Sept. 24, 2021

Revision Time

The Astronomy, Technology, and Space Science News Podcast.
SpaceTime Series 24 Episode 108
*Time for a revision for the Milky Way galaxy’s formation
Scientists will need to rethink how the Milky Way galaxy formed and evolved after new observations...

The Astronomy, Technology, and Space Science News Podcast.
SpaceTime Series 24 Episode 108
*Time for a revision for the Milky Way galaxy’s formation
Scientists will need to rethink how the Milky Way galaxy formed and evolved after new observations showed the galaxy’s gases aren’t homogeneously mixed – as originally thought.
*NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope ready for launch
After successful completion of its final tests, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is now being prepped for shipment to the launch pad.
*A year since death of the Arecibo Radio Telescope
It’s been a year since the iconic 305 metre Arecibo Radio Telescope in Puerto Rico first began snapping support cables – a process that would ultimately lead to the collapse of the main dish on December first.
*OneWeb’s constellation continues to grow
A Russian rocket has blasted off carrying another 34 OneWeb internet broadband communications satellites.
*The Science Report
Smoke from Australia’s black summer bushfires spawned a massive phytoplankton bloom.
Defiant X rotorcraft proposal for US Army’s Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft programme.
New lithium sulfur batteries could let you drive Sydney to Melbourne on a single charge.
Fossilized dinosaur skin discovery.
Skeptic's guide to freedom of speech.

For more SpaceTime and show links: https://linktr.ee/biteszHQ

Your support is needed...
SpaceTime is an independently produced podcast (we are not funded by any government grants, big organisations or companies), and we’re working towards becoming a completely listener supported show...meaning we can do away with the commercials and sponsors. We figure the time can be much better spent on researching and producing stories for you, rather than having to chase sponsors to help us pay the bills.
That's where you come in....help us reach our first 1,000 subscribers...at that level the show becomes financially viable and bills can be paid without us breaking into a sweat every month. Every little bit helps...even if you could contribute just $1 per month. It all adds up.
By signing up and becoming a supporter at the $5 or more level, you get immediate access to over 240 commercial-free, double, and triple episode editions of SpaceTime plus extended interview bonus content. You also receive all new episodes on a Monday rather than having to wait the week out. Subscribe via Patreon or Supercast (you get a month’s free trial with Supercast to see if it’s really for you or not)....and share in the rewards. Details at Patreon www.patreon.com/spacetimewithstuartgary or Supercast - https://bitesznetwork.supercast.tech/
Details at https://spacetimewithstuartgary.com or www.bitesz.com

Sponsor Details:
This episode is brought to you with the support of NameCheap…cheap domain names is just the beginning of your own online presence. We use them and we love them. Get our special deal…just visit: https://spacetimewithstuartgary.com/namecheap and help support the show.

www.bitesz.com

The Astronomy, Space, Technology & Science News Podcast.

Transcript

SpaceTime S24E108 AI Transcript

This is space time series 24 episode, 108 for broadcast on the 24th of September, 2021. Coming up on space, time, time for a revision on the Milky way. Galaxy is formation. NASA's James Webb space telescope, ready for launch, and it's hard to believe, but it's already been a year since the death of the Arecibo radio telescope, all that, and more coming up on SpaceTime.

Welcome to space time with Stewart, Gary.

Scientists are going to need to rethink how the Milky way galaxy formed an evolved. After new observation showed that the galaxies gases artists homogeneously mixed as originally thought the findings reported in the journal nature have surprised astronomers. They thought the different gases that fill the interstellar space between the stars would have mixed reasonably well over the galaxies, 12 billion year lifespan, the authors found three main gas elements standard.

There's the pristine guests coming from outside the galaxy. There's the gas between the stars inside the Milky way, which is enriched with the elements produced by stars. And then there's the dusk created by the condensation of metals present in these gases for astronomers, all chemicals, other than hydrogen and helium, the elements produced in the big bang itself are referred to as metal.

