1 00:00:08,640 --> 00:00:12,160 Speaker 1: Hey, or hey, have you ever been in a hurricane? Uh? 2 00:00:12,200 --> 00:00:15,680 Speaker 1: Technically no, really, Panama doesn't get hurricanes. I think we 3 00:00:15,760 --> 00:00:17,439 Speaker 1: felt the effects of them, but none of them have 4 00:00:17,560 --> 00:00:21,240 Speaker 1: technically touched us, except maybe like one a long time ago. Well, 5 00:00:21,239 --> 00:00:23,639 Speaker 1: then maybe you'll get your chance here in l A. Really, 6 00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:27,240 Speaker 1: Los Angeles gets hurricanes not very often, but the occasional 7 00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:29,800 Speaker 1: Mexican hurricane is strong enough to make it all the 8 00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:34,600 Speaker 1: way up here. I like myc a little spicy. Yeah, 9 00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:37,120 Speaker 1: there's nothing worse than like a bland hurricane. It's just 10 00:00:37,159 --> 00:00:55,080 Speaker 1: boring hundred mile and hour winds. Hi. I'm or handmade 11 00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:58,200 Speaker 1: cartoonists and the creator of PhD comics. H I'm Daniel. 12 00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:01,000 Speaker 1: I'm a particle physicist, and I also never been in 13 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:03,720 Speaker 1: a hurricane. You've never lived to tell the tale, that's right. 14 00:01:03,800 --> 00:01:06,559 Speaker 1: Never been like one of those reporters standing in knee 15 00:01:06,600 --> 00:01:09,440 Speaker 1: deep water with winds blowing all around them. I would 16 00:01:09,480 --> 00:01:11,640 Speaker 1: have been out of there much sooner. You've never been 17 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:15,640 Speaker 1: in a science hurricane, like a flurry of scientific discovery 18 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:19,600 Speaker 1: and activity, like wind of knowledge blowing over everything. It's 19 00:01:19,600 --> 00:01:22,160 Speaker 1: definitely felt like a thunderstorm. How and then with some 20 00:01:22,240 --> 00:01:25,319 Speaker 1: of the conflicts and the egos. But no, never officially 21 00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:28,880 Speaker 1: a science hurricane. You've never upgraded that brainstorm to like 22 00:01:28,959 --> 00:01:31,960 Speaker 1: a brain hurricane. Maybe I'm just trapped in the eye. 23 00:01:32,200 --> 00:01:35,160 Speaker 1: But welcome to our podcast, Daniel and Jorge Explained the Universe, 24 00:01:35,480 --> 00:01:38,240 Speaker 1: a production of I Heart Radio, in which we explore 25 00:01:38,360 --> 00:01:43,119 Speaker 1: the swirling mysteries of the universe. We rain knowledge down 26 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:46,120 Speaker 1: upon you and try to blow confusion away with hundred 27 00:01:46,120 --> 00:01:50,280 Speaker 1: mile and our winds of silly jokes. In our podcast, 28 00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:55,000 Speaker 1: we tackle the biggest, deepest, most dramatic questions of the universe. 29 00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:58,320 Speaker 1: We don't shy away from any and every topic, and 30 00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:01,560 Speaker 1: we find some nugget of mystery or knowledge and we 31 00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:04,120 Speaker 1: break it open for you and try to explain it 32 00:02:04,160 --> 00:02:06,480 Speaker 1: with a few dad jokes. That's right. We try to 33 00:02:06,520 --> 00:02:10,280 Speaker 1: sweep you off your feet with giant winds of corny 34 00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:14,639 Speaker 1: jokes and serious knowledge about the universe and everything in it, 35 00:02:14,880 --> 00:02:17,200 Speaker 1: because it really does make us spin. I mean, this 36 00:02:17,440 --> 00:02:21,040 Speaker 1: universe we live in is fantastic. It's beautiful, it's wet, 37 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:24,600 Speaker 1: it's wild, it's crazy. There are so many things we 38 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:28,160 Speaker 1: need to understand, and not just at the most fundamental level. 39 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:30,840 Speaker 1: As a particle physicist, my job is to break the 40 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:34,040 Speaker 1: universe down to the very very smallest bits and understand 41 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:37,440 Speaker 1: the deepest, most fundamental nature of the universe. But even 42 00:02:37,440 --> 00:02:39,640 Speaker 1: if we did that, it doesn't mean necessarily it would 43 00:02:39,639 --> 00:02:42,560 Speaker 1: help us understand the world around us. You can't go 44 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:46,000 Speaker 1: from string theory to predicting weather. So sometimes there are 45 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:49,120 Speaker 1: deep mysteries worth tackling that are right around us, at 46 00:02:49,120 --> 00:02:51,840 Speaker 1: the same scale as our lives. Yeah, because I guess 47 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:54,400 Speaker 1: the universe does seem a little unpredictable sometimes. I mean, 48 00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:57,040 Speaker 1: it's pretty chaotic out there. Even though it sort of 49 00:02:57,040 --> 00:02:59,040 Speaker 1: seems nice and calm here, there are parts of the 50 00:02:59,120 --> 00:03:02,000 Speaker 1: universe that are pretty crazy and there's a lot going 51 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:03,720 Speaker 1: on in there. Yeah. We talk a lot on the 52 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:08,400 Speaker 1: podcast about how complex phenomena arise from really simple rules 53 00:03:08,400 --> 00:03:11,720 Speaker 1: and simple objects. From just a few particles, you can 54 00:03:11,760 --> 00:03:15,800 Speaker 1: make everything that anybody has ever touched, tasted, or eaten, 55 00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:20,520 Speaker 1: and that includes really weird stuff like people and hurricanes. 56 00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:23,160 Speaker 1: It's amazing what this universe has cooked up for us 57 00:03:23,320 --> 00:03:25,799 Speaker 1: out of a few basic elements, and some of it 58 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:29,320 Speaker 1: is really quite complex and very very difficult to predict. 59 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:32,600 Speaker 1: Some of it we just have to look at in wonder. Yeah, 60 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:35,080 Speaker 1: and so here on Earth we have weather, which is 61 00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:37,200 Speaker 1: pretty chaotic. Although I feel like we have done a 62 00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:40,800 Speaker 1: pretty good job in you know, meteorology, of predicting the 63 00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:43,200 Speaker 1: weather a little bit, or at least forecasting the weather 64 00:03:43,320 --> 00:03:46,160 Speaker 1: annoying when and where hurricanes are going. Yeah, I feel 65 00:03:46,200 --> 00:03:49,160 Speaker 1: like comedy hasn't really caught up with progress in weather science. 66 00:03:49,640 --> 00:03:52,200 Speaker 1: Used to be a standing joke that nobody could predict 67 00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:55,320 Speaker 1: the weather, but these days they're actually pretty good at it. 68 00:03:55,480 --> 00:03:57,760 Speaker 1: I find myself relying on my little weather app to 69 00:03:57,800 --> 00:03:59,880 Speaker 1: tell me if it's going to rain today or tomorrow. 70 00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:02,440 Speaker 1: Maybe that's just easy in southern California because it says 71 00:04:02,480 --> 00:04:05,240 Speaker 1: it never rains. Yeah, you just need comedians to predict 72 00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:06,960 Speaker 1: the weather, you know, just give him a sharpie and 73 00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:10,200 Speaker 1: they'll know exactly where the hurricanes go. Maybe this wisdom 74 00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:12,080 Speaker 1: in the crowd, right, Get a hundred comedians in the 75 00:04:12,160 --> 00:04:14,160 Speaker 1: room and ask them where the hurricane is going to go, 76 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:16,880 Speaker 1: and that we'll see if on average they're right. Yeah, 77 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:18,919 Speaker 1: and if they bomb, maybe that will I don't know, 78 00:04:18,960 --> 00:04:21,640 Speaker 1: dissipate the hurricane or something, or maybe all the arguing 79 00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:24,680 Speaker 1: will create a hurricane of shouting or hurricane of egos 80 00:04:24,760 --> 00:04:27,120 Speaker 1: or all the groaning from the bad jokes. Will I 81 00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:29,320 Speaker 1: don't know, blow a lot of hot air and blow 82 00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:32,280 Speaker 1: away to story. Yeah, but meteorologists are still the butt 83 00:04:32,279 --> 00:04:34,560 Speaker 1: of jokes about how they can't predict the weather, even 84 00:04:34,560 --> 00:04:36,800 Speaker 1: though I think they are doing a pretty good job 85 00:04:36,880 --> 00:04:39,880 Speaker 1: these days. Yeah. So the weather here on Earth, which 86 00:04:39,920 --> 00:04:42,520 Speaker 1: is kind of a little bit