00:22:13 --> 00:22:15 That's extraordinary.
00:22:15 --> 00:22:17 Extraordinary. Fastest object ever are
00:22:18 --> 00:22:21 made by humans. Uh, although
00:22:21 --> 00:22:23 you turn a torch on and you're making light,
00:22:23 --> 00:22:26 I think that should count. We've all achieved
00:22:26 --> 00:22:29 light speed. Um, but,
00:22:29 --> 00:22:31 yeah, uh, that's pretty impressive stuff.
00:22:31 --> 00:22:33 And while we're talking about missions to the
00:22:33 --> 00:22:36 sun, um, they've got a few coming up.
00:22:36 --> 00:22:39 Uh, the sun coronal Ejection Tracker,
00:22:40 --> 00:22:42 uh, which is supposedly
00:22:43 --> 00:22:46 about to happen. Designed to track coronal
00:22:46 --> 00:22:48 mass ejections and improve space weather
00:22:48 --> 00:22:50 forecasting. There's the Multi slit
00:22:50 --> 00:22:53 Solar Explorer which is due to launch in
00:22:53 --> 00:22:56 2027. That's a NASA uh, mission
00:22:56 --> 00:22:58 targeting fine detail of the solar
00:22:58 --> 00:23:01 atmosphere. Um, I
00:23:01 --> 00:23:04 don't know how to pronounce this. TSIS 2, uh,
00:23:04 --> 00:23:07 is set to launch in 2027. And
00:23:08 --> 00:23:10 um, they'll measure spectral
00:23:10 --> 00:23:13 solar energy input into Earth's atmosphere.
00:23:14 --> 00:23:17 And this one uh, is
00:23:17 --> 00:23:19 already up there was uh, 2025, the
00:23:19 --> 00:23:21 Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe
00:23:21 --> 00:23:24 IMAP, um, which uh,
00:23:24 --> 00:23:25 is looking at the boundary where the
00:23:25 --> 00:23:28 heliosphere meets interstellar space. So
00:23:28 --> 00:23:31 uh, lots and lots of work going on around the
00:23:31 --> 00:23:34 sun and I uh, don't think they'll stop there.
00:23:34 --> 00:23:36 They'll keep going back to figure out more
00:23:36 --> 00:23:39 about it. Um, I mean it's the easiest star
00:23:39 --> 00:23:41 for us to study really.
00:23:41 --> 00:23:44 Um, it's just
00:23:44 --> 00:23:46 over there all the time. It's shining very
00:23:46 --> 00:23:48 brightly today. I'm actually going to go
00:23:48 --> 00:23:50 outside later because we're at the beginning
00:23:50 --> 00:23:53 of the pollen season and see if I can
00:23:53 --> 00:23:56 get myself another um, photo of the
00:23:56 --> 00:23:58 um, pollen, pollen, pollen corona,
00:23:58 --> 00:23:59 pollen corona.
00:23:59 --> 00:24:02 Professor Fred Watson: Which, that would be great. Yeah, yeah.
00:24:02 --> 00:24:04 Andrew Dunkley: I took one many years ago but I haven't been
00:24:04 --> 00:24:07 able to get one uh, since. So I must have got
00:24:07 --> 00:24:09 lucky that day. But I think
00:24:09 --> 00:24:12 those photos work out better with an iPhone
00:24:12 --> 00:24:14 than they do a ah, camera, uh, or
00:24:15 --> 00:24:17 a telescope for that matter. But um, yeah,
00:24:17 --> 00:24:19 anyway, I'll give it a go later. Thanks uh,
00:24:19 --> 00:24:21 Butch, for your question.
00:24:23 --> 00:24:26 The crew of Artemis 2 now bound for the moon.
00:24:26 --> 00:24:29 Professor Fred Watson: Humanity's next great voyage begins.
00:24:29 --> 00:24:32 Andrew Dunkley: Space Nuts. Our final question, an
00:24:32 --> 00:24:34 audio uh, question comes from
00:24:35 --> 00:24:38 somebody else who I've lost. I've found him
00:24:38 --> 00:24:39 again. It's Trent.
00:24:40 --> 00:24:42 Trent from North Georgia USA: Hello Andrew and Dr. Fred Watson.
00:24:42 --> 00:24:45 This is Trent from North Georgia
00:24:45 --> 00:24:48 USA. I had a
00:24:48 --> 00:24:50 question. I know that gravitational
00:24:50 --> 00:24:53 waves move at the universal
00:24:53 --> 00:24:56 speed limit, the same as light in a
00:24:56 --> 00:24:58 vacuum, but are
00:24:58 --> 00:25:01 gravitational waves slowed down
00:25:02 --> 00:25:04 as they pass through atmosphere and
00:25:04 --> 00:25:05 planets?
