TRAPPIST-1c by James Webb // Ancient Echo from Sgr A* // Lightning on Jupiter | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

This week's space news includes updates on the JWST Trappist system, the potential detection of supermassive black hole mergers, Starlink's dimmer generation 2 satellites, plans for space junk cleanup, and new discoveries about lightning on Jupiter and carbon dioxide emissions on Earth.

Key Insights

• 🛀 The JWST's focus on the Trappist-1 system shows promise for further understanding of potentially habitable planets and their atmospheres.
• 🖤 Pulsar timing offers a potential method for detecting supermassive black hole mergers, complementing the capabilities of current gravitational wave observatories.
• 👶 Starlink's dimmer generation 2 satellites alleviate concerns about their impact on astronomical observations, but future versions may pose new challenges.
• 🛰️ Astroscale's proposed satellite, Elsa M, presents a promising approach to tackling the issue of space junk by deorbiting multiple spacecraft.

Transcript

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Questions & Answers

Q: What is the JWST focusing its instruments on in the Trappist-1 system?

The JWST is focusing on the potentially habitable planet Trappist 1D in the Trappist-1 system, hoping to detect water vapor and other chemicals in its atmosphere.

Q: How are astronomers attempting to detect supermassive black hole mergers?

Astronomers are using pulsar timing, monitoring the shifts in wavelength of radio waves emitted by pulsars as gravitational waves from merging supermassive black holes pass by, in order to detect these mergers.

Q: Are Starlink's generation 2 satellites brighter or dimmer than the previous version?

Starlink's generation 2 satellites are actually dimmer than the previous version, easing concerns about their impact on astronomical observations.

Q: How does Astroscale's proposed satellite, Elsa M, aim to clean up space junk?

Elsa M would fly to space, approach a piece of space junk, grab onto it using a magnetic clamp, and give it a push in the opposite direction to slow it down and cause it to re-enter Earth's atmosphere sooner.

Q: What did the Parker Solar Probe help discover about the Geminid meteor shower?

The Parker Solar Probe's observations of dust trails around asteroid 3200 Phaethon revealed that the asteroid releases material, creating the Geminid meteor shower when it is struck by another asteroid.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The JWST is focusing its instruments on the Trappist-1 system, hoping to find water vapor and other chemicals in the atmosphere of the potentially habitable planet Trappist 1D.

• Astronomers are exploring the use of pulsar timing to detect supermassive black hole mergers, as current gravitational wave observatories can only detect smaller black holes.

• Starlink's generation 2 satellites are dimmer than the previous version, easing concerns about their impact on astronomical observations.

• Astroscale's proposed satellite, Elsa M, aims to deorbit space junk by docking onto it and giving it a push to re-enter Earth's atmosphere.

• The Parker Solar Probe helped identify the source of the Geminid meteor shower as asteroid 3200 Phaethon, which releases material when struck by another asteroid.