crazy, sometimes chaotic, a 87 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:46,040 Speaker 1: little bit unpredictable still sometimes So the question is does 88 00:04:46,080 --> 00:04:48,720 Speaker 1: that happen in other parts of the universe? Is there 89 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:53,039 Speaker 1: an equivalent of weather out there in space, maybe other planets, 90 00:04:53,120 --> 00:04:56,360 Speaker 1: or in between planets, or out there in the galaxies 91 00:04:56,480 --> 00:04:59,680 Speaker 1: or between galaxies. And as usual, we're wondering if the 92 00:04:59,720 --> 00:05:02,800 Speaker 1: ti arunti we see here on Earth are particular to 93 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:07,440 Speaker 1: Earth or if they are universal. This little parochial tribe 94 00:05:07,480 --> 00:05:10,400 Speaker 1: of humans trying to crack big questions about the universe, 95 00:05:10,640 --> 00:05:13,320 Speaker 1: having only looked at the way things work on Earth, 96 00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:16,080 Speaker 1: we're always faced with this question of whether we can 97 00:05:16,120 --> 00:05:18,599 Speaker 1: take the things we've learned here and generalized to the 98 00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:20,680 Speaker 1: rest of the universe, or if we live in a 99 00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:24,120 Speaker 1: really weird, unusual corner and the things that happened here 100 00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:27,640 Speaker 1: only happened here. Like the people and ice cream Sundays 101 00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:29,960 Speaker 1: and all that kind of stuff. So are hurricanes at 102 00:05:30,040 --> 00:05:33,719 Speaker 1: universal phenomena experienced on every planet around the universe, or 103 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:36,479 Speaker 1: are they something that space tourists will come to Earth 104 00:05:36,680 --> 00:05:39,080 Speaker 1: just to experience. So to be on the podcast, we'll 105 00:05:39,120 --> 00:05:48,400 Speaker 1: be asking the question what is a space hurricane? So 106 00:05:48,480 --> 00:05:51,479 Speaker 1: I feel like we're asking like, are there hurricanes in space? 107 00:05:51,680 --> 00:05:55,160 Speaker 1: Or can you make a hurricane in space? Or what's 108 00:05:55,160 --> 00:05:57,840 Speaker 1: the equivalent of a hurricane in space? For all of 109 00:05:57,839 --> 00:05:59,839 Speaker 1: the above, it sounds like a pitch for a movie 110 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:02,159 Speaker 1: on the Discovery Channel, you know. It sounds like in 111 00:06:02,160 --> 00:06:05,239 Speaker 1: the category of shark tornado. You know, take two cool 112 00:06:05,279 --> 00:06:08,280 Speaker 1: words and put them together, right. Yeah, It's like if 113 00:06:08,320 --> 00:06:11,240 Speaker 1: the Weather Channel and the Discovery Channel teamed up and 114 00:06:11,360 --> 00:06:16,919 Speaker 1: made a special movie space hurricane with sharks, Space Sharknado, 115 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:19,720 Speaker 1: Hurricane with dinosaurs in it. I'm sure somebody in the 116 00:06:19,720 --> 00:06:22,440 Speaker 1: writer's room has already thought that idea up and discarded it, 117 00:06:23,160 --> 00:06:26,440 Speaker 1: thank God. And then you throw like a bachelor in 118 00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:30,000 Speaker 1: there and also a home remodeling project, and you've got 119 00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:33,520 Speaker 1: Emmy Award winning television right there. Flip your house and 120 00:06:33,560 --> 00:06:37,279 Speaker 1: get married using a space hurricane filled with sharks that 121 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:42,840 Speaker 1: sounds like a great show and dinosaurs also, everything can 122 00:06:42,880 --> 00:06:46,120 Speaker 1: happen here on this show. But yeah, that's an interesting question, 123 00:06:46,120 --> 00:06:48,920 Speaker 1: what is a space hurricane? And this sort of relates 124 00:06:48,960 --> 00:06:51,560 Speaker 1: to that question. We were asking about space weather, like 125 00:06:52,120 --> 00:06:54,440 Speaker 1: is there the equivalent of weather out there in space 126 00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:57,920 Speaker 1: and with all that gas and dust maybe out there floating. Yeah, 127 00:06:57,960 --> 00:07:01,359 Speaker 1: and we're interested in whether these oterns we see in 128 00:07:01,520 --> 00:07:05,240 Speaker 1: hurricanes here on Earth are replicated maybe in other forms, 129 00:07:05,279 --> 00:07:08,120 Speaker 1: maybe not in water, maybe not in air, maybe in 130 00:07:08,320 --> 00:07:11,600 Speaker 1: other objects out there in space and other parts of 131 00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:14,120 Speaker 1: the universe, so that when the aliens come we will 132 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:16,560 Speaker 1: have something to talk to them about. Well, as usually, 133 00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:19,200 Speaker 1: we were wondering how many people out there had heard 134 00:07:19,280 --> 00:07:21,880 Speaker 1: of a space hurricane or had any idea of what 135 00:07:22,120 --> 00:07:25,280 Speaker 1: it is. So Daniel went out there into the wilds 136 00:07:25,280 --> 00:07:29,200 Speaker 1: of the Internet to ask people what is a space hurricane? So, 137 00:07:29,240 --> 00:07:31,800 Speaker 1: if you live in the wilds of the Internet and 138 00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:34,840 Speaker 1: you would like to answer random questions I sent you 139 00:07:34,920 --> 00:07:38,280 Speaker 1: with no opportunity to prepare, please write to me two 140 00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:41,760 Speaker 1: questions at Daniel and Jorge dot com. I personally live 141 00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:44,160 Speaker 1: in the planes of the Internet. It's a lot calma there. 142 00:07:44,440 --> 00:07:47,760 Speaker 1: There's no Twitter or Facebook, just a gentle wind of 143 00:07:47,800 --> 00:07:51,200 Speaker 1: Wikipedia information. Every time you say the wilds of the Internet, 144 00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:54,040 Speaker 1: it makes me feel like a rugged explore risking my 145 00:07:54,120 --> 00:07:56,640 Speaker 1: life to go out there and gather information in the 146 00:07:56,720 --> 00:08:00,440 Speaker 1: name of science. I mean reaching out to strangers and Internet. 147 00:08:00,560 --> 00:08:03,320 Speaker 1: It's totally safe. These are our listeners men. They are 148 00:08:03,560 --> 00:08:06,400 Speaker 1: nice people. M I see. That's all it takes to 149 00:08:06,440 --> 00:08:08,960 Speaker 1: be your friend, Daniel. Just be willing to listen to 150 00:08:10,280 --> 00:08:13,520 Speaker 1: about physics. Absolutely. Anybody willing to listen to this podcast 151 00:08:13,600 --> 00:08:15,760 Speaker 1: is definitely my friend. All right, Well, think about it 152 00:08:15,800 --> 00:08:18,160 Speaker 1: for a second. If someone asks you, what is a 153 00:08:18,200 --> 00:08:21,600 Speaker 1: space hurricane, what would you answer. Here's what people had 154 00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:24,160 Speaker 1: to say. I assume it has something to do with well, 155 00:08:24,240 --> 00:08:28,000 Speaker 1: space weather and possibly solar wind or stellar wind. I'm 156 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:30,880 Speaker 1: not entirely sure. Maybe there's hurricanes. I don't think it 157 00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:32,959 Speaker 1: would count as a hurricane on the Sun or a 158 00:08:33,040 --> 00:08:39,480 Speaker 1: hurricane on say Jupiter, because they're not quiet space hurricanes. Um, 159 00:08:39,520 --> 00:08:42,440 Speaker 1: maybe it's some sort of hurricane to do with the 160 00:08:42,480 --> 00:08:46,480 Speaker 1: curvature of a space maybe approaching a black hole, something 161 00:08:46,480 --> 00:08:48,840 Speaker 1: along those lines. I have no idea what a space 162 00:08:48,920 --> 00:08:51,520 Speaker 1: hurricane is, but I would have to guess that it 163 00:08:51,559 --> 00:08:54,120 Speaker 1: has something to do with solo winds. But it sounds 164 00:08:54,920 --> 00:08:59,880 Speaker 1: like a swirling mass of If it's in space, it's 165 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:04,439 Speaker 1: probably something like stars or something else with a lot 166 00:09:04,480 --> 00:09:07,200 Speaker 1: of mass. When you look at a hurricane and Earth, 167 00:09:07,280 --> 00:09:11,040 Speaker 1: it sure looks like a galaxy, So maybe a spiral 168 00:09:11,160 --> 00:09:14,040 Speaker 1: galaxy is a space hurricane. I can imagine the space 169 00:09:14,120 --> 00:09:17,160 Speaker 1: hurricane is created by the solar ring, so like there's 170 00:09:17,160 --> 00:09:21,760 Speaker 1: a big outburst from the Sun um that creates space weather, 171 00:09:21,880 --> 00:09:24,360 Speaker 1: and if it's a really extreme outburst, then it might 172 00:09:24,400 --> 00:09:28,800 Speaker 1: create a space hurricane. But I can also imagine um 173 00:09:29,679 --> 00:09:37,199 Speaker 1: movement of stuff in space itself might create vortexes or 174 00:09:37,559 --> 00:09:41,400 Speaker 1: space hurricanes. Hope you will all right. I guess it's 175 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:44,080 Speaker 1: some pretty interesting answers here. I feel like people sort 176 00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:46,600 Speaker 1: of thought about a hurricane and what it looks like 177 00:09:46,640 --> 00:09:49,280 Speaker 1: in pictures that the swirling massive stuff, and then they 178 00:09:49,280 --> 00:09:51,360 Speaker 1: try to, I don't know, project it into space, like 179 00:09:51,400 --> 00:09:54,120 Speaker 1: what would that look like in space or in other planets. Yeah, 180 00:09:54,160 --> 00:09:57,520 Speaker 1: it's some great examples of generalization, like this is real 181 00:09:57,640 --> 00:10:01,320 Speaker 1: physics in action here. I love people take this idea 182 00:10:01,360 --> 00:10:05,120 Speaker 1: and wonder whether or not it could exist in other forms. Awesome, 183 00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:08,120 Speaker 1: especially the one about a galaxy being a space hurricane. 