00:25:05 --> 00:25:08 You and water and things
00:25:08 --> 00:25:10 like that, like light waves are
00:25:11 --> 00:25:14 just curious. Love your show.
00:25:15 --> 00:25:17 Been a long time listener and thoroughly
00:25:17 --> 00:25:19 enjoy asking questions here. Y' all have a
00:25:20 --> 00:25:22 wonderful day and I look forward to hearing
00:25:22 --> 00:25:22 Matt.
00:25:23 --> 00:25:25 Andrew Dunkley: Thank you Trent. Um, really good question.
00:25:25 --> 00:25:28 Gravitational waves have been um,
00:25:28 --> 00:25:31 a very popular topic of late. Uh, not
00:25:31 --> 00:25:33 only with space nuts and listeners, but
00:25:33 --> 00:25:34 scientists around the world trying to detect,
00:25:34 --> 00:25:37 uh, them and figure them out and learn from
00:25:37 --> 00:25:39 them because they can tell us about things
00:25:39 --> 00:25:40 that have happened that we have not
00:25:40 --> 00:25:43 witnessed. But uh, we know what they are and
00:25:43 --> 00:25:46 why. Um, because
00:25:46 --> 00:25:49 they vary according to, uh, the source.
00:25:50 --> 00:25:53 Um, so, um, how fast do they
00:25:53 --> 00:25:55 go and can something slow them down?
00:25:55 --> 00:25:55 Fred Watson?
00:25:56 --> 00:25:58 Professor Fred Watson: Yes, they go at the speed of light, exactly
00:25:58 --> 00:26:01 as, uh, Trent says, but they don't slow
00:26:01 --> 00:26:04 down. Oh, yeah. So they're not like
00:26:04 --> 00:26:07 light. Um, they're not like photons of light,
00:26:07 --> 00:26:09 which are, uh, subatomic particles that
00:26:10 --> 00:26:12 interact with, you know, the electrons and
00:26:12 --> 00:26:15 atoms, um, of, uh, of
00:26:15 --> 00:26:17 a medium that they're pla. That they're
00:26:17 --> 00:26:18 passing through, and that's what slows them
00:26:18 --> 00:26:21 down. But gravitational waves are actually
00:26:22 --> 00:26:25 in, well, we sometimes call it the fabric
00:26:25 --> 00:26:28 of space time. They're basically. They're
00:26:28 --> 00:26:31 waves in space. Um, and so,
00:26:31 --> 00:26:34 um, matter, the kind of stuff that
00:26:34 --> 00:26:36 I think Trent's thinking of, doesn't block
00:26:36 --> 00:26:38 them, doesn't absorb them, doesn't impede
00:26:38 --> 00:26:40 them, doesn't slow them down. They just go
00:26:40 --> 00:26:43 right through it. Uh, uh, they go through
00:26:43 --> 00:26:46 planets, stars,
00:26:46 --> 00:26:48 humans, anything, as though they were
00:26:48 --> 00:26:51 just empty space. So they
00:26:51 --> 00:26:52 don't.
00:26:52 --> 00:26:53 Andrew Dunkley: They don't.
00:26:53 --> 00:26:53 Trent from North Georgia USA: All right.
00:26:53 --> 00:26:54 Andrew Dunkley: That was easy. That was quick.
00:26:55 --> 00:26:56 Professor Fred Watson: It was, wasn't it?
00:26:56 --> 00:26:57 Andrew Dunkley: So I'm going to give you a question without
00:26:57 --> 00:26:59 notice that's come from our live audience.
00:26:59 --> 00:27:02 This comes from Tommy. He says artificial
00:27:02 --> 00:27:05 intelligence, uh, is great for pattern
00:27:05 --> 00:27:07 recognition. Any comments about the
00:27:07 --> 00:27:08 advancements in computer science?
00:27:10 --> 00:27:13 Professor Fred Watson: Um, certainly AI is used a lot in, um,
00:27:13 --> 00:27:15 astrophysics, um, because
00:27:16 --> 00:27:18 a lot of what we study in astronomy and
00:27:18 --> 00:27:21 astrophysics relies on very
00:27:22 --> 00:27:24 complex statistical methodologies.
00:27:25 --> 00:27:27 Um, you know, Bayesian statistics and all
00:27:27 --> 00:27:30 kinds of stuff that I never knew about when I
00:27:30 --> 00:27:33 was a student. Uh, and AI
00:27:33 --> 00:27:35 is great at dealing with that kind of thing
00:27:35 --> 00:27:37 and teasing out some of the nuances
00:27:38 --> 00:27:41 from, uh, you know, from the work that's
00:27:41 --> 00:27:42 going on. So,
00:27:45 --> 00:27:47 um, and that's just one example of the way
00:27:47 --> 00:27:49 that perhaps AI is being used in astronomy
00:27:49 --> 00:27:51 and astrophysics. Yes.