Until now theoretical models assumed that these three groups of gasses were homogeneously mixed throughout the Milky way. And that they've reached a level of chemical enrichment, very similar to the sun's atmosphere, what astronomers referred to as solid metal. Essity. However, the new observations by astronomers from the university of Geneva found that these gases are not mixed as much as previously thought.

And that has a strong impact on sciences, Karen at the standing of the evolution of galaxy. Galaxies are made up of a collection of stars and a formed through the condensation of gases in the intergalactic, medium composed, mostly of hydrogen and helium with only trace amounts of middle Essity. Unlike the gas inside galaxies as indigo, lactic, hydrogen, and helium gas falls in from the outside under the influence of the galaxies gravity, the pristine material forms, new stars inside the galaxy.

At the same time, other stars already shiny in the galaxy, a busily producing metals through nuclear synthesis either during their lives or when they die. These metal rich gasses are then exported across the galaxy to become part of the material used to create progressively newer generations of stars.

When these gases move far enough away from a star they'll cool down and condense into cosmic dust. Initially when the Milky way was formed, it would have had no virtually no. But stars gradually enrich the dystopian Romant within the galaxy with the metals. They produced a process which continues today.

The amount of metals in the gas gradually builds up over eons. And the level of metals currently present in our sun is referred to by astronomers as solar medalists. Until now theoretical models suggested these three separate groups of gases were homogeneously mixed and rich. The sun's composition pretty well everywhere within the galaxy with only a slight increase in Mariela city towards the center with stars are more numerous, but the new observations using spectra graphs on the Hubble space telescope and the very large telescope in Chile, haven't shown this.

Spectroscopy splits light from stars into a rainbow of different frequencies. Each frequency is based on a specific chemical composition, and that allows scientists to determine what a stars made of. But it's not that simple. Some elements are a lot easier to detect than others. And so a new jewel observation technique had to be developed to allow the authors to see what's happening with these three different grips of gases.

They found that the Milky way's environment is not homogeneous. And some of the areas studied, reached only 10% of solar mid-list city. And what all that means is that different groups of stars and planets and different parts of the galaxy would be very different from those fan in other parts of the galaxy.

And that's before we even include those stars and planets cannibalize from other galaxies through collecting mergers. All in all, it's painting a far more complicated picture of galaxy evolution. This is space time, still the gum. This is James Webb space telescope, ready for launch and hard to believe, but it's now been a year since the death of the era's CBO radio telescope.

We'll have a look back at this iconic piece of infrastructure. All that and more still to come on. Space time

after successfully completing its final tests. Masses James Webb space telescope is now being prepared for shipment to the launch pad. The $10 billion orbiting observatories slated to launch a board, an Arianne five rocket from the European space agencies, curious spaceport in French Guiana on December the 18th put simply James Webb will replace Hubble as the world's premier space science observatory.

It's the largest and most powerful space telescope ever built. But whereas Hubble looked mostly invisible light. James Webb will focus on the infrared. That's because it will be capable of looking so far back in space time that light from distant stars would have been stretched into the infrared by the expansion of the universe.

Looking back over 13 and a half billion years, James Webb will see light from the very first stars and galaxies that formed just a few hundred million years after the big bang itself. It'll solve mysteries in our solar system. Look beyond a distant worlds around other stars and probe, the mysterious structures and origins of the universe and our place within it.

Engineers have now completed James Webb's extensive comprehensive test program at Northrop Grumman's Redondo beach facilities in California. These tests were designed to ensure that the world's most complex space science observatory will operate as it's meant to once it's in space. You see, unlike the Hubble space telescope, which is in low earth orbit and could be serviced by the space shuttle, James Webb will be positioned some 1.5 million kilometers away.

And so too far away for any problems such as Hubble's knees sightedness to be corrected, if they show. For a telescope as complex as James Webb shipment operations to kuru will be extremely complex with specialized contamination control technicians, transport engineers, and logistics, task forces working together to protect the telescope.