184 00:10:08,320 --> 00:10:11,560 Speaker 1: Very cool, right, Yeah, it is a galaxy technically a 185 00:10:11,600 --> 00:10:14,000 Speaker 1: space hurricane. Like they look kind of the same as 186 00:10:14,040 --> 00:10:17,080 Speaker 1: a big flushing toilet or swirling disc. Right, that's kind 187 00:10:17,080 --> 00:10:18,760 Speaker 1: of what a hurricane is, and that's kind of what 188 00:10:18,800 --> 00:10:21,000 Speaker 1: a galaxy is. Yeah, we'll get into it. But a 189 00:10:21,120 --> 00:10:24,400 Speaker 1: hurricane actually is a low pressure center, right where things 190 00:10:24,480 --> 00:10:27,240 Speaker 1: flow out from the center, and a galaxy, of course 191 00:10:27,400 --> 00:10:30,520 Speaker 1: is very high pressure center. It's really the densest spot 192 00:10:30,559 --> 00:10:32,800 Speaker 1: with if all the forces pulling towards the center of 193 00:10:32,800 --> 00:10:36,120 Speaker 1: the galaxy. So the mechanisms are something different, but you're right, 194 00:10:36,120 --> 00:10:38,720 Speaker 1: they do look kind of similar. It's an anti hurricane. 195 00:10:38,720 --> 00:10:40,760 Speaker 1: Maybe it would be awesome that have a hurricane where 196 00:10:40,760 --> 00:10:44,679 Speaker 1: it's raining stars instead of water droplets. That's pretty meta, 197 00:10:45,400 --> 00:10:48,160 Speaker 1: that would be That sounds really dangerous. You would definitely 198 00:10:48,200 --> 00:10:51,240 Speaker 1: not be a weatherman standing there for very long. Yeah, 199 00:10:51,280 --> 00:10:53,360 Speaker 1: what kind of hurricane proofing do you need when it's 200 00:10:53,520 --> 00:10:56,320 Speaker 1: raining stars? That sounds like another great show on the 201 00:10:56,320 --> 00:11:02,280 Speaker 1: Discovery slash Weather channel Surviving Extreme Space Weather Raining Stars. 202 00:11:02,520 --> 00:11:04,440 Speaker 1: But let's get into it then. I guess step us 203 00:11:04,440 --> 00:11:07,080 Speaker 1: through here, Daniel. First of all, let's tackle one word 204 00:11:07,120 --> 00:11:10,360 Speaker 1: at a time. So a hurricane, what is that technically 205 00:11:10,360 --> 00:11:12,840 Speaker 1: here on Earth? Like, how do we get hurricanes? And 206 00:11:13,240 --> 00:11:15,640 Speaker 1: what technically counts as a hurricane? And is that the 207 00:11:15,760 --> 00:11:18,760 Speaker 1: right name for the weather phenomenon that most people think 208 00:11:18,760 --> 00:11:20,880 Speaker 1: of when they think of hurricanes. I was really surprised 209 00:11:20,880 --> 00:11:23,120 Speaker 1: to learn that you give the name hurricane to a 210 00:11:23,240 --> 00:11:26,400 Speaker 1: particular type of storm that appears all around the world, 211 00:11:26,600 --> 00:11:29,839 Speaker 1: but you only call it a hurricane if it appears 212 00:11:29,960 --> 00:11:34,720 Speaker 1: in particular places in the Atlantic or in the northeastern Pacific. 213 00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:38,079 Speaker 1: It's the most general phrase. Is a cyclone this this 214 00:11:38,360 --> 00:11:40,800 Speaker 1: kind of storm you get over the water, but you 215 00:11:40,840 --> 00:11:43,000 Speaker 1: only call it a hurricane in various parts of the world. 216 00:11:43,040 --> 00:11:45,920 Speaker 1: It's like the naming committee couldn't agree on what I 217 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:48,160 Speaker 1: call these things, and so they broke up without like 218 00:11:48,200 --> 00:11:51,199 Speaker 1: a global agreement for what to call them. I see now, 219 00:11:51,320 --> 00:11:54,160 Speaker 1: is this like a convenient naming you know, scheme or 220 00:11:54,240 --> 00:11:56,080 Speaker 1: is this just like out of the history of how 221 00:11:56,320 --> 00:11:58,560 Speaker 1: like you know, people who lived here called it a 222 00:11:58,640 --> 00:12:01,280 Speaker 1: hurricane and people who lived over there call it a typhoon. 223 00:12:01,880 --> 00:12:04,280 Speaker 1: You know. Is it like pop and soda and coke 224 00:12:04,679 --> 00:12:07,199 Speaker 1: or is it like you know, scientists were like, okay, 225 00:12:07,200 --> 00:12:09,320 Speaker 1: we'll call these the ones that we hear this and 226 00:12:09,640 --> 00:12:11,080 Speaker 1: the ones that were there, and we'll call them that. 227 00:12:11,320 --> 00:12:14,640 Speaker 1: There's really no difference between a hurricane in the Atlantic, 228 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:18,640 Speaker 1: or a typhoon in the Northwest specific or a tropical 229 00:12:18,760 --> 00:12:22,280 Speaker 1: cyclone in the South Pacific. They're fundamentally the same thing. 230 00:12:22,600 --> 00:12:25,280 Speaker 1: The only thing that differentiates them is where they happen. 231 00:12:25,480 --> 00:12:28,520 Speaker 1: So the naming convention is just historic. That's what we 232 00:12:28,600 --> 00:12:31,600 Speaker 1: call those storms. And then I think later people understood 233 00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:33,800 Speaker 1: in more detail. All these are really all sort of 234 00:12:33,800 --> 00:12:37,560 Speaker 1: examples of the same thing I see. But the technical term, 235 00:12:37,600 --> 00:12:41,480 Speaker 1: the scientific term is actually cyclone, yeah exactly, which sounds 236 00:12:41,520 --> 00:12:43,880 Speaker 1: like a killer robot from the future or something, but 237 00:12:43,960 --> 00:12:47,560 Speaker 1: it really just describes this sort of spinning storm that 238 00:12:47,640 --> 00:12:49,680 Speaker 1: you get, which is very typical the kind of storm 239 00:12:49,800 --> 00:12:52,280 Speaker 1: I think about when I think about a hurricane. I see, 240 00:12:52,360 --> 00:12:56,800 Speaker 1: so all hurricanes are cyclones, but not all cyclones are hurricanes, 241 00:12:56,920 --> 00:13:00,440 Speaker 1: that's right, exactly. So they're called typhoons in Northwest Pacific 242 00:13:00,520 --> 00:13:03,960 Speaker 1: and tropical cyclones in the South Pacific or Indian Ocean. 243 00:13:04,160 --> 00:13:07,400 Speaker 1: So what are the basics of the cyclone storm? So 244 00:13:07,400 --> 00:13:09,680 Speaker 1: it's the same all around the world, and it's this 245 00:13:09,760 --> 00:13:12,720 Speaker 1: phenomenon where you have a bunch of really warm water, 246 00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:15,920 Speaker 1: and so the water heats up the air that's above 247 00:13:15,960 --> 00:13:19,000 Speaker 1: it and moistens it because the water is evaporating from 248 00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:22,520 Speaker 1: the surface, and then hot air rises, right, and so 249 00:13:22,559 --> 00:13:26,079 Speaker 1: the hot air rises over this warm spot in the ocean, 250 00:13:26,440 --> 00:13:29,319 Speaker 1: and because the air is rising, it causes this low 251 00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:32,280 Speaker 1: pressure center because the air is leaving, so other air 252 00:13:32,400 --> 00:13:35,160 Speaker 1: sort of have to get sucked in. So it sucks 253 00:13:35,240 --> 00:13:38,199 Speaker 1: in air from around it, which then rises up and 254 00:13:38,280 --> 00:13:41,280 Speaker 1: has to go somewhere and then spreads out. So you 255 00:13:41,360 --> 00:13:44,720 Speaker 1: get this pattern where air is getting pulled in over 256 00:13:44,760 --> 00:13:49,200 Speaker 1: the water, rising up and then spreading out. And that's 257 00:13:49,240 --> 00:13:51,920 Speaker 1: the basics of it. And if the Earth wasn't spinning, 258 00:13:51,960 --> 00:13:55,600 Speaker 1: the cyclones wouldn't spin either. The way these storms start 259 00:13:55,640 --> 00:13:59,400 Speaker 1: to spin is just because of the spin of the Earth, right, 260 00:13:59,440 --> 00:14:02,520 Speaker 1: It's you to the Coriolis effect, right, that's right. As 261 00:14:02,600 --> 00:14:06,040 Speaker 1: these winds blow outwards from the center of the storm, 262 00:14:06,280 --> 00:14:09,040 Speaker 1: they start to curve. And the reason is really cool 263 00:14:09,160 --> 00:14:11,480 Speaker 1: is because, as you say, it's because of the Coriolis effect. 264 00:14:11,520 --> 00:14:14,400 Speaker 1: If you're standing on the equator, then you are spinning 265 00:14:14,440 --> 00:14:17,760 Speaker 1: around the Earth really fast. Right, You're going a thousand 266 00:14:17,800 --> 00:14:20,600 Speaker 1: miles per hour. The surface of the Earth at the 267 00:14:20,640 --> 00:14:23,280 Speaker 1: equator is moving a thousand miles per hour. The surface 268 00:14:23,320 --> 00:14:26,600 Speaker 1: of the Earth at the North pole isn't moving at all, right, 269 00:14:26,640 --> 00:14:29,720 Speaker 1: I mean, you're spinning in place, but you're not actually moving. 