This Week in Astronomy: Early Dark Energy, Polaris Down Mission and Primordial Black Holes

<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Bedtime Astronomy. Explore the wonders of the cosmos
<v Speaker 1>with our soothing Bedtime Astronomy podcast. Each episode offers a
<v Speaker 1>gentle journey through the stars, planets, and beyond, perfect for
<v Speaker 1>unwinding after a long day. Let's travel through the mysteries
<v Speaker 1>of the universe as you drift off into a peaceful
<v Speaker 1>slumber under the night sky. This week in Astronomy, Early
<v Speaker 1>darky energy, Polaris down mission, and primordial black holes. Early
<v Speaker 1>dark energy a new force shaping the Universe. A groundbreaking
<v Speaker 1>study by MIT physicists proposes that a mysterious force known
<v Speaker 1>as early dark energy could provide a solution to two
<v Speaker 1>of the most perplexing puzzles in cosmology. Thissolusive energy, which
<v Speaker 1>may have been present only in the universe's early stages,
<v Speaker 1>could explain both the Hubble tension and the unexpected abundance
<v Speaker 1>of bright galaxies observed in the early universe. The Hubble
<v Speaker 1>tension refers to a discrepancy in measurements of the universe's
<v Speaker 1>expansion rate. While one set of measurements suggests a faster expansion,
<v Speaker 1>another indicates a slower pace. This inconsistency has puzzled scientists
<v Speaker 1>for years. The MIT team's research suggests that early dark energy,
<v Speaker 1>by accelerating the universe's expansion during its early stages, could
<v Speaker 1>resolve this tension. In addition to the Hubble tension, the
<v Speaker 1>study also addresses the puzzling observation of numerous bright galaxies
<v Speaker 1>in the early universe. According to standard cosmological models, these
<v Speaker 1>galaxies should have been less abundant at that time. However,
<v Speaker 1>recent observations by NASA's James Webspace Telescope JWST have revealed
<v Speaker 1>a surprising number of such galaxies. The MIT researchers proposed
<v Speaker 1>that early dark energy could explain this discrepancy by influencing
<v Speaker 1>the formation of dark matter halos, which serve as the
<v Speaker 1>foundations for galaxies. Early dark energy could have accelerated the
<v Speaker 1>formation of these galaxies, leading to the observed abundance. The
<v Speaker 1>study's findings offer a potential unified solution to two major
<v Speaker 1>challenges in cosmology. If further observations confirm the existence of
<v Speaker 1>early dark energy, it could significantly advance our understanding of
<v Speaker 1>the universe's evolution. The discovery of early dark energy could
<v Speaker 1>have profound implications for our understanding of the universe. It
<v Speaker 1>could provide insights into the nature of dark energy itself,
<v Speaker 1>a mysterious force that is thought to be driving the
<v Speaker 1>universe's current expansion. Additionally, early dark energy could shed light
<v Speaker 1>on the early stages of the universe, a period that
<v Speaker 1>remains largely shrouded in mystery. Furthermore, the existence of early
<v Speaker 1>dark energy could have implications for the formation of structures
<v Speaker 1>in the universe, such as galaxies and clusters of galaxies.
<v Speaker 1>By altering the conditions in the early universe, early dark
<v Speaker 1>energy could have influenced the way these structures formed and evolved.
<v Speaker 1>The MIT team study provides a compelling case for the
<v Speaker 1>existence of early day dark energy. However, further research is
<v Speaker 1>needed to confirm this hypothesis. Astronomers will need to continue
<v Speaker 1>to collect data on the early universe and to develop
<v Speaker 1>more sophisticated models of cosmic evolution. If future studies support
<v Speaker 1>the existence of early dark energy, it could revolutionize our
<v Speaker 1>understanding of the universe. It could provide a missing piece
<v Speaker 1>of the puzzle that has eluded scientists for decades. SpaceX's
<v Speaker 1>Polaris Don mission concludes successfully in historic feet. Billionaire tech
<v Speaker 1>entrepreneur Jared isaac Man and his crew returned to Earth
<v Speaker 1>on Sunday, September sixteenth, twenty twenty four, after a five
<v Speaker 1>day mission that pushed the boundaries of humans pa exploration.
