Cosmic Speedsters: Unravelling Our Solar System's Surprising Velocity and Enceladus' Organic Secrets

This is Spacetime Series twenty eight, episode one hundred and thirty nine, for broadcast on the twenty sixth of November twenty twenty five. Coming up on Space Time, our solar system found moving through space much faster than expected. Organic molecules discovered erupting from Satin's moon, Enceladus, and Sentinel six B, A new satellite launched study eth oceans. All that and more Coming up on space Time. Welcome to space Time with Stuart Gary. A new study is discover that our solar system is moving through the universe at least three times faster than previously thought. The findings, reported in the journal Physical Review Letters, reveals a significant deviation from the standard model of cosmology. The studies lead author, Lucas Boehm from Billfeld University says, how fast and in which direction our solar system is moving through the cosmos seems like a simple question, and it's an important one because it's a key test of sciences understanding of the standard model of cosmology. But BOM's analysis shows our solar system is actually moving more than three times faster than current models are predicting. This result clearly contradicts expectations based on standard cosmology and forces scientists to reconsider their previous assumptions. To determine the motion of our solar system, the authors analyze the distribution of radio galaxies. These are distant galaxies that emit especially strong radio waves at very long wavelengths. Because radio waves can penetrate dust and gas that obscure visible light, radio telescopes and observe galaxies invisible to optical observatories. Now, as our solar system moves through the universe, this motion produces a subtle headwind and so slightly more radio galaxies appear in the direction of travel. Now, the difference is tiny and it can only be detected using extremely sensitive measurements. So using data from lo FAR, the Low Frequency Ray Telescope europe Wide Radio Telescope Network, combined with data from two additional radio observatories, the authors are able to make it especially precise count of these radio galaxies. For the first time. They applied a new statistical method that accounts for the fact that many radio galaxies consist of multiple components, and this improved analysis yielded larger but also more realistic measurement uncertainties. Despite this, the combination of data from all these radio telescopes revealed a deviation exceeding five sigma. Now that's a statistically very strong signal, considered in science as evidence of a significant result. The measurements show an anisotropy or dipole, and the distribution of radio galaxies that's three point seven times stronger than what the standard model of the universe predicts. This model describes the origin and evolution the cosmos since the Big Bank thirteen point eight billion years ago, and it assumes a largely uniform distribution of matter. The study's co author, Dominic Schwartz, also from Bilfeld, says, if the Solar System is indeed moving this fast, scientists need to question fundamental assumptions about the large scale structure of the universe. Alternatively, the distribution of radio galaxies itself may be less uniform than previously thought, but in either case current models are being put to the test. The new results also confirm earlier observations in which researchers studied quasars, the extremely bright sets of active supermassive black holes at the heart of distant galaxies. These gravity monsters consume matter in the process, emitting enormous amounts of energy which can be seen across the other side of the universe as quasars, and the same unusual effect appeared in the infrared data, suggesting that it's not a measurement error but a genuine feature of our universe. This study highlights our new observational methods can fundamentally reshape our understanding of the cosmos, and also how much there still remains to be discovered in the universe. This is space time still to come. Organic molecules discovered erupting from the Saturnian Iceman, Enceladus, and a new satellite, Sentinel six B launched to study it's oceans. All that and more still to come on space time. Scientists have detected more organic molecules erupting into space from the Saturnian Iceman and Soladus. It's latest to report in the journal Nature Astronomy claims a new analysis of data from NASA's Cassini mission has found evidence of previously undetected organic compounds in plumes of ice particles ejected from the global subsurface ocean that lies underneath the frozen Encelada and ice shell. The authors found not only molecules they had previously identified, but also new ones that allowing a potential path to both chemical and biochemical activity. The ice greens studied were collected just twenty one kilometers above the frozen world's surface. It marks the first time that scientists have observed this level of organic diversity in fresh particles ejected from the Moon's south pole. Tiger stripes the findings single and important step towards confirming active organic chemistry below the Moon's surface. This is the kind of chemical activity that could support compounds important biological processes, and in fact are essential components for life on Earth. Science increasing the diversity of detected organics. The work adds a new layer to earlier findings by analyzing particles that the Cassini spacecraft collected when it flew directly through a plume, the next best thing to diving directly into the Moon's ocean. Scientists had previously detected organics in ice greens that were years old and potentially altered by the intense radiation environment of space surrounding them, but these new compounds were just minutes old, literally fresh from the ocean below Enceladus's surface. Scientists already knew from previous Cassini data mining that nitrogen and oxygen bearing organic compounds were present in particles from Satin's ear ring that's a faint white outer band around the planet fed by the icy material spewing out from Enceladus's plumes. But this new research analyzed ice grains from the moon plume itself, In other words, grains found closest to their subsurface origin. One of the studies authors, Frank Pottsburg from the Berlin Free University, says