270 00:14:30,240 --> 00:14:32,120 Speaker 1: So what that means is that the closer you are 271 00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:35,040 Speaker 1: to the equator, the faster you're moving, and the closer 272 00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:37,360 Speaker 1: you are to the north or South pole, the slower 273 00:14:37,360 --> 00:14:39,600 Speaker 1: you're moving. That's very cool a sort of to know, 274 00:14:39,760 --> 00:14:42,160 Speaker 1: but it has an actual effect because if you have 275 00:14:42,320 --> 00:14:46,560 Speaker 1: air that moves from the equator up towards the poles, 276 00:14:46,960 --> 00:14:49,920 Speaker 1: then it's moving faster than the air it's encountering, and 277 00:14:49,960 --> 00:14:52,680 Speaker 1: so it actually sort of drifts. So, for example, if 278 00:14:52,720 --> 00:14:55,160 Speaker 1: you're in the northern part of the Earth, in the 279 00:14:55,200 --> 00:14:58,720 Speaker 1: northern hemisphere, air that moves up from the equator towards 280 00:14:58,800 --> 00:15:01,120 Speaker 1: the north is going faster than the other air, so 281 00:15:01,160 --> 00:15:04,360 Speaker 1: it actually sort of curves to the east. So air 282 00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:07,000 Speaker 1: that flows north from the equator curves to the east, 283 00:15:07,120 --> 00:15:09,680 Speaker 1: and air that flows south from the North pole is 284 00:15:09,720 --> 00:15:12,240 Speaker 1: going too slow to catch up with the air it 285 00:15:12,280 --> 00:15:14,400 Speaker 1: is encountering, so it sort of flows a little bit 286 00:15:14,440 --> 00:15:16,800 Speaker 1: to the west, so you get this curving effect just 287 00:15:16,920 --> 00:15:19,000 Speaker 1: due to the spinning of the Earth. Right, So then 288 00:15:19,040 --> 00:15:21,040 Speaker 1: the idea is that the warm air heats up the 289 00:15:21,120 --> 00:15:24,640 Speaker 1: air above it, that air gets kind of sucked up 290 00:15:24,640 --> 00:15:28,640 Speaker 1: into the upper atmosphere, and that draws in cold air 291 00:15:29,520 --> 00:15:31,960 Speaker 1: which comes in with some sort of spin or some 292 00:15:32,040 --> 00:15:34,440 Speaker 1: sort of kind of skew twit, which then starts kind 293 00:15:34,440 --> 00:15:37,120 Speaker 1: of the swirl of it. Right, And so you can 294 00:15:37,160 --> 00:15:39,640 Speaker 1: make this mental picture in your mind of air getting 295 00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:44,040 Speaker 1: pulled towards the hurricane from the south curves to the right, 296 00:15:44,520 --> 00:15:47,880 Speaker 1: and air coming down from the north also curves to 297 00:15:48,120 --> 00:15:50,720 Speaker 1: its right. And so everywhere as the air is getting 298 00:15:50,760 --> 00:15:53,200 Speaker 1: pulled towards the center of the thing is curving towards 299 00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:55,720 Speaker 1: the right. So then it becomes self reinforcing and this 300 00:15:55,800 --> 00:15:58,280 Speaker 1: whole thing starts to spin. But to me, it's just 301 00:15:58,320 --> 00:16:00,880 Speaker 1: sort of awesome that you could like prove that the 302 00:16:00,920 --> 00:16:05,040 Speaker 1: Earth is spinning just by looking at hurricanes, right, Or 303 00:16:05,080 --> 00:16:07,360 Speaker 1: how toilets flashed technically right, Like you don't need to 304 00:16:07,440 --> 00:16:10,320 Speaker 1: leave your house, you can just flush the toilet. I 305 00:16:10,360 --> 00:16:13,160 Speaker 1: think that's an urban legend, man, I think toilets flushed 306 00:16:13,160 --> 00:16:15,960 Speaker 1: the same way in Australia. Well, may it depends on 307 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:18,240 Speaker 1: how you designed the toilet. You're right. If you have 308 00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:20,720 Speaker 1: a toilet it's like a thousand miles wide, then maybe 309 00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:22,960 Speaker 1: you're right. Yeah, that's what I mean. Isn't your toilet 310 00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:24,640 Speaker 1: a thousand miles wide? I don't know what you had 311 00:16:24,680 --> 00:16:28,000 Speaker 1: for lunch, dude, but just my particular needs. That's a 312 00:16:28,040 --> 00:16:31,520 Speaker 1: spicy hurricane, my friend. But the amazing thing is that 313 00:16:31,680 --> 00:16:35,000 Speaker 1: in the Southern hemisphere storms really do spin the other 314 00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:38,200 Speaker 1: way because the same effect works the opposite way in 315 00:16:38,280 --> 00:16:41,760 Speaker 1: the Southern hemisphere. So if the air is flowing from 316 00:16:41,800 --> 00:16:45,920 Speaker 1: the equator towards the south, then it's going faster than 317 00:16:45,960 --> 00:16:48,400 Speaker 1: the air it's encountering. But now it's going to spin 318 00:16:48,840 --> 00:16:50,920 Speaker 1: the other direction. Right, it's going to spin sort of too. 319 00:16:51,120 --> 00:16:54,520 Speaker 1: It's left. The same deal. If air is coming from 320 00:16:54,600 --> 00:16:57,800 Speaker 1: the south pole up towards the equator right, then it's 321 00:16:57,800 --> 00:16:59,880 Speaker 1: going slower than the air that's spinning. It's going to 322 00:17:00,040 --> 00:17:03,000 Speaker 1: her to the left, and so you get storm spinning 323 00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:05,560 Speaker 1: the other way in the Southern hemisphere. I think this 324 00:17:05,600 --> 00:17:08,440 Speaker 1: is super awesome. Yeah, that's pretty cool. And so I 325 00:17:08,480 --> 00:17:11,080 Speaker 1: guess maybe a quick question is, like what happens to 326 00:17:11,080 --> 00:17:13,439 Speaker 1: all that air getting sucked up. Does it just go 327 00:17:13,520 --> 00:17:17,040 Speaker 1: up to the upper atmosphere and then dissipates or does 328 00:17:17,080 --> 00:17:21,359 Speaker 1: it recycle kind of down and then helps to feed 329 00:17:21,400 --> 00:17:24,159 Speaker 1: that hurricane. Yes, you're right. The cold air gets sucked 330 00:17:24,160 --> 00:17:27,119 Speaker 1: in and then it rises and then it flows out 331 00:17:27,359 --> 00:17:29,800 Speaker 1: in this sort of big shield. And that's what you 332 00:17:29,840 --> 00:17:31,840 Speaker 1: see sort of from the space if you're looking at 333 00:17:31,840 --> 00:17:35,440 Speaker 1: this hurricane, that you get this like big spinning shield 334 00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:38,560 Speaker 1: that sort of spins out away from the hurricane. And 335 00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:41,040 Speaker 1: so that's what these sort of these arms are there, 336 00:17:41,160 --> 00:17:44,960 Speaker 1: these clouds and condensation formed from the air flowing away 337 00:17:45,040 --> 00:17:47,720 Speaker 1: from the center of the hurricane and the upper atmosphere. 338 00:17:47,920 --> 00:17:50,160 Speaker 1: So a hurricane it's actually like a three D thing. 339 00:17:50,160 --> 00:17:52,520 Speaker 1: It's not just a swirl like the air and the 340 00:17:52,560 --> 00:17:55,560 Speaker 1: bottom is swirling inwards, but the air in the upper 341 00:17:55,600 --> 00:17:59,520 Speaker 1: atmosphere is swirling outwards. Yeah, exactly. And so it's this 342 00:17:59,640 --> 00:18:03,639 Speaker 1: machine and it's all powered by the energy from the ocean. 343 00:18:03,760 --> 00:18:06,320 Speaker 1: And so that's why as the Earth warms up and 344 00:18:06,400 --> 00:18:09,920 Speaker 1: we get more hot spots and hotter spots in the ocean, 345 00:18:10,240 --> 00:18:13,480 Speaker 1: we get more and more dramatic hurricanes. And I guess 346 00:18:13,480 --> 00:18:16,560 Speaker 1: it's due to these currents too, because I guess you 347 00:18:16,600 --> 00:18:20,520 Speaker 1: need warm water under cold air, right, So it like 348 00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:23,040 Speaker 1: as the warm water, you know, moves under cold air, 349 00:18:23,119 --> 00:18:26,280 Speaker 1: then it creates these low pressure points. M exactly. It 350 00:18:26,320 --> 00:18:28,680 Speaker 1: warms up the air and the air rises, and then 351 00:18:28,680 --> 00:18:31,200 Speaker 1: you get this low pressure center. So you know, in general, 352 00:18:31,520 --> 00:18:35,320 Speaker 1: the idea of hurricane is this flow, this cyclic flow 353 00:18:35,720 --> 00:18:38,320 Speaker 1: of the air and this low pressure center. All right, well, 354 00:18:38,400 --> 00:18:41,920 Speaker 1: let's get into whether or not something like that can 355 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:45,399 Speaker 1: happen out in outer space, maybe in other planets or 356 00:18:45,440 --> 00:19:01,320 Speaker 1: in our galaxy. But first let's take a quick break. Right, 357 00:19:01,320 --> 00:19:04,520 Speaker 1: we're talking about space hurricanes and whether or not those 358 00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:06,439 Speaker 1: are actually a thing. I guess there are a thing 359 00:19:06,480 --> 00:19:08,320 Speaker 1: that I know if we're asking the question what is 360 00:19:08,359 --> 00:19:10,560 Speaker 1: a space hurricane? So it might be a thing. Right. 361 00:19:10,640 --> 00:19:12,320 Speaker 1: It would be a short podcast if we were just 362 00:19:12,359 --> 00:19:14,720 Speaker 1: saying no, you can tell, because otherwise we would have 363 00:19:14,720 --> 00:19:18,960 Speaker 1: titled this episode do space hurricanes exist? Right? But here 364 00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:20,800 Speaker 1: we are asking what is a space hurricaine? So I 365 00:19:20,800 --> 00:19:23,679 Speaker 1: think we spoiled a little bit. If they do exist, 366 00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:25,520 Speaker 1: there are a thing. But I guess the question is 367 00:19:25,520 --> 00:19:27,280 Speaker 1: how does that happen? How do you get a hurricane 368 00:19:27,280 --> 00:19:30,200 Speaker 1: in space? Yes, so this basic mechanism that we're talking 369 00:19:30,200 --> 00:19:33,399 Speaker 1: about can exist in other places, other places where you 370 00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:36,000 Speaker 1: have something like air that can flow, and then you 371 00:19:36,040 --> 00:19:39,040 Speaker 1: have some source of energy to like pump into that 372 00:19:39,160 --> 00:19:42,000 Speaker 1: to create this low pressure center. And so you have 373 00:19:42,160 --> 00:19:45,200 Speaker 1: lots of places, actually in the Solar System we know about, 374 00:19:45,240 --> 00:19:47,600 Speaker 1: and then probably in the rest of the universe where 375 00:19:47,600 --> 00:19:50,880 Speaker 1: you get similar structures that are forming not necessarily out 376 00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:53,919 Speaker 1: of air and water droplets. But the structure of a 377 00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:56,520 Speaker 1: hurricane turns out to be something we see all over 378 00:19:56,520 --> 00:19:59,800 Speaker 1: the place, really not necessarily with water, but maybe other 379 00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:02,720 Speaker 1: science of storms. Yeah, exactly, with other kinds of storms. 