Stellar Alchemy and Earth's Shield: Unveiling Tellurium and Hera's Odyssey | S26E132

This is Space Time Series 26 episode 132 for Broadcast on the 3rd of November 2023.
Coming up on Space Time, the rare heavy element discovered in a stellar collision.
All systems go for our next planetary defence mission, and Moscow threatening star wars in
orbit.
All that and more coming up on Space Time.
Welcome to Space Time with Stuart Gary.
Astronomers have detected the rare heavy element to Lorium being produced in a killer nova collision
between a pair of neutron stars.
The findings reported in the journal Nature were made by teams using array of NASA's
Space-born telescopes, including the web infrared observatory, a Fermi gamma-ray space telescope,
and the Swift Observatory.
Astronomers observed that exceptionally bright gamma-ray burst, catalogued as GRB 23030707A,
was caused by the merger of a pair of super-dense neutron stars.
During this massive explosion known as a killer nova, we have also helped scientists
detect the chemical element to Lorium in the explosion's aftermath.
Where is a supernova occurs when a large star explodes at the end of its life?
A killer nova is an explosion produced by a neutron star merging with either another neutron
star or with a black hole.
Other elements need to Lorium on the periodic table, things like iodine, which is needed
for life on Earth, are also likely to be present in the killer nova's ejected material.
The studies lead author Andrew Leven from Bradboud University says that just over 150 years since
the mid-remedelev first wrote down the periodic table of elements, scientists are now finally
able to fill out most of the remaining blank spaces, understanding the origins of where
these elements came from.
While neutron star mergers have often been theorized as being the ideal pressure-cogas to create
some of these rare elements substantially heavier than iron, astronomers had previously
been encountering a few obstacles in obtaining any solid evidence.
See for a start, killer nova are extremely rare, making it difficult to observe these events.
Short gamma ray burst traditionally thought to be those lasting less than about two seconds
can be byproducts of these infrequent merger episodes.
That places them in contrast to long-period gamma ray bursts which can last for several
minutes and are usually associated with the explosive deaths of massive stars.
In the case of GRB 230307A is especially remarkable.
First detected by Fermi back in March, it was the second brightest gamma ray burst observed
in the last 50 years, about a thousand times brighter than a typical gamma ray burst,
and it also lasted a long time, some 200 seconds, and that should firmly place it in the category
of long-geration gamma ray bursts, despite its different origin.
The collaboration of many telescopes both on the ground and in orbit, a lot of astronomers
to piece together wealth of information about this event pretty well as soon as the burst
was detected.
After that first detection, an intense series of observations from the ground and in space
swung into action, pinpointing the source on the sky and tracking how the brightness
changed.
These observations that the gamma ray, X-ray optical, infrared and radio showed that the optical
infrared counterpart was faint, evolved quickly and became very red, all the hallmarks of a
kilonova.
This type of explosions very rabid with the material expanding quickly.
As the whole cloud expands, the material cools off quickly and the peak of its light becomes
visible in the infrared range, but then becomes redder on topscars of days and weeks.
An important contribution to the observations were made by NASA's web space telescope.
This near infrared camera and near infrared spectrograph were used to study this tumultuous
event from space.
Web spectrograph produced a spectrum of broadlines that showed material being injected at
high speeds and one feature stood out really clearly.
The spectral lines emitted by Tullurium, an element rarer than platinum here on Earth.
The hearty sensitive infrared capabilities of web also allowed astronomers to identify
the location of the two neutron stars that created the kilonova, a spiral galaxy, about 120,000
light years away from the side of the merger.
It seems that prior to their cataclysmic adventure, these were two normal massive stars that
formed a binary system in their home spiral galaxy.
Since this duo were gravitationally bound, both stars will launch together on two separate
occasions.
Firstly, when one among the pair exploded as a supernova, then became a neutron star and
then when the other star followed doing the same thing.
The two supernova explosions flung the pair further and further away from their herscalaxy.
But the two stars remain in a binary system, even though they travel approximately the equivalent
of the Milky Ways diameter before finally merging into a single object 100 million years
later.
This is space time.
It's time to build a cum and update on the European space agencies' Herap planetary defense
mission and Moscow getting more and more aggressive with the Kremlin threatening star wars in orbit.
All that and more still to come.
Unspaced time.
The European Space Agency's Heraspace craft has now arrived at East's Aztec test center
in the Netherlands as it continues preparations for next October's launch on its planetary
defense mission to the asteroid Ditty Moss and its small moon, Dymorphus.