the newly found molecules discovered in the freshly ejected material proved that complex organic molecules Cassini detected in the ear ring and not just a product of lying exposure to space, but are readily available in Enceladusis ocean. The data was collected and sent to Earth back in two thousand and eight when the ice particles impact the Cassini's cosmic Dust analyzer instrument. Besides being directly sourced from a geyser, the ice greens had another big thing going for them that had already been smashed as smitrienes as they slammed into the instrument during the spacecraft's fast flyby, traveling at some eighteen kilometres per second relative to the Moon. Now, the energy of that impact vaporized the ice greens and ionized the substantial fraction of them, and it was those ions that were then analyzed by the instrument's mass spectrometer, which examined their chemical makeup. The newly detected compounds include alphatic and cyclic ester and ester families, some with double bonds in the molecular structures. Together with the already confirmed aromatic nitrogen and oxygen bearing compounds, these newly found molecules can form the building blocks to support chemical reactions and processes that could have led to more complex organic chemistry, the kind that's of interest to astrobiology, and the kind which narrows the focus of where scientists need to search for signs of life in our solar system. This is space time, still the calm and new sable launched the study Earth oceans, and later in the science report, a new study warns that kids with ADHD, autism or intellectual disabilities also have a significantly higher risk of death. All that and more, still the Calm on space time. A new spacecraft designed to study Earth oceans has been successfully launched into orbit. The joint NASA European Space Agency Sentinel six B satellite will extend a decades long legacy of global sea level measurements at helping to forecast whether protecting coastal communities. One hundred ninety kilogram probe, which is about the size of a pickup truck, was launched from Space Complex four E at the Vanderberg Space Force Space in California aboard a SpaceX Falcon nine rocket. The Centinel six B is part of europe Copernicus Missions. It'll build on the legacy made by the earliest Sentinel six C marking sea level measurements, providing ocean and atmospheric data, and improving hurricane forecasts in order to help protect infrastructure and benefit commercial activities such as shipping. Sea levels vary from place to place, and the new satellite will provide accurate measurements of both local and global scales. Sentinel six s B will eventually take over from Sentinel six A, which was launched back in twenty twenty. As with its predecessor, the Sentinel six B satellite will also provide key information about wind speeds, wave heights, as well as atmospheric temperature and humidity. Because water expands as its temperature increases, scientists are able to tell which parts of the ocean are warmer than others, based on where the sea surface side is greater. The spacecraft will fly about thirty seconds behind Sentinel six A, which carries identical science instruments, and once the mission finishes cross calibrating the data collected by the two spacecraft, Sentinel six A will move in to a different orbit and Sentinel six B will take over its predecessor's role as the official reference satellite, orbiting the Earth thirteen times a day some three hundred and thirty six kilometers above the surface. From this high altitude perch, the satellite's instruments will measure some ninety percent of the oceans, all the way down to just fractions of a centimeter. This report from the City. A Sentinal six B is this really exciting high tech satellite mission where we're measuring the height of the ocean from space. If we think about shipping, national security with fisheries, all of these depend on this information. The ocean is very dynamic, it changes all the time. Having a measurement really is important towards understanding what's happening with the ocean, both in real time but also in terms of forecasting. We're in the business of trying to avoid emergencies, not just respond to them after the fact. Sentinel six is a unique project, so it consists of two satellites built as twins, and the first one was launched sentinels Sex Mike Frileck in twenty twenty. The second one was built in parallel. We literally have hundreds, if not thousands of people working to build these programs together. So Sentinel six micro Fririck has been looking at the earth sea level around the globe, and now Sentinel SIXPE is going to take over. We've been tracking changes to sea level using satellites since nineteen ninety two, so it's been more than thirty years now. The way the Sentinel six be measures is it sends a radar signal down to the surface of the ocean and measures how long it takes that signal to get back to the satellite, and from that we can really get a very accurate measurement of how sea levels are changing locally and on a global scale, down to about a one inch accuracy. Very dangerous Hurricane Builton rapidly approaching the west coast of the Florida Peninsula with multiple life turning hazards in. Twenty twenty four, Hurricane Milton intensified very rapidly, and Sentinel six microfrilic data we're able to help us forecast this intensification. Better predictions allow people to get out of the way before the storm hits. It allows them to take measures to protect their homes and their businesses. It allows emergency crews time to set up. All of these things are going to save lives. That's the goal is really to have data that's available within hours of the observations. Sea level measurements are really critical to a number of different industries. So if you think about the packages that show up your home, the expectation is that they arrive on time and arrive quickly, and Sentinel six B can provide us the information we need to understand how to move things as quickly as possible from one part of the Earth to the other. So from a national security perspective, the US military has installations all across the globe and coastal areas. Understanding the change in water level is really critical to preparedness. With fishing, that data is used to understand where the fish are, how