During transport, while shipment operations are underway teams located at Webb's mission operations center at the space telescope science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. We'll continue to check and recheck the complex communications network. It will be using once in space. After Weber arrives in French Ghana launch processing teams will then configure the observatory for flight.

This involves per shipment checkouts to ensure the observatory hasn't been damaged or contaminated during transport carefully alerting the spacecraft propellant tanks with a hydrazine fuel and nitrogen to trucks side oxidized it'll need the parrots rocket thrusters to maintain orbit and attaching all those remove before flight red tag items like protective covers that keep important components safe during assembly testing.

Early then we'll engineering teams made the observatory to its Ariane five launch vehicle before it finally rolls out onto the launch pad. Ready for flight after its 26 minute ride about Arianne, the spacecraft will separate from the rocket and automatically deploy its solar rays it'll. Then begin a six month over the commissioning phase.

The all important sunshield deployment will begin a few days after launch and there'll be numerous subsequent deployments as different bits of equipment slowly unfold. Over the following weeks, we will take a month to reach its intended over the location. 1.5 million kilometers from the earth in what's known as the LaGrand L to position a gravitational.

Well on the opposite side of the earth to the sun. You all once the sun shield starts to deploy telescope and its instruments will enter shade and start to cool down and should managers will be carefully monitoring this cool-down phase using haters to control stresses on the instruments and structures.

In the meantime, the secondary mirror tripod will unfold. The primary mirror will unfold. Webs instruments will slowly power up and thrust. The fairings will insert the observatory into its prescribed. Once the observatory is cooled down and stabilized at it's frigid operating temperature, several months of alignments of its optics and calibrations of its scientific instruments will begin as for scientific operations.

If all goes well, they're expected to commence about six months after launch fingers crossed. This is space time. Still to come. It's now been a year since the death of the air CBO radio telescope, and a Russian rocket has blessed that off from Baikonur carrying another 34, 1 web internet, broadband communication satellites, all that and more stores.

Um, space space-time

Well, it's hard to believe, but it's now been a year since the iconic 305 meter air CBO radio telescope in Puerto Rico. First began snapping support cables, a process that would ultimately lead to the collapse of the main dish on December 1st for decades, eras CBO held the title as the world's largest radio telescope.

It was primarily used for research into radio astronomy, atmospheric sciences, and radar astronomy, as well as being a key part of the SETI program search for extraterrestrial intelligence out, of course, it's had starring roles in several movies, including contact and the James Bond, thriller Goldeneye, I guess the first sides of problems the com really became apparent in 2006, when the giant dish suffered a significant funding.

The problems really began when damage was caused by hurricane Maria in 2017 and a series of earthquake struck the area in 2019 and 2020. The alarm bells really began ringing loud and clear in August, 2020 when a kiosk ciliary cable supporting the massive suspended structure suddenly snapped, crashing down under the collected dish test chair.

The cable break happened at just a fraction of its redic capacity. Then another secondary supporting cable suddenly snapped in November. Engineer's determined. It would now be too dangerous to attempt repairs. And the only option left was the decommissioning and dismantling of the dish. But before that work could begin several of the remaining support cables failed and the supporting structure and tenor and dome assembly all fell onto the dish in a thunderous crashed, destroying the telescope.

Joining us now for a look back at Arecibo is Jonathan. Nalli the editor of Australian sky telescope magazine that was suspended on wise inside this valley in Puerto Rico and had been there for really giant. And then the full thing just collapsed. It was really quite, um, Uh, sad to see. And of course, distressing for everyone who's been involved with.

Yeah, it was December last year. And, um, I mean, a lot of Puerto Ricans, you know, worked there or, or, you know, the school kids visited there and, uh, they're extremely proud of this, uh, amazing, enormous giant. So, um, anyway, we have, we take a look at phone, look back at the 50 plus years of its history. Uh, some of the discoveries that married and the things that did, and we have a look and see if there are any ideas.