380 00:20:02,760 --> 00:20:05,800 Speaker 1: You know, around the Solar System, we have atmospheres with 381 00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:08,520 Speaker 1: methane and all sorts of other crazy stuff in them, 382 00:20:09,040 --> 00:20:11,080 Speaker 1: And so we can take the same idea of a 383 00:20:11,160 --> 00:20:14,880 Speaker 1: hurricane and use it to understand storms on other planets 384 00:20:14,960 --> 00:20:18,080 Speaker 1: or moons. I guess the other planets are spinning and 385 00:20:18,119 --> 00:20:21,160 Speaker 1: they have some kind of atmosphere, so why not, right, 386 00:20:21,200 --> 00:20:23,960 Speaker 1: they could have hurricanes to Yeah exactly, But wait, don't 387 00:20:23,960 --> 00:20:26,520 Speaker 1: you need the oceans to like the moving oceans and 388 00:20:26,560 --> 00:20:28,640 Speaker 1: currents and things like that. Well, you really just need 389 00:20:28,720 --> 00:20:31,200 Speaker 1: sort of like bands, right, You don't necessarily need an ocean. 390 00:20:31,200 --> 00:20:34,480 Speaker 1: You just need something underneath it to provide the energy, 391 00:20:34,600 --> 00:20:37,320 Speaker 1: something to power this thing. And so you know, you 392 00:20:37,320 --> 00:20:41,400 Speaker 1: could have like hot rocks or other bands of denser gases. 393 00:20:41,680 --> 00:20:44,320 Speaker 1: You don't necessarily need a liquid ocean of water. You 394 00:20:44,320 --> 00:20:47,440 Speaker 1: don't need like the moving currents of water, right, because 395 00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:50,040 Speaker 1: that's that's kind of why hurricanes move, isn't it or 396 00:20:50,160 --> 00:20:52,000 Speaker 1: is it just due to the weather. Well, motion of 397 00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:54,600 Speaker 1: the hurricanes on other planets will see is a little 398 00:20:54,600 --> 00:20:56,440 Speaker 1: bit different than it is on Earth. That they don't 399 00:20:56,480 --> 00:20:59,520 Speaker 1: necessarily crash into shores the way they do on Earth, 400 00:20:59,680 --> 00:21:01,800 Speaker 1: but they're definitely formed and there can be a lot 401 00:21:01,880 --> 00:21:05,040 Speaker 1: more stable. Sometimes these storms on other planets can last 402 00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:08,040 Speaker 1: for hundreds of years. All Right, we'll step us through here. 403 00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:11,040 Speaker 1: What are some of the interesting hurricane type of storms 404 00:21:11,040 --> 00:21:13,119 Speaker 1: that we see in other planets? Well, sort of the 405 00:21:13,160 --> 00:21:16,160 Speaker 1: most boring are the ones on our neighbor planet Mars. 406 00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:19,320 Speaker 1: Mars does have big storms on it, so we don't 407 00:21:19,400 --> 00:21:22,200 Speaker 1: understand them exactly how they work, but we have seen 408 00:21:22,359 --> 00:21:26,880 Speaker 1: cyclones on Mars. Mostly these things are dust storms, and 409 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:30,040 Speaker 1: they're not as dramatic as the hurricanes on Earth, mostly 410 00:21:30,080 --> 00:21:33,600 Speaker 1: because the atmosphere on Mars is just a lot lower pressure. 411 00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:36,560 Speaker 1: You know, there's just not that much atmosphere, so you 412 00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:39,919 Speaker 1: don't get as many dramatic events. Like the winds in 413 00:21:40,119 --> 00:21:43,960 Speaker 1: storms on Mars blow up to maybe a hundred kilometers 414 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:46,640 Speaker 1: per hour, which is not nearly as dramatic as hurricanes 415 00:21:46,680 --> 00:21:48,879 Speaker 1: here on Earth. It's sort of like a slow motion, 416 00:21:49,240 --> 00:21:52,200 Speaker 1: mild kind of hurricane. Yeah, exactly. But we are watching 417 00:21:52,240 --> 00:21:54,520 Speaker 1: the atmosphere of Mars pretty carefully. We have a lot 418 00:21:54,600 --> 00:21:57,920 Speaker 1: of satellites in orbit around it. And in April of 419 00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:04,240 Speaker 1: scientists saw this huge cyclone near the north pole of Mars. 420 00:22:04,359 --> 00:22:07,320 Speaker 1: It was eleven hundred miles wide and had these big 421 00:22:07,359 --> 00:22:10,080 Speaker 1: cloud bands and it spun around and it dissipated after 422 00:22:10,200 --> 00:22:14,480 Speaker 1: several hours. It was the Mars Santa Claus who was like, no, no, no, no, 423 00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:16,960 Speaker 1: no, no no, hurricane here in Mars. Yeah, and it's not 424 00:22:17,080 --> 00:22:19,320 Speaker 1: something that we have seen since. And we are watching 425 00:22:19,320 --> 00:22:22,080 Speaker 1: the Martian atmosphere, so it's something we're looking to understand 426 00:22:22,119 --> 00:22:24,440 Speaker 1: because we're always wanting to get a better understanding of 427 00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:27,280 Speaker 1: what's in the atmosphere of Mars and what the dynamics 428 00:22:27,280 --> 00:22:29,600 Speaker 1: of it are. But you know, the same basic idea, 429 00:22:29,960 --> 00:22:32,119 Speaker 1: you know, something must have heated up the center of 430 00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:35,159 Speaker 1: this thing to create the rising air from the center, 431 00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:38,200 Speaker 1: which flew outwards and then spun because of the spinning 432 00:22:38,280 --> 00:22:41,719 Speaker 1: of Mars. What about other planets have we seen cyclones 433 00:22:41,760 --> 00:22:44,520 Speaker 1: in like Saturn? We have. Saturn, of course, has an 434 00:22:44,560 --> 00:22:48,440 Speaker 1: amazing storm. There's this storm on its north pole which 435 00:22:48,520 --> 00:22:51,080 Speaker 1: is in the shape of a hexagon. We did a 436 00:22:51,119 --> 00:22:54,480 Speaker 1: whole fun podcast episode about like what is going on there? 437 00:22:54,680 --> 00:22:57,119 Speaker 1: How do you get a hexagon shaped storm on the 438 00:22:57,160 --> 00:22:59,680 Speaker 1: north pole of Saturn that's been there for a long 439 00:22:59,800 --> 00:23:04,479 Speaker 1: time time and it's like twenty five thousand kilometers wide, So, like, 440 00:23:04,760 --> 00:23:08,280 Speaker 1: this thing is a monster. But not just its north pole. 441 00:23:08,400 --> 00:23:10,800 Speaker 1: It has these spots on it that are these like 442 00:23:11,040 --> 00:23:15,919 Speaker 1: massive planets circling storms. They don't last that long, but 443 00:23:16,040 --> 00:23:18,439 Speaker 1: they can impact the atmosphere and the temperature of the 444 00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:21,240 Speaker 1: planet for quite a while. So there are these great 445 00:23:21,320 --> 00:23:24,520 Speaker 1: white spots on Saturn that scientists think have the same 446 00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:29,439 Speaker 1: fundamental mechanisms as hurricanes here on Earth. Interesting now, because 447 00:23:29,520 --> 00:23:32,359 Speaker 1: I guess Saturn is sort of a gas planet, right, 448 00:23:32,359 --> 00:23:34,440 Speaker 1: It's mostly gas, and so it must have all kinds 449 00:23:34,480 --> 00:23:38,040 Speaker 1: of currents and layers of gas swirling and bands and 450 00:23:38,080 --> 00:23:40,200 Speaker 1: things like that exactly, and so you have these layers, 451 00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:42,680 Speaker 1: and so when a deeper layer has a hot spot 452 00:23:42,800 --> 00:23:45,600 Speaker 1: in it, it can create a low pressure center in 453 00:23:45,640 --> 00:23:48,320 Speaker 1: the band above it, right, which creates exactly the same 454 00:23:48,359 --> 00:23:50,840 Speaker 1: effect as we see here on Earth. And so we 455 00:23:50,880 --> 00:23:53,760 Speaker 1: don't understand a lot of the mechanisms that the internals 456 00:23:53,760 --> 00:23:55,840 Speaker 1: of Saturn, mostly because we haven't had a chance to 457 00:23:55,880 --> 00:23:58,800 Speaker 1: probe it. Remember Cassini did it like death dive into 458 00:23:58,840 --> 00:24:01,440 Speaker 1: Saturn and give us measurements about what was going on 459 00:24:01,520 --> 00:24:04,760 Speaker 1: inside of it. But mostly Saturn has been unexplored, so 460 00:24:04,800 --> 00:24:06,879 Speaker 1: we have to just observe it from the outside. And 461 00:24:06,920 --> 00:24:10,280 Speaker 1: that's why asking these questions like do we understand how 462 00:24:10,320 --> 00:24:13,199 Speaker 1: the storms form? Do we understand the mechanisms of it? 463 00:24:13,320 --> 00:24:15,480 Speaker 1: Can we extrapolate from the things we have learned on 464 00:24:15,560 --> 00:24:17,639 Speaker 1: Earth is a really good way to try to build 465 00:24:17,680 --> 00:24:20,560 Speaker 1: a model of what's going on in Saturn, so we 466 00:24:20,600 --> 00:24:23,040 Speaker 1: can ask if it makes sense or if there are 467 00:24:23,080 --> 00:24:28,440 Speaker 1: surprises inside. Interesting now here that Saturn has a record 468 00:24:28,520 --> 00:24:31,800 Speaker 1: for the longest continuous storm in the Solar System, Yeah 469 00:24:31,880 --> 00:24:34,439 Speaker 1: that's right, not necessarily just a hurricane, but there was 470 00:24:34,480 --> 00:24:38,679 Speaker 1: a thunderstorm on Saturn that lasted for over eight months. 