healthy they are, how they can be sustained, and how they can be managed better. Sentinel six B carries on this legacy of measuring sea level in a very consistent and very accurate manner. Sentinel six B will really propel us to the next decade and continue that sustain highly accurate observation. And understanding how water is moving in the open ocean, how it's moving close to the coast. That's really important information for us to protect our way of life. And in that report from Me's a TV, we heard from JPO Sentinel B project manager prag Vas, JPO Sentinel six B Deputy Project Scientist Silverine Fournier, JPO Sentinel six B Research scientist Ben Hamilington, and Noah oceanographer Idri Byrne. This space Time and Time Out of Tech another brief look at some of the other stories making news and science this week With a science report, new research looking at almost ninety tree thousand New Zealand children has found that those with the neurodivot metal conditions such as ADHD, autism or intellectual disability also had a significantly higher death rate than neurotypical kids. A report in the journal in the American Medical Association looked at children born between nineteen ninety five and two thousand and nine and then followed their outcomes until twenty nineteen. They found the risk of early death was consistently higher for females and it varied by condition, ranging from a doubled risk for kids with ADHD to more than an eightfold risk increase for specific learning and motor disorders. A new study has found a clear link between stress and the likelihood of disease in koala populations along Australia's Specific coast. The findings, reported in the Journal of General Virology, examined colonies of the iconic marsupials in southeast Queensland and on the New South Wales North coast. The scientists from the University of Queensland reached their conclusions by measuring and tracking levels of Koala retrovirus in groups of both captive and wild koalas. A new study has shown that some thirty percent of young people in the United States are now using artificial intelligence to get mental health advice, are reporting. The Journal of the American Medical Association surveyed more than one thousand people between the ages of eighteen and twenty one, and they found even higher rates among those over twenty one, with twenty two point two percent using AI for this purpose. They also found that some sixty five and a half percent of these users engaged at least monthly, with ninety two point seven percent finding the advice helpful. The use of AI for mental health advice reflects the low cost, immediacy, and perceived privacy of AI based advice, but the findings raise some serious concerns as many may need far more clinical help than what they're getting, and there are also concerns about the quality of the mental health advice which the AI models can provide well. The big tech news in the past week has been that airlines are now starting to impose strict new limits on carrying battery packs onto plane. The details with John by technology editor Alex Harravroyd from Tech Advice start live. In China and in Hong Kong, battery banks that were in the overhead luggage that people brought on board caught fire, and so there was this weird smell, and there was this fire, and suddenly the overhead locker above people's heads was catching a blaze. No easier way to put this out. So what's happening is that on catapacific flights, for example, you're not allowed to have battery banks in the overhead locker. You've got to have them with you in the luggage that is under the plane seat or it's in the pocket, and you cannot be using them or charging them while in flight. You must use the charging port that's in the seat. And so same sort of thing has happened in Australia. Virgin, Jetstar and Quantas have all said, look, you can't have more than two power banks. They cannot be in the overhead locker, they must be with you. You cannot charge them, you cannot use them. You must use the in seat power. And people have complained, well half the time the in seat power doesn't work. The limit is one hundred war hours, which is twenty seven thousand million bars, which is the biggest battery bank you can take on the plane, and you can actually buy batteries that are more powerful than that. When I've been overseas, they've actually had a close look at my battery to see what the rating wars, to see if it was able to be taken on a plane. So the days of you taking multiple battery banks and putting in your overhead luggage are over. This is because the luftimine batteries. Once they get damage, they have this runaway thermal effect. You cannot just use water to put it out. It just keeps burning. We will eventually get around this problem because there are battery technologies that don't have this runaway thermal effect. But part of the problem is that a lot of batteries that don't have quite the same standards. But I was in China just recently and the Chinese that really clamped down on this. There is a battery standard that they must adhere to, but that doesn't prevent all fires. And even if you buy a well known brand name. These things happen even to the top brands. So this is a warning. If you've got more than two power banks, don't take them on the plane where you don't put it in your luggage. And the sooner we get to better battery technology, the better. That's Alex saharav Royce from Take Advice, Start Life, and that's the show for now. Spacetime is available every Monday, Wednesday and Friday through bytes dot com, SoundCloud, YouTube, your favorite podcast download provider, and from space Time with Stuart Gary dot com. Space Time's also broadcast through the National Science Foundation on Science Own Radio and on both iHeartRadio and tune In Radio. And you can help to support our show by visiting the Spacetime Store for a range of promotional merchandising goodies, or by becoming a Spacetime Patron, which gives you access to triple episode commercial free versions of the show, as well as lots of bonnus audio content which doesn't go to wear, access to our exclusive Facebook group, and other rewards. Just go to space Time with Stuart Gary dot com for full details. You've been listening to space Time with Stuart Garry. This has been another quality podcast production from bytes dot com