That's Jonathan Nellie, editor of Australian sky and telescope magazine. And don't forget if you're having trouble getting your copy of Australian sky and telescope magazine from your usual retailer because of the current lockdown and travel restrictions, you can always get a print or digital subscription and have the magazine delivered directly to your letterbox or inbox.

Subscribing is easy. Just go to sky and telescope.com.edu. That sky telescope.com.edu. And you'll never be left in the dark. Again, this is space time still. The com one webs internet constellation continues to grow. And later in the science report, engineers at developing a new lithium soft battery that could let you drive from Sydney to Melbourne on a single charge.

Oh, that and lots more still to come on. Space time.

uh, Russian rocket is blasted off carrying another 34, 1 web internet broadband communications, satellite. Uh, launchable the soil is to one bay rocket with a forget, em, upper stage took place at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in the central Asian Republic of Kazakhstan. The spacecraft was successfully placed into orbit at an altitude of 1200 kilometers.

This was the 10th launch for one web brings to 322, the number of satellites and they growing constellation. The can't be plans to eventually have 588 of the 150 kilogram. K you ban satellites in orbit, plus a few spare. Right now, there are four more launches planned to complete the initial constellation.

The next will be from the Cosmodrome in Western Russia next month. That will be followed by another Baikonur launch in December. And then two more launches. One in late December. The other in February from the European space. Editors is curious spaceport in French Guiana. This is spacetime

and Tom Meditech. Another brief look at some of the other stories making using science this week with the science report, researchers have discovered that smoke from Australia's black summer bushfires two years ago have spawned a massive fat of plankton bloom as large as the contiguous United States.

Uh, report of the journal nature found that smoke from the 20 19 20 20 wildfires have traveled thousands of kilometers across the Pacific and great Southern ocean before finally falling under the sea surface on landing. It said at a huge fighter plankton bloom between New Zealand, south America covering an area thousands of kilometers.

Wow. Meanwhile a second papers found that the black summer fires are at least twice as much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as previously estimated surpassing Australia's normal annual fire and fossil fuel emissions. By 80%, a joint Sikorsky Boeing team has submitted it's defined X Rhoda craft design as their contender for the United States.

Army's future long range assault aircraft program. The is designed to replace the carrot, iconic UHS, 60 Blackhawk helicopter, but that a fight is a very different type of aircraft. A compound coaxial helicopter. Its main competition appears to be built V two 80 valid tilt rotor. The us army wants a next generation.

Rotorcraft with a cruising speed of at least 519 kilometers per hour at a combat range of 556 kilometers. And you study his fam at a spoonful of sugar, helps the lithium last longer, at least a dozen lithium sulfur batteries scientists that Monash university have used the glucose additive on a positive electrode to produce a longer lasting, lighter, more sustainable rival to lithium ion battery.

The discovery reported in the journal nature communications could ultimately mean an electric vehicle that could finally have a reasonable range, say about a thousand kilometers instead of the current hundred or so now that would be the same as driving from Sydney to Melbourne on a single charge. It also opens new horizons for drones and submarines.

In theory, lithium sulfur batteries could serve up to five times more energy than lithium ion batteries have the same way. But the problem has always been that the electrodes have deteriorated rapidly. That's due primarily to substantial expansion and sulfur compounds contaminating the negative lithium electrode paleontologist at the university of new England have revealed a remarkable new specimen of fossilized dinosaur skin.

The skin belongs to a chemist tourists, an eight meter long carnivorous theropod dinosaurs known for its strange Scallon large horn. These dinosaurs lived during the late Cretaceous between 72 and 69.9 million years ago. The dinosaurs remains were discovered a dig site in Patagonia back in 1984. And in addition to the fossilized, dinosaur bones paleontologists were astounded to discover sections of fossilized, dinosaur hide as well, and incredibly rare five.