The mission will undertake a detailed investigation of the changes that NASA's DART impact
a mission did when it collided with the 160-meter-wide moon that just over a year ago.
Launched back on the 24th of November 2021, the DART spacecraft successfully slammed into
Dymorphus on the 26th of September 2022, about 11 million kilometers from Earth.
The collision left the massive crater in Dymorphus, and there was a 10,000 kilometer-long debris
stream trailing behind the moon.
It also pushed Dymorphus closer to Ditty Moss, shortening its orbit around its host by some
32 minutes.
The Heraspace craft, together with its two nanosetalite cube sets, aligning Juventus, will
fully characterize the composition of physical properties of the binary asteroid system,
including their subsurface and internal structures.
The information obtained will help inform scientists on the success of the kinetic impact
a method for deflecting an error object that's threatening to crash into the planet.
This report from ESA TV.
Somewhere in the vastness of space might well lurk an unobserved asteroid.
On course, for a head-on collision, without planet.
This impact could be devastating for human kind.
Should we not wish to experience the fate of dinosaurs?
We best be prepared.
This is also the view of ESA and NASA, as both agencies invest in locating these loans
and wanderers and seek to prepare a planetary defense strategy.
As ESA's here a spacecraft arrives at the S-TEC test center in Nordwike the Netherlands,
human kind takes another step towards a safer future for our planet and its species.
The test center at S-TEC is the largest and best satellite testing facility in Europe, and
is equipped to simulate all aspects of spaceflight, from the force and noise of a rocket take-off
to the sustained vacuum and temperature extremes of deep space.
This allows new spacecraft such as Hira to efficiently undergo the crucial tests needed
to qualify for launch.
We need to make sure that the satellite works, which means the software, all the different
pieces of software together work and it does what is supposed to be when it's going
to be alone into space.
These entails not only doing the nominal operations, but even more importantly to be able to react
in case of failures, in case things go wrong, or things go differently from what we have planned.
At the facility, Hira will not only receive her metaphorical wings proving her worthy of
flight, but also its solar wings will be installed here.
Finally, the spacecraft will be ready to meet its tight October 2024 launch window in
order to make its appointment with the binary asteroid system Didymos and Dymorphus.
The Hira spacecraft is part of a larger program, only a year ago NASA's Dart mission successfully
impacted on Dymorphus, shifting the celestial bodies orbit as planned.
Now, Hira will survey the aftermath and the asteroid up close to help turn this grand
experiment into a well understood and potentially repeatable planetary defense technique.
One of the interesting aspects of Hira is that for the first time we bring two Q-sets with
us.
These are very small spacecraft, similarly to drones that will go very close to the surface
of the asteroid and gather complementary information to Hira.
They will have a ground penetrating raiders, they will have multi-special images.
All of this and as going closer of course they will take more risks.
So the idea there is that we fly cheaper systems closer to the danger zone and keep here
at a safe distance.
So, it is not only Hira that needs to be tested, but also the Q-sets it carries with it and
how the trio of spacecraft will work together in deep space.
Most of all, this is a test which are typically performed on all the spacecraft that are launching
to space.
One of particular interest will be the one in the Anacore Chamber when we will assess
the what's so called electromagnetic compatibility.
In that framework we will operate for the first time the Q-sets and the mother spacecraft
communicating to each other via this inter-satellite link.
This is one of the primes of the Hira mission in deep space.
Hira is a unique spacecraft and compared to similar missions like Resetta, Hira is about
ten times smaller and cheaper and enormous achievement for the team.
Soon Hira will leave Aztec and be fully ready to take on the vastness of space and explore
Dymorphus.
Teaching humankind about strategies how to defend itself against the asteroid that could
end it all.
And in that report from ECTV we heard from Hira Project Manager Ian Cannelli and Hira lead
Systems Engineer Palo Martino.
This is space time.
Still to come.
The Cremlum-threatening star was in orbit and later in the science report could tie chi
helps slow the progression of Parkinson's disease.
All that and more still to come.
On space time.
As Moscow continues its war against Ukraine the Cremlum is also continuing to ratchet up its
threats against the West.
Russia has already threatened to use nuclear weapons on several occasions in response to
ongoing economic sanctions by the West over its Ukrainian invasion.