<v Speaker 1>The SpaceX Dragon capsule splashed down on the Gulf of
<v Speaker 1>Mexico near Florida's Dry Tortugus in the pre dawn darkness,
<v Speaker 1>marking the successful conclusion of the Polaris Dawn mission. The crew,
<v Speaker 1>consisting of Isaacman, two SpaceX engineers, and a former Air
<v Speaker 1>Force Thunderbird pilot, achieved a significant milestone during the mission.
<v Speaker 1>They conducted the first ever private spacewalk while orbiting nearly
<v Speaker 1>four hundred and sixty miles above Earth, surpassing the altitude
<v Speaker 1>of the International Space Station and Hubble Space Telescope. The
<v Speaker 1>spacecraft reached a peak altitude of eight hundred and seventy
<v Speaker 1>five miles, setting a new record since NASA's moonwalkers. Isaac
<v Speaker 1>Man and Sarah Gillis, a SpaceX engineer, became the two
<v Speaker 1>two hundred and sixty fourth and two hundred and sixty
<v Speaker 1>fifth individuals to perform a spacewalk, respectively. This groundbreaking achievement
<v Speaker 1>marked a departure from previous spacewalks, which were exclusively conducted
<v Speaker 1>by professional astronauts. As the Dragon capsule bobbed in the water,
<v Speaker 1>isaac Man radioed we are mission complete. Within an hour,
<v Speaker 1>the crew was safely out of the spacecraft, celebrating their
<v Speaker 1>success with joy and excitement. The Polaris dom mission was
<v Speaker 1>a significant step forward for SpaceX and commercial space exploration.
<v Speaker 1>It demonstrated the company's capabilities in conducting complex space operations
<v Speaker 1>and highlighted the potential for private individuals to contribute to
<v Speaker 1>scientific research and technological advancement. Key achievements of the Polarist
<v Speaker 1>Down mission include first ever private spacewalk. The crew successfully
<v Speaker 1>conducted a spacewalk while orbiting at a record breaking altitude.
<v Speaker 1>Scientific experiments. The mission involved conducting various scientific experiments to
<v Speaker 1>gather data on the effects of spaceflight on the human
<v Speaker 1>body and the environment. Technological advancements, the mission tested new
<v Speaker 1>technologies and systems that could be used for future space
<v Speaker 1>exploration missions, including the development of advanced spacesuits and life
<v Speaker 1>support systems. Public outreach, the Polaris Down mission generated significant
<v Speaker 1>public interest and excitement, inspiring a new generation of space
<v Speaker 1>enthusiasts and highlighting the potential of commercial space exploration. MIT
<v Speaker 1>physicists proposed primordial black hole flybys could wobble Mars orbit.
<v Speaker 1>In a groundbreaking study, MIT physicists have proposed that if
<v Speaker 1>most of the dark matter in the universe consists of
<v Speaker 1>microscopic primordial black holes, as suggested in the nineteen seventies,
<v Speaker 1>these gravitational dwarfs could be zooming through our solar system
<v Speaker 1>at least once per decade. The researchers predict that such
<v Speaker 1>a flyby could introduce a detectable wobble into Mars orbit.
<v Speaker 1>This detection could provide strong support for the theory that
<v Speaker 1>primordial black holes are a primary source of dark matter
<v Speaker 1>throughout the universe. Given decades of decision telemetry, scientists know
<v Speaker 1>the distance between Earth and Mars to an accuracy of
<v Speaker 1>about ten centimeters, explained study author David Kaiser, a professor
<v Speaker 1>of Physics and the Germshouse and Professor of the History
<v Speaker 1>of Science at MIT. We're taking advantage of this highly
<v Speaker 1>instrumented region of space to try and look for a
<v Speaker 1>small effect. If we see it, that would count as
<v Speaker 1>a real reason to keep pursuing this delightful idea that
<v Speaker 1>all of dark matter consists of black holes that were
<v Speaker 1>spawned in less than a second after the Big Bang
<v Speaker 1>and have been streaming around the universe for fourteen billion years.