471 00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:41,720 Speaker 1: Cassini observed it back in two thousand nine, and we 472 00:24:41,840 --> 00:24:45,040 Speaker 1: measured the strength of this thunderstorm by measuring the radio 473 00:24:45,119 --> 00:24:48,639 Speaker 1: emissions from its lightning. Right, every time you have a thunderstorm, 474 00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:52,080 Speaker 1: you have lightning, and lightning, of course, is an electromagnetic phenomena, 475 00:24:52,119 --> 00:24:55,080 Speaker 1: which means it creates radiation. I mean, what you're seeing 476 00:24:55,440 --> 00:24:59,040 Speaker 1: is radiation from the lightning, So there's also radiation in 477 00:24:59,240 --> 00:25:01,919 Speaker 1: other frequent seas of light, including the radio. You can 478 00:25:01,920 --> 00:25:05,600 Speaker 1: detect thunderstorms in radio waves. That's why it interferes with radio, 479 00:25:05,640 --> 00:25:09,280 Speaker 1: of course. And this one was ten thousand times stronger 480 00:25:09,400 --> 00:25:12,399 Speaker 1: than storms we see here on Earth and lasted for 481 00:25:12,480 --> 00:25:16,040 Speaker 1: eight months, So that's pretty dramatic. So really hunker down 482 00:25:16,080 --> 00:25:18,160 Speaker 1: if you're in a storm on Saturday. I guess technically 483 00:25:18,240 --> 00:25:20,840 Speaker 1: that wasn't a cyclone. It was just a big thunderstorm, 484 00:25:21,119 --> 00:25:24,040 Speaker 1: like clouds crashing into each other. Yeah, exactly, that was 485 00:25:24,080 --> 00:25:26,199 Speaker 1: not a cyclone. Alright. What about the big guy in 486 00:25:26,200 --> 00:25:28,840 Speaker 1: our solar system, Jupiter, That must have a lot of 487 00:25:28,880 --> 00:25:31,840 Speaker 1: cyclones because it's a big gas giant exactly for the 488 00:25:31,880 --> 00:25:35,399 Speaker 1: same reason, and it has the biggest cyclones humanity has 489 00:25:35,440 --> 00:25:38,920 Speaker 1: ever discovered. In the Great Red Spot is basically a hurricane. 490 00:25:39,040 --> 00:25:41,320 Speaker 1: This thing we did a whole episode about it. Remember, 491 00:25:41,640 --> 00:25:44,719 Speaker 1: it's been seen by astronomers for hundreds of years, and 492 00:25:44,720 --> 00:25:47,440 Speaker 1: so we know that this storm is at least three 493 00:25:47,560 --> 00:25:51,840 Speaker 1: hundred and fifty years old. It also boasts the fastest 494 00:25:51,880 --> 00:25:55,360 Speaker 1: winds in the Solar System, and so this is essentially 495 00:25:55,440 --> 00:25:59,760 Speaker 1: a huge hurricane on another planet. It's visible from Earth, right, 496 00:25:59,800 --> 00:26:02,520 Speaker 1: and it's read for some reason. Right. We talked about 497 00:26:02,560 --> 00:26:04,920 Speaker 1: it in a podcast episode. Yeah, although it's a really 498 00:26:04,960 --> 00:26:07,399 Speaker 1: fun mystery, and so digg into that whole episode if 499 00:26:07,400 --> 00:26:10,200 Speaker 1: you're curious about why the Great Red Spot is read, 500 00:26:10,440 --> 00:26:14,120 Speaker 1: and also why the Great Red Spot is shrinking, Yeah, 501 00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:16,400 Speaker 1: check that out please. And something else and just think 502 00:26:16,400 --> 00:26:18,720 Speaker 1: about Jupiter is that it has a lot of cyclones, 503 00:26:18,760 --> 00:26:22,720 Speaker 1: but they're not regular cyclones. Yeah, Jupiter turns out has cyclones, 504 00:26:22,760 --> 00:26:26,800 Speaker 1: but mostly it has anti cyclones. Anti cyclones are not 505 00:26:26,840 --> 00:26:29,680 Speaker 1: like anti matter. It's not like if a cyclone meets 506 00:26:29,680 --> 00:26:32,720 Speaker 1: an anti cyclone, they annihilate. It's a cyclone that has 507 00:26:32,800 --> 00:26:36,560 Speaker 1: the opposite sort of structure because it has high pressure 508 00:26:36,600 --> 00:26:39,639 Speaker 1: center instead of a low pressure center, and so the 509 00:26:39,680 --> 00:26:42,920 Speaker 1: winds actually go the opposite direction. Like on Earth, if 510 00:26:42,920 --> 00:26:46,320 Speaker 1: you have a cyclone in the northern hemisphere, it spins 511 00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:49,560 Speaker 1: counter clockwise. If you had an anti cyclone in the 512 00:26:49,600 --> 00:26:53,960 Speaker 1: northern hemisphere, it would spin clockwise, and so on Jupiter, 513 00:26:54,240 --> 00:26:58,040 Speaker 1: most of these things are actually anti cyclones. Interesting, meaning 514 00:26:58,119 --> 00:27:01,040 Speaker 1: like it's a high pressure center somehow, like maybe the 515 00:27:01,520 --> 00:27:05,720 Speaker 1: bottom layer is colder and then that pushes air away somehow. Yeah, 516 00:27:05,720 --> 00:27:08,040 Speaker 1: I would have to have like the air sinking in 517 00:27:08,119 --> 00:27:11,080 Speaker 1: the center exactly, like if you have a cold spot, 518 00:27:11,240 --> 00:27:13,680 Speaker 1: then it's pulling the air in and sinking it down 519 00:27:13,720 --> 00:27:17,359 Speaker 1: towards the center, and so that creates a pattern of winds, 520 00:27:17,359 --> 00:27:20,880 Speaker 1: and it also spins again because of the spinning of Jupiter. 521 00:27:21,080 --> 00:27:23,400 Speaker 1: So again, this is something that's like on the forefront 522 00:27:23,440 --> 00:27:28,040 Speaker 1: of our knowledge. Space meteorologists and planetary scientists are trying 523 00:27:28,040 --> 00:27:31,919 Speaker 1: to understand the dynamics of Jupiter's atmosphere. And that's a 524 00:27:31,960 --> 00:27:34,040 Speaker 1: tough thing to do from so far away with very 525 00:27:34,119 --> 00:27:37,520 Speaker 1: limited instruments. So it's a tough science. Yeah. I can't 526 00:27:37,520 --> 00:27:42,640 Speaker 1: imagine it's hard enough here to monitor the weather, imagine 527 00:27:42,640 --> 00:27:45,280 Speaker 1: doing it a million miles away. All right, Well, what 528 00:27:45,320 --> 00:27:48,160 Speaker 1: about other planets in the Solar System? What other interesting 529 00:27:48,200 --> 00:27:52,199 Speaker 1: cyclones can we find. Yeah, Neptune has a great dark spot. 530 00:27:52,760 --> 00:27:55,760 Speaker 1: It seems like on other planets we call these things spots, right, 531 00:27:55,800 --> 00:27:58,040 Speaker 1: I guess, just because that's what they look like from space. 532 00:27:58,119 --> 00:28:00,200 Speaker 1: But I feel like it undersells them in mas It 533 00:28:00,240 --> 00:28:02,840 Speaker 1: feel like a stain in your laundry instead of this 534 00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:08,679 Speaker 1: like mammoth atmospheric event with incredible power and destructiveness. But 535 00:28:08,880 --> 00:28:11,520 Speaker 1: Neptune has a great dark spot. Must have spilled coffee 536 00:28:11,520 --> 00:28:14,080 Speaker 1: on itself or something, and it features winds a fifteen 537 00:28:14,160 --> 00:28:17,520 Speaker 1: hundred miles per hour and it rotates around the planet 538 00:28:17,600 --> 00:28:20,840 Speaker 1: every eighteen hours or so. This thing in the southern 539 00:28:20,840 --> 00:28:24,520 Speaker 1: hemisphere of Neptune is the same size as the Earth. Wow, 540 00:28:24,560 --> 00:28:26,760 Speaker 1: that's crazy, Like you could fit the Earth inside of 541 00:28:26,760 --> 00:28:29,280 Speaker 1: the storm, I know. And it's sort of like the 542 00:28:29,440 --> 00:28:32,080 Speaker 1: unloved cousin of the Great Red Spot, because the Great 543 00:28:32,080 --> 00:28:34,920 Speaker 1: Red Spots pretty big, but it's not that much bigger 544 00:28:34,920 --> 00:28:37,119 Speaker 1: than the Great dark Spot. The Great Red Spots like 545 00:28:37,160 --> 00:28:39,760 Speaker 1: a hundred and thirty percent the size of the Earth, 546 00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:42,400 Speaker 1: so it's only a little bit bigger. But nobody talks 547 00:28:42,400 --> 00:28:45,160 Speaker 1: about the Great Dark Spot and all the destruction it's achieved. 