The Hidden Power of Hydroxide: Our Planet's Natural Cleaner & Other Space News

#352: In this episode of Space Nuts, we explore a groundbreaking discovery about how Earth cleans up its own atmosphere, and how it could change the game in mitigating air pollution. But when our host jumps to the wrong planet, we discover stunning new images of Uranus taken by the James Webb Space Telescope and reveal some incredible insights about this mysterious planet. However, our excitement is cut short with a shocking revelation that leaves us wondering, will we ever go back?
At night, when there is no photochemistry, oh is still produced and is produced at a higher rate than would otherwise happen. - Fred Watson
Timestamped summary of this episode:
00:00:00 - Introduction,
Andrew Dunkley introduces the episode and its topics, which include a fascinating discovery about how Earth's atmosphere cleans itself and new images of Uranus from the James Webb Space Telescope.
00:02:23 - Earth Cleans Up Its Act,
Researchers have discovered a new mechanism for how Earth's atmosphere creates the hydroxide molecule, which plays a key role in breaking down pollutants and cleaning up the atmosphere. The discovery may lead to new ways of artificially producing hydroxide to mitigate air pollution.
00:09:53 - Real Atmosphere Experiments,
While the discovery of the new mechanism for hydroxide production in Earth's atmosphere is significant, experiments in the real atmosphere are needed to confirm the findings. The hope is that the discovery could lead to new ways of cleaning up the atmosphere.
00:14:32 - Holding Carbon,
There are various methods for holding carbon in the Earth, such as paying farmers to grow trees, but these solutions have their limitations. Carbon scrubbers and sequestering are other options that have been explored, but their efficacy and impact on the environment need to be further studied.
00:16:01 - Stunning Images of Uranus,
New images of Uranus from the James Webb Space Telescope have revealed stunning new details about the planet, which has only been visited once by Voyager One. There is enthusiasm within the space and planetary science communities for future missions to Uranus and Neptune, though they are likely decades away.
00:17:53 - Uranus Observations with James Webb Telescope,
The James Webb telescope observed Uranus for 12 minutes, producing stunning near-infrared images of the planet, its rings, and many of its 27 moons. The images showed finer details of the ringlets within the Uranus ring system, including its structure and the presence of clouds and a north polar cap that covers almost half of the visible disk.
00:28:22 - Big Bang Rewrite,
Recent observations by the James Webb telescope have uncovered unexpected findings, including early universe galaxies as large as the Milky Way with red stars, which contradicts current theories on universe development. However, there is no need for a Big Bang rewrite since there is compelling evidence supporting it, including the cosmic microwave background radiation and the relative abundance of hydrogen, helium, and other elements in the early universe.
00:33:49 - Unexpected Discoveries,
Unexpected discoveries and phenomena have occurred throughout the course of astronomy, including gravitational lensing and evidence of tsunamis on Mars. These discoveries challenge prior assumptions and lead to a rewriting of the textbook, uncovering new knowledge about the universe and how it evolves.
00:34:47 - Expansion of the Universe,
The further away we look, the faster things are moving away from us, but this doesn't imply a slowing down of the universe's expansion. The expansion is actually accelerating and was discovered by studying supernovae as a different yardstick from the redshift expansion.
00:37:58 - Dark Matter,
The millions of stars inside a galaxy are not enough to hold it together, so dark matter was invoked to explain it. While Nick's idea of gravitational distortion of spacetime causing a low-pressure system is interesting, it still does not account for the need for dark matter.
00:40:38 - Dad Jokes,
A listener requests more dad jokes from Fred and shares one himself, "the more time spent with relatives, the more space needed."
00:41:28 - Ways to Connect,
Listeners can submit questions and connect with the Space Nuts team on the official website, social media pages, and the Space Nuts podcast group on Facebook.
00:42:30 - Conclusion,
Andrew thanks Fred for his time and signs off, reminding listeners to stay tuned for the next episode of Space Nuts.