<v Speaker 1>Kaiser and his colleagues published their findings in the journal
<v Speaker 1>Physical Review D. The studies co authors include lead author
<v Speaker 1>Tongue Tran, Sarah Geller, and Benjamin Layman. Less than twenty
<v Speaker 1>percent of all physical matter is made from visible stuff,
<v Speaker 1>such as stars, planets, and everyday objects. The rest is
<v Speaker 1>composed of dark matter, a hypothetical form of matter that
<v Speaker 1>is invisible across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, yet is thought
<v Speaker 1>to pervade the universe and exert a gravitational force large
<v Speaker 1>enough to affect the motion of stars and galaxies. Physicists
<v Speaker 1>have been searching for dark matter for decades, using detectors
<v Speaker 1>on Earth to try and spot it and pin down
<v Speaker 1>its properties. Most experiments assume that dark matter exists as
<v Speaker 1>a form of exotic particle that might scatter and decay
<v Speaker 1>into observable particles as it passes through a given experiment. However,
<v Speaker 1>these particle based searches have so far come up empty.
<v Speaker 1>In recent years, the possibility that dark matter could exist
<v Speaker 1>as microscopic primordial black holes has gained traction. Unlike the
<v Speaker 1>astrophysical black holes that form from the collapse of old stars.
<v Speaker 1>Primordial black holes would have formed in the first moments
<v Speaker 1>following the Big Bang from the collapse of dense pockets
<v Speaker 1>of gas. These primordial black holes could be as small
<v Speaker 1>as a single atom and as heavy as the largest asteroids,
<v Speaker 1>and they could exert a gravitational force that could explain
<v Speaker 1>at least a portion of dark matter. The MIT teams
<v Speaker 1>studied began with a seemingly frivolous question, what would happen
<v Speaker 1>if a primordial black hole passed through a human body?
<v Speaker 1>Tongue Tran performed a quick calculation and found that such
<v Speaker 1>a black hole could push a person twenty feet away
<v Speaker 1>in a single second. However, the odds of a primordial
<v Speaker 1>black hole passing anywhere near a person on Earth are
<v Speaker 1>astronomically unlikely. Intrigued by these results, the researchers extended their
<v Speaker 1>calculations to estimate how a black hole fly by it
<v Speaker 1>might affect much larger bodies, such as the Earth and
<v Speaker 1>the Moon. They found that while the effects on Earth
<v Speaker 1>and the Moon were too uncertain to pin to a
<v Speaker 1>particular black hole, Mars offered a clearer picture. The researchers
<v Speaker 1>simulated various asteroid mass black holes flying through the Solar
<v Speaker 1>System and found that a close encounter could set off
<v Speaker 1>a wobble or a slight deviation in Mars orbit. Within
<v Speaker 1>a few years of such an encounter, Mars orbit should
<v Speaker 1>shift by about a meter, an incredibly small wobble that
<v Speaker 1>could be detected by high precision instruments monitoring Mars today.
<v Speaker 1>Much a wobble were detected, it would be a significant
<v Speaker 1>breakthrough in the search for dark matter. However, confirming that
<v Speaker 1>the push came from a passing black hole rather than
<v Speaker 1>a run of the mill asteroid would require further investigation.
<v Speaker 1>The researchers are exploring the possibility of a new collaboration
<v Speaker 1>with a group that has extensive expertise simulating many more
<v Speaker 1>objects in the Solar System to help with this. Matt Kaplan,
<v Speaker 1>Associate professor of physics at Illinois State University who was
<v Speaker 1>not involved in the study, commented on the research, saying
<v Speaker 1>it's a very neat test they've proposed, and it could
<v Speaker 1>tell us if the closest black hole is closer than
<v Speaker 1>we realize. He emphasized that finding a clear signal would
<v Speaker 1>depend on the exact path a wandering black hole takes
<v Speaker 1>through the Solar System. The MIT team's research offers a
<v Speaker 1>new and exciting avenue for exploring the nature of dark matter.
<v Speaker 1>If their predictions are confirmed, it could lead to a
<v Speaker 1>deeper understanding of the universe and the forces that shape it.
<v Speaker 1>The prospect of detecting a primordial black hole passing through
<v Speaker 1>our Solar system is both thrilling and humbling, reminding us
<v Speaker 1>of the vast and mysterious nature of the cosmos. Us
<v Speaker 1>SA