548 00:28:45,320 --> 00:28:47,440 Speaker 1: Do you feel like the Earth, maybe this feeling left out, 549 00:28:47,440 --> 00:28:49,880 Speaker 1: like maybe the Earth wishes it had a tattoo, just 550 00:28:49,920 --> 00:28:52,800 Speaker 1: like Jupiter Neptune. I don't think we wish the Earth 551 00:28:52,840 --> 00:28:56,320 Speaker 1: had any big spots like that who plowed throughout civilization. Well, 552 00:28:56,360 --> 00:28:58,120 Speaker 1: I guess there does have a big stain at it. 553 00:28:58,120 --> 00:29:02,440 Speaker 1: It's called humans jazz kidding, I'm looking forward to that movie, 554 00:29:02,520 --> 00:29:05,120 Speaker 1: a human hurricane. All right, Well, what about some of 555 00:29:05,160 --> 00:29:08,360 Speaker 1: the other planets, anything in our inner Solar system? Yeah, 556 00:29:08,400 --> 00:29:11,560 Speaker 1: So Mercury actually has a really really fin atmosphere, so 557 00:29:11,600 --> 00:29:15,520 Speaker 1: there aren't really storms to speak of in terms of winds, 558 00:29:15,560 --> 00:29:18,520 Speaker 1: But it has a crazy magnetic field, and also it's 559 00:29:18,640 --> 00:29:21,320 Speaker 1: very close to the Sun. It interacts with its magnetic field, 560 00:29:21,560 --> 00:29:25,680 Speaker 1: and so it has these things called magnetic tornadoes, which 561 00:29:25,720 --> 00:29:29,480 Speaker 1: are sort of related. What. Yeah, you get these bundles 562 00:29:29,520 --> 00:29:33,440 Speaker 1: of magnetic fields and magnetic field lines can twist and eventually, 563 00:29:33,440 --> 00:29:35,560 Speaker 1: when there's too much strain on them, they can snap 564 00:29:35,600 --> 00:29:39,440 Speaker 1: and then like realign, and so this sort of causes 565 00:29:39,520 --> 00:29:44,040 Speaker 1: something similar because these magnetic fields push charged particles, and 566 00:29:44,080 --> 00:29:47,320 Speaker 1: when they spin and twist, they can push particles sort 567 00:29:47,320 --> 00:29:49,760 Speaker 1: of in a circular pattern, and so you get these 568 00:29:49,800 --> 00:29:53,000 Speaker 1: magnetic tornadoes. Where it's sort of like you know the 569 00:29:53,040 --> 00:29:57,280 Speaker 1: Northern lights, which are just charged particles moving around magnetic fields, 570 00:29:57,280 --> 00:29:59,840 Speaker 1: except you get these sort of spinning patterns of the 571 00:30:00,040 --> 00:30:03,320 Speaker 1: charge particles on mercury. Whoa, but you call that one 572 00:30:03,360 --> 00:30:06,160 Speaker 1: a tornado. That's different than a maybe a cyclone or 573 00:30:06,160 --> 00:30:08,520 Speaker 1: a hurricane. Yeah, exactly. It doesn't have like the same 574 00:30:08,560 --> 00:30:11,160 Speaker 1: sort of low pressure center. It's just this sort of 575 00:30:11,160 --> 00:30:14,920 Speaker 1: like sheer effect that's creating this spinning due to the 576 00:30:14,960 --> 00:30:17,560 Speaker 1: magnetic fields, I guess. And you have the same sort 577 00:30:17,560 --> 00:30:20,520 Speaker 1: of thing happening actually on the Sun. On the Sun, 578 00:30:20,560 --> 00:30:24,120 Speaker 1: you have these like really huge towers of plasma being 579 00:30:24,120 --> 00:30:27,280 Speaker 1: ejected from the center and all these tangled magnetic fields 580 00:30:27,280 --> 00:30:30,680 Speaker 1: because these charged particles moving really fast, which gives you 581 00:30:30,720 --> 00:30:33,960 Speaker 1: magnetic fields, and so you get these huge towers with 582 00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:37,800 Speaker 1: tangled magnetic fields, and sometimes those magnetic fields get strained 583 00:30:37,840 --> 00:30:40,200 Speaker 1: and then they snap and realign and you get the 584 00:30:40,240 --> 00:30:43,680 Speaker 1: same sort of effect. These are called solar tornadoes, but 585 00:30:43,720 --> 00:30:46,320 Speaker 1: they don't actually spin. People thought for a long time 586 00:30:46,480 --> 00:30:49,920 Speaker 1: these things also spun and give you these like weird patterns, 587 00:30:50,120 --> 00:30:52,680 Speaker 1: but they're just these sort of like long towers of 588 00:30:52,760 --> 00:30:55,680 Speaker 1: plasma that are like several times the size of the Earth. 589 00:30:55,800 --> 00:30:58,200 Speaker 1: So they're not spinning, but they are maybe swirling, right, 590 00:30:58,240 --> 00:31:00,760 Speaker 1: that's what makes us call them tornado. Yeah, I don't 591 00:31:00,760 --> 00:31:02,960 Speaker 1: think they're even swirling. I think people fought for a 592 00:31:02,960 --> 00:31:06,280 Speaker 1: while they might be swirling, and they applied this phrase 593 00:31:06,400 --> 00:31:10,360 Speaker 1: solar tornadoes to them before they understood that they're not spinning, 594 00:31:10,360 --> 00:31:13,719 Speaker 1: and then later measurements show that they don't actually rotate. 595 00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:17,400 Speaker 1: So probably they should be downgraded from solar tornado to 596 00:31:17,520 --> 00:31:22,080 Speaker 1: just like solar massive tower of plasma, but they still 597 00:31:22,120 --> 00:31:23,680 Speaker 1: have the name. I don't know which one has a 598 00:31:23,720 --> 00:31:29,040 Speaker 1: better movie like a name, Solar Power Giant Tower of 599 00:31:29,120 --> 00:31:32,960 Speaker 1: Doom or solar Tornado. All right, well that's on the 600 00:31:33,000 --> 00:31:35,840 Speaker 1: planets and in our Solar system. Now let's talk about 601 00:31:36,160 --> 00:31:39,600 Speaker 1: possible hurricanes in actual space, because I feel like these 602 00:31:39,640 --> 00:31:43,240 Speaker 1: are hurricanes, but they're in other planets, so they're technically 603 00:31:43,240 --> 00:31:46,080 Speaker 1: not in space. I mean there's space relative to us, 604 00:31:46,120 --> 00:31:49,000 Speaker 1: but not to like Saturn in Jupiter. Yeah, there's sort 605 00:31:49,040 --> 00:31:52,280 Speaker 1: of extraterrestrial hurricanes. All right, Well let's get into actual 606 00:31:52,320 --> 00:31:55,640 Speaker 1: hurricanes in space. But first let's take another quick break. 607 00:32:08,400 --> 00:32:10,000 Speaker 1: All right, we're trying to come up with the next 608 00:32:10,080 --> 00:32:13,720 Speaker 1: great movie for the Discovery Channel and the Weather Channel. Daniel, 609 00:32:13,960 --> 00:32:16,920 Speaker 1: any interesting names that we come up with in the 610 00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:21,440 Speaker 1: break dark matter typhoon. Daniel and Jorge get eaten by 611 00:32:21,520 --> 00:32:26,200 Speaker 1: dark matter sharks, but then it gets saved by regular 612 00:32:26,240 --> 00:32:29,360 Speaker 1: matter dinosaurs. Why would regular matter dinosaurs come and save us. 613 00:32:29,360 --> 00:32:31,160 Speaker 1: They're still mad that we took over the planet when 614 00:32:31,160 --> 00:32:34,360 Speaker 1: the afteroid hit. They left it to us. Colan. It 615 00:32:34,360 --> 00:32:38,920 Speaker 1: could just be the vegetarian dinosaurs. I think those died 616 00:32:38,960 --> 00:32:41,960 Speaker 1: out pretty quick. Yep, you gotta eat a lot of 617 00:32:41,960 --> 00:32:44,200 Speaker 1: salad if you're a dinosaur. Let me tell you. All right, Well, 618 00:32:44,280 --> 00:32:47,080 Speaker 1: let's get into whether or not we can have weather 619 00:32:47,200 --> 00:32:49,520 Speaker 1: in space. I think we had an episode about weather 620 00:32:49,560 --> 00:32:52,360 Speaker 1: in space, but this one today we're talking specifically about 621 00:32:52,400 --> 00:32:56,280 Speaker 1: hurricanes in space. Space weather in general mostly refers to 622 00:32:56,440 --> 00:32:58,880 Speaker 1: what the Sun is doing, because the Sun generates a 623 00:32:58,960 --> 00:33:02,360 Speaker 1: solar wind, which is a stream of particles, or the 624 00:33:02,400 --> 00:33:05,440 Speaker 1: Sun is not just a ball of plasma that generates 625 00:33:05,480 --> 00:33:09,280 Speaker 1: heat and photon, It also shoots out protons and electrons 626 00:33:09,280 --> 00:33:12,080 Speaker 1: and all sorts of other stuff, neutrinos, all sorts of 627 00:33:12,120 --> 00:33:15,400 Speaker 1: stuff the products of the fusion going on at its center, 628 00:33:15,520 --> 00:33:17,800 Speaker 1: and that solar wind is important and if you're out 629 00:33:17,800 --> 00:33:19,920 Speaker 1: there in space like you're a satellite, you have to 630 00:33:19,960 --> 00:33:22,320 Speaker 1: be careful because these things are like tiny bullets and 631 00:33:22,320 --> 00:33:26,200 Speaker 1: they can shred your electronics. And because the Sun is unpredictable, 632 00:33:26,360 --> 00:33:29,440 Speaker 1: solar weather is unpredictable, and like a solar storm leading 633 00:33:29,440 --> 00:33:33,160 Speaker 1: to a solar flare can really inundate our delicate electronics 634 00:33:33,200 --> 00:33:35,720 Speaker 1: with all sorts of particles. But what we're talking about 635 00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:39,000 Speaker 1: today is actually something quite different. It's a space hurricane, 636 00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:42,200 Speaker 1: you're right, is not the product of solar weather, but 637 00:33:42,240 --> 00:33:45,520 Speaker 1: actually something that's happening in the very very upper atmosphere 638 00:33:45,600 --> 00:33:48,520 Speaker 1: of Earth. So it's actually more like near space weather, 639 00:33:48,960 --> 00:33:51,800 Speaker 1: almost space weather. It's like right on the border between 640 00:33:51,880 --> 00:33:55,400 Speaker 1: Earth and space. Yeah, exactly, it's like near Earth space. 641 00:33:55,520 --> 00:33:57,840 Speaker 1: But you see this sort of same structure that we're 642 00:33:57,880 --> 00:34:00,600 Speaker 1: familiar with now of a hurricane, where you have this 643 00:34:00,680 --> 00:34:03,080 Speaker 1: like low pressure center and things rising and then of 644 00:34:03,080 --> 00:34:06,320 Speaker 1: course the spinning effect. And this is a fascinating study 645 00:34:06,680 --> 00:34:09,440 Speaker 1: from a university in China. This is done by Shandong 646 00:34:09,600 --> 00:34:13,439 Speaker 1: University in China, and they actually observed a hurricane over 647 00:34:13,520 --> 00:34:16,759 Speaker 1: the Earth's magnetic north pole. We're talking about really really 648 00:34:16,760 --> 00:34:19,719 Speaker 1: far up in the very upper atmosphere of Earth where 649 00:34:19,760 --> 00:34:23,080 Speaker 1: you have mostly just like charged particles whizzing around. So 650 00:34:23,120 --> 00:34:26,120 Speaker 1: basically where the atmosphere becomes a plasma, you know, where 651 00:34:26,120 --> 00:34:30,000 Speaker 1: it's like protons and electrons whizzing around in space. There's 652 00:34:30,040 --> 00:34:32,960 Speaker 1: not a lot of air there, or is this plasma 653 00:34:33,000 --> 00:34:35,200 Speaker 1: made from air? This plasma is made from air. But 654 00:34:35,239 --> 00:34:37,120 Speaker 1: also you know, like this is where the solar wind 655 00:34:37,200 --> 00:34:39,319 Speaker 1: hits the outer atmosphere, and so a lot of the 656 00:34:39,360 --> 00:34:43,239 Speaker 1: air molecules get ionized when the solar wind hits them, 657 00:34:43,320 --> 00:34:45,239 Speaker 1: and so would you have up there's a lot more 658 00:34:45,320 --> 00:34:48,360 Speaker 1: charged particles than you have down here on Earth. What 659 00:34:48,440 --> 00:34:51,080 Speaker 1: they saw was this thing they call a space hurricane 660 00:34:51,400 --> 00:34:55,160 Speaker 1: because you have this circulation, but instead of in air 661 00:34:55,239 --> 00:34:59,279 Speaker 1: with water droplets, it's in plasma and the precipitation are 662 00:34:59,400 --> 00:35:04,680 Speaker 1: electron So this is a space hurricane in plasma raining electrons. 