00:27:51 --> 00:27:54 Andrew Dunkley: Yeah. Um, it's making inroads into
00:27:54 --> 00:27:57 just about every facet of life and business,
00:27:57 --> 00:28:00 isn't it, Fred Watson? Um, and
00:28:00 --> 00:28:01 there's a lot of debate over whether or not
00:28:01 --> 00:28:04 this is a good thing. I actually
00:28:04 --> 00:28:07 read a report today, not, uh, that it's
00:28:07 --> 00:28:10 suggesting AI is the problem, but, uh, it's
00:28:10 --> 00:28:12 suggesting that screen time is the problem.
00:28:12 --> 00:28:15 But, um, the, um,
00:28:15 --> 00:28:17 academic decline in the
00:28:18 --> 00:28:21 school students, um, that they're
00:28:21 --> 00:28:23 witnessing now, the exam results,
00:28:24 --> 00:28:27 uh, globally, uh, on standard
00:28:27 --> 00:28:29 tests, is showing that, um,
00:28:30 --> 00:28:32 there's a, you know, the curve is falling.
00:28:33 --> 00:28:36 Um, we're seeing a decline in scholastic
00:28:36 --> 00:28:38 ability. And they're blaming screen time,
00:28:38 --> 00:28:41 they're blaming access to easy data
00:28:41 --> 00:28:43 without using your brain to figure it out.
00:28:43 --> 00:28:46 Um, it's, uh, something that
00:28:46 --> 00:28:49 governments and institutions around the world
00:28:49 --> 00:28:51 are going to have to tackle, if they haven't
00:28:51 --> 00:28:53 started already. And I'm sure they have. But,
00:28:53 --> 00:28:54 uh, yeah, ah, it's, it's a growing, it's a
00:28:54 --> 00:28:57 growing problem. But, um, I don't think we're
00:28:57 --> 00:28:59 going to stop, um, using AI and
00:28:59 --> 00:29:02 computers and tablets and
00:29:02 --> 00:29:05 smartphones anytime soon. So we've got
00:29:05 --> 00:29:08 to find a way for everything to work together
00:29:08 --> 00:29:10 in unison to the benefit of
00:29:11 --> 00:29:12 humanity.
00:29:12 --> 00:29:14 And, uh, um, maybe
00:29:15 --> 00:29:17 doing what we've done in New South Wales and
00:29:17 --> 00:29:20 banning phones in classrooms, uh, might be
00:29:20 --> 00:29:20 a start.
00:29:20 --> 00:29:21 Professor Fred Watson: Who knows?
00:29:22 --> 00:29:24 Andrew Dunkley: Uh, thanks, Trent. Great question. Great to
00:29:24 --> 00:29:24 hear from you.
00:29:24 --> 00:29:26 Great to hear from everybody who contributed.
00:29:26 --> 00:29:28 Thank you so much. And don't forget to send
00:29:28 --> 00:29:30 your questions through to us on our website,
00:29:30 --> 00:29:33 spacenutspodcast.com or
00:29:33 --> 00:29:36 spacenuts IO. Click on the little AMA
00:29:36 --> 00:29:38 link at the top. That means ask me anything.
00:29:38 --> 00:29:40 And don't forget to tell us who you are or
00:29:40 --> 00:29:42 where you're from, uh, in text or audio form.
00:29:42 --> 00:29:44 And while you're there, have a look around,
00:29:44 --> 00:29:46 visit our shop, sign up for the astronomy
00:29:46 --> 00:29:49 newsletter and, um, yeah, whatever
00:29:49 --> 00:29:51 you like. And please leave reviews wherever
00:29:51 --> 00:29:54 you listen to us. Uh, and thank you,
00:29:54 --> 00:29:56 Fred Watson, as always. It's been great fun.
00:29:56 --> 00:29:58 Professor Fred Watson: It's been good, doesn't it? Yep. And we'll do
00:29:58 --> 00:29:59 it again soon. We will.
00:29:59 --> 00:30:01 Andrew Dunkley: Professor Fred Watson Watson, astronomer at
00:30:01 --> 00:30:02 large, and thanks to Huw in the studio,
00:30:02 --> 00:30:04 couldn't be with us today, did a mission to
00:30:04 --> 00:30:07 the sun, forgot his sunscreen back in
00:30:07 --> 00:30:07 hospital.
00:30:07 --> 00:30:09 And from me, Andrew Dunkley. Thanks for your
00:30:09 --> 00:30:12 company. We'll see you in the next episode of
00:30:12 --> 00:30:14 Space Nuts. Until then, bye bye.
00:30:15 --> 00:30:18 Uh, you'll be listening to the Space Nuts
00:30:18 --> 00:30:20 podcast, available
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00:30:27 --> 00:30:30 demand@bytes.com. this has been another
00:30:30 --> 00:30:32 quality podcast production from
00:30:32 --> 00:30:34 bytes.com.