Uh, report of the journal Cretaceous research claims the fossilized skin included areas from the shoulders, the belly and the tail regions. The author say the dinosaur skin has proven to be far more diverse than what scientists did previously thought. It includes large randomly distributed conical studs, surrounded by a network of small elongated, diamond shaped or sub secular scale.

And unlike more recent discoveries, a feathered dinosaurs kind of Taurus was entirely scaly with no evidence of any feathers. The United States constitution. First amendment prevents the government from making any laws which regulate or prohibit religion, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, the right to petition the government to redress, grievances, and freedom of speech.

But what does freedom of speech really mean? And how applicable is that in Australia? Which isn't governed by the constitution of another nation. Tremendum from Austrade skeptic says it's an issue which Australian governments have now been addressing after the runnings with sight spoken, various groups like that, putting up information about anti-vaxxers and things that promoted the anti-vax Macy it's cetera.

The government brought in the Australian code of practice on this information and misinformation, which started in February of 20. That was about 12 months after the government, the federal government, our digital platforms, which is the Facebooks and to develop a voluntary code. Obviously I can't do well.

So they put out an actual government mandated code, which is basically the idea is it's part of a reform generally of the technology and information disseminate. Landscape as I call it to actually tidy up and sort out the rubbish and the conspiracy theories and that sort of stuff that he's spread around indiscriminately by social media comes up with the argument against the course of free speech, blah, blah, blah.

You know, all that sort of thing, which obviously there's no such thing as free speech. It's never formally endorsed in any documentation, including the UN declaration of human rights. I should have pointed out that people obviously then read the universal declaration of human rights. There is there's a catty.

At free speech is good, but you should not have free speech when it hurts others.

It's not just that, that was an example used by a us Senator, I think. But yeah, it's, it's about that. You're kind of spreading information around that is going to hurt other people under the guise of free speech. And this is what religious discrimination and all these things are about. You should be able to hang around and say, you will die because of your bad beliefs.

So I will arrange people to make sure you will die, which is a threat under the guise for freestyle. There is no such thing as absolute free speech never has been and probably never will be. And you can look that up. We've written about that. And I've written about that in the skeptic magazine. It's a fact of life.

There was no bill of rights in Australia and in American constitution in all sorts of constitution, the freedom of speech, which is a theoretically good thing, always has the caveat. And that's where they applying here or supposedly applying here or trying to apply here with the social media platform.

You're allowed to demonstrate your point of view, but not with something that's going to hurt. And that's, that goes back through philosophy and through practical experience through the decades and centuries and millennia of human existence. It's Tim Mendham from Australian skeptics.

And that's the shut for now. The space-time is available every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday through apple podcasts, iTunes, Stitcher, Google podcast, pocket casts, Spotify, a cast, Amazon music bites.com. SoundCloud, YouTube, your favorite podcast, download provider and from space-time with Stewart, gary.com space times also broadcast through the national science foundation on science own radio and on both iHeart, radio and tune in.

And you can help to support our show by visiting the time store for a range of promotional merchandising goodies, or by becoming a space-time patron, which gives you access to triple episode commercial free versions of the show, as well as lots of Burness audio content, which doesn't go to where access to our exclusive Facebook group and other rewards.

Just go to space time with Stuart, gary.com for full details. And if you want more space time, please check out our blog where you'll find all the stuff we couldn't fit in the show, as well as heaps of images, new stories, loads, videos, and things on the web. I find interesting or amusing, just go to space-time with Stuart, gary.tumbler.com.

That's all one word and that's tumbler without the. You can also follow us through at Stuart Gary on Twitter at space-time with Stuart, Gary on Instagram, through our space-time YouTube channel and on Facebook, just go to facebook.com forward slash space time with Stewart. And space-time is brought to you in collaboration with Australian sky and telescope magazine, your window on the universe.

You've been listening to space-time with Stuart Gary. This has been another quality podcast production and from bitesz.com.

Tim MendhamProfile Photo

Tim Mendham

Editor

Editor with Australian Skeptics