And now they've begun saber rattling in space by undertaking what a known as Rondavu
and proximity operations by moving one of their luch inspector satellites aggressively
close to a Western spacecraft in geostationary orbit.
The manoeuvre was reported by the private company Slingshadehira space which uses algorithms
and artificial intelligence to track satellites.
The company says the intercept was undertaken by Moscow's luch 2 spacecraft which was launched
in March this year.
Its predecessor luch 1 which was launched back in 2014 also undertook several close flybys
of other nation's spacecraft often traveling to within 10km of the satellites and for reasons
which Moscow refused to explain.
Now luch 2 is following its predecessor's footsteps undertaking a similar maneuver
moving within 60km of a Western satellite.
But none of this is new for the Russians.
Back in January 2020 we reported on the Russian Cosmos 2542 and Cosmos 2543 satellites which
maneuvered close to an American Keehole KHE 11 spy satellite.
And six months later in July the Cosmos 2543 spacecraft fired a projectile into space demonstrating
a new capability.
This is space time.
And time to take another brief look at some of the other stories making using science this
week with the science report.
New researchers found that Tai Chi, the ancient Chinese martial art that involves sequences
of very slow controlled movements could slow the progression of Parkinson's disease.
Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that causes tremors in restrict movement.
To investigate the potential benefits of Tai Chi for patients research has followed the
disease's progression over five years in 147 patients who took Tai Chi classes twice
a week and 187 patients who didn't.
The researchers say that at every monitoring point disease progression was slower among
Tai Chi patients compared to those that did not participate in the classes and were more
likely to need increases in their medication to manage their symptoms.
The findings reported in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry cannot prove
that Tai Chi classes slowed the disease's progression.
However it does show that the practice should at least be considered for people with Parkinson's.
The new study has found that lid exposure is likely the blame for 5.5 million adult deaths
from heart disease each year and also for a loss of 765 million IQ points in kids under five
globally every year.
The findings reported in the Lancet Medical Journal suggest that up to 95% of those effects
were found in low and middle income countries with the affected children losing an average
of 5.9 IQ points before they reached the age of five.
Researchers say these health effects are similar to the dangers of both outdoor and indoor
air pollution combined and three times worse than the effects of drinking unsafe water,
having poor sanitation and incorrect hand washing.
Additionally they estimate that the global cost of lid exposure annually could be over
$9.3 trillion, equivalent to 7% of global GDP.
A bit of good news now and a new study claims that getting just 20 to 25 minutes of exercise
every day may be enough to offset the heightened risk of death from highly-sidentary lifestyles
in people over the age of 50.
A report in the British Journal sports medicine analyzed two years of activity trackered data
from almost 12,000 people aged 50 or over.
They found that being sedentary for more than 12 hours a day was associated with a 38%
heightened risk of death, but only for those undertaking less than 22 minutes of daily moderate
to vigorous physical activity.
Have you ever noticed that when people talk about ghosts and ghouls and hauntings and things
like that, it usually involves spirits from a long time ago, usually from something ancient
medieval or at least from Tudor, Elizabethan or Victorian times.
To amend them from Australian skeptics points out, you sold them here about the ghosts to
some fancy-like grisa who croaked in the 1950s.
Why do they know new ghosts is the problem?
Because people talk about ghosts and buildings being haunted and you can probably find a pub
in England which is not done with their own ghosts.
You also can't actually find a museum in America which doesn't have a ghost which is interesting,
but probably they don't have new ghosts.
They're all from the model ages or 300 years ago or something like that.
Or Victorian times or something, they don't know of any ghosts beyond World War II.
Yeah, where is the biker ghost? Where is the person in a bad suit for the 80s ghost?
The safari.
Where are all these people ghosts?
They're always people in Victorian clothes or diaphanies here and something and looking
a bit strange and the person has been wandering the halls of this castle for 5,000 years.
Where are the new ghosts?
So the question that people are asking for, they have people still dying?
Shouldn't they be modern ghosts?
So I'm trying to think of some.
They're not trying to figure why there are not many animal ghosts.
So have we ever reached a resolution on this?
One of the suggestions is that who's going to be scarier.
If you ever have a ghost in your mouth, or have something, who was a person who was stoned
or dead, there was a witch in the 1600s, or someone from the 1970s who was just stoned,
that felt like a window.
Obviously, the old person is going to be the older, but a witch or ghost is going to be
a more effective tool for scaring people.
That's Timendom from Australia in Skeptics.
[Music]
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