663 00:35:05,120 --> 00:35:10,680 Speaker 1: What raining electricity? Basically yeah, exactly, not like lightning, right. 664 00:35:10,719 --> 00:35:15,120 Speaker 1: Electricity is like the motion of energy through electrons. Right 665 00:35:15,320 --> 00:35:18,479 Speaker 1: as energy gets passed along a chain of electrons. Here 666 00:35:18,480 --> 00:35:22,680 Speaker 1: the electrons themselves are actually shooting, going really really fast 667 00:35:23,120 --> 00:35:26,160 Speaker 1: up to like ten thousand killer electron bolts, which is 668 00:35:26,200 --> 00:35:28,359 Speaker 1: like not nearly as fast as we have the large 669 00:35:28,400 --> 00:35:31,919 Speaker 1: hadron collider, but it's a huge, massive number of electrons, 670 00:35:32,280 --> 00:35:34,560 Speaker 1: and so these things get pulled up and then rain 671 00:35:34,719 --> 00:35:39,080 Speaker 1: back down. Now, this is like different than the Northern lights, right, Like, 672 00:35:39,160 --> 00:35:41,880 Speaker 1: this is different than what's going on with the solar 673 00:35:41,880 --> 00:35:44,440 Speaker 1: wind hitting the atmosphere. This is like stuff that's happening 674 00:35:44,440 --> 00:35:47,760 Speaker 1: with the ions and the electrons that are already floating 675 00:35:47,800 --> 00:35:50,799 Speaker 1: above the Earth. Yeah, this is a complex interaction of 676 00:35:50,920 --> 00:35:54,279 Speaker 1: the plasma at the edge of the Earth's atmosphere and 677 00:35:54,320 --> 00:35:58,200 Speaker 1: the magnetic fields and how the Earth's magnetic fields interact 678 00:35:58,440 --> 00:36:00,759 Speaker 1: with the other magnetic field to round us. Right, Like, 679 00:36:00,800 --> 00:36:03,239 Speaker 1: we have our own magnetic field, and then there's the 680 00:36:03,280 --> 00:36:05,759 Speaker 1: Sun's magnetic field and the magnetic fields of all the 681 00:36:05,800 --> 00:36:09,200 Speaker 1: other objects that we're sort of flying through, and our 682 00:36:09,320 --> 00:36:12,200 Speaker 1: magnetic field lines sort of like add up with those 683 00:36:12,239 --> 00:36:15,239 Speaker 1: magnetic field lines to make a total magnetic field. But 684 00:36:15,280 --> 00:36:18,719 Speaker 1: because we're moving through that magnetic field, it gets complicated 685 00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:22,239 Speaker 1: and these magnetic field lines sort of snap and rearrange 686 00:36:22,280 --> 00:36:26,800 Speaker 1: sometimes and that creates this central vortex. This like spinning 687 00:36:26,840 --> 00:36:30,160 Speaker 1: magnetic fields, very similar to these magnetic tornadoes we talked 688 00:36:30,160 --> 00:36:32,200 Speaker 1: about our mercury, and the net effect is that it 689 00:36:32,239 --> 00:36:36,520 Speaker 1: accelerates electrons upwards. It pulls them up so effectively makes 690 00:36:36,520 --> 00:36:39,200 Speaker 1: a low pressure region at the center where it's low 691 00:36:39,239 --> 00:36:42,440 Speaker 1: pressure in terms of like fewer electrons are there, and 692 00:36:42,440 --> 00:36:46,120 Speaker 1: so then the other electrons around rush in and then 693 00:36:46,239 --> 00:36:49,239 Speaker 1: that creates a swirl. That's exactly it. So the other 694 00:36:49,239 --> 00:36:52,839 Speaker 1: electrons rushed in and then everything rises up. In this case, 695 00:36:52,880 --> 00:36:56,480 Speaker 1: it's powered by this magnetic field vortex instead of like 696 00:36:56,560 --> 00:36:59,919 Speaker 1: you know, warm ocean waters, but the structure is the same. 697 00:37:00,000 --> 00:37:02,360 Speaker 1: And that's the thing I find really fascinating that this 698 00:37:02,520 --> 00:37:05,560 Speaker 1: basic mechanism of a hurricane you see in lots of 699 00:37:05,600 --> 00:37:08,560 Speaker 1: different places. As long as you have these basic ingredients, 700 00:37:08,600 --> 00:37:11,520 Speaker 1: you know, something to power it, create a low pressure center, 701 00:37:11,840 --> 00:37:14,520 Speaker 1: and then on a spinning planet, you'll end up with 702 00:37:14,560 --> 00:37:17,759 Speaker 1: this spinning effect. And that's exactly what they see. But 703 00:37:17,800 --> 00:37:20,560 Speaker 1: these are not that common, and so this one particular 704 00:37:20,560 --> 00:37:24,799 Speaker 1: storm was seen in two thousand and fourteen. With satellite observations. 705 00:37:25,160 --> 00:37:29,320 Speaker 1: There's this awesome device called the Special Sensor Ultra Violet 706 00:37:29,400 --> 00:37:34,680 Speaker 1: Spectrographic Imager or SUSY to its friends, Sassy or SUSY. 707 00:37:34,719 --> 00:37:36,480 Speaker 1: I'll let you decide how to pronounce it. I'm not 708 00:37:36,520 --> 00:37:38,520 Speaker 1: sure how the scientists who work on to pronounce it. 709 00:37:38,640 --> 00:37:40,520 Speaker 1: So this was that somebody took a picture of this 710 00:37:40,840 --> 00:37:44,600 Speaker 1: space hurricane with plasma and raining electrons. They took a 711 00:37:44,600 --> 00:37:47,960 Speaker 1: picture of it with a satellite. Yeah, exactly, because it radiates. Right, 712 00:37:48,040 --> 00:37:52,520 Speaker 1: anytime you have charged particles accelerating, they radiate photons, and 713 00:37:52,560 --> 00:37:55,520 Speaker 1: so we can see this anywhere in the universe electrons 714 00:37:55,520 --> 00:37:58,560 Speaker 1: are being bent or accelerated, they will give off photons, 715 00:37:58,560 --> 00:38:01,040 Speaker 1: and this is a great way to see how particles 716 00:38:01,080 --> 00:38:03,640 Speaker 1: are moving through space and what's going on. So this 717 00:38:03,680 --> 00:38:06,560 Speaker 1: satellite detexts in the ultra violet the radiation of these 718 00:38:06,560 --> 00:38:10,319 Speaker 1: electrons trapped in this space hurricane, and so they were 719 00:38:10,360 --> 00:38:13,200 Speaker 1: able to see it. And so if you google space hurricane, 720 00:38:13,239 --> 00:38:15,880 Speaker 1: you can see this awesome picture of really the spinning 721 00:38:15,920 --> 00:38:18,319 Speaker 1: vortex and it's got these lines and everything. But it's 722 00:38:18,360 --> 00:38:21,440 Speaker 1: sort of similar to the Northern lights right in that 723 00:38:21,520 --> 00:38:24,520 Speaker 1: these are charged particles that are moving along magnetic field 724 00:38:24,600 --> 00:38:27,279 Speaker 1: lines and they are giving off radiation. But instead of 725 00:38:27,320 --> 00:38:30,160 Speaker 1: just being these long bands, it really is this spiral 726 00:38:30,239 --> 00:38:33,120 Speaker 1: with various arms. Did you see it with the naked 727 00:38:33,120 --> 00:38:34,480 Speaker 1: eye or is it that you can only see it 728 00:38:34,520 --> 00:38:36,920 Speaker 1: with the satellite. You definitely couldn't see it from the surface. 729 00:38:37,080 --> 00:38:39,080 Speaker 1: I don't know if it gave off radiation in the 730 00:38:39,200 --> 00:38:41,920 Speaker 1: visible light, but it was definitely strongest in the UV 731 00:38:42,080 --> 00:38:45,239 Speaker 1: and I think that's because these very high energy electrons. 732 00:38:45,360 --> 00:38:48,400 Speaker 1: It's a very high frequency radiation. I guess the question 733 00:38:48,480 --> 00:38:51,160 Speaker 1: is why did they call it a space hurricane and 734 00:38:51,239 --> 00:38:57,359 Speaker 1: not a space typhoon or space cyclone? Is it because 735 00:38:57,360 --> 00:39:01,040 Speaker 1: it's technically in the northern hemisphere. I space hurricane just 736 00:39:01,120 --> 00:39:03,760 Speaker 1: has the right ring to it, right. Hurricane just sounds 737 00:39:03,800 --> 00:39:09,759 Speaker 1: more dramatic than typhoon or cyclone, space cyclone, cosmic cyclone. 738 00:39:09,880 --> 00:39:11,960 Speaker 1: You see that extra You should have been in the 739 00:39:12,040 --> 00:39:14,560 Speaker 1: room pitching these ideas. So this thing is pretty awesome. 740 00:39:14,760 --> 00:39:18,440 Speaker 1: It's a thousand kilometers wide. It's not something that happens 741 00:39:18,520 --> 00:39:21,960 Speaker 1: very often. This one lasted about eight hours before it dissipated, 742 00:39:22,120 --> 00:39:24,640 Speaker 1: and we haven't seen another one, and so it's something 743 00:39:24,719 --> 00:39:27,440 Speaker 1: scientists are on the lookout for because we're looking to 744 00:39:27,520 --> 00:39:31,400 Speaker 1: understand like, are these hurricanes really universal phenomenon? Do they 745 00:39:31,400 --> 00:39:34,640 Speaker 1: exist all over the universe in various kinds of forms, 746 00:39:34,640 --> 00:39:39,080 Speaker 1: in water, in methane, in electrons. That's really fascinating to 747 00:39:39,080 --> 00:39:41,560 Speaker 1: know that we could like take our knowledge of what's 748 00:39:41,560 --> 00:39:44,120 Speaker 1: happening here on Earth and use it to understand the 749 00:39:44,120 --> 00:39:48,080 Speaker 1: weather on other planets around other stars. Interesting, like if 750 00:39:48,120 --> 00:39:51,080 Speaker 1: it can happen here, it can happen in other places, 751 00:39:51,560 --> 00:39:53,759 Speaker 1: and you know the way it happens, it can maybe 752 00:39:53,800 --> 00:39:56,040 Speaker 1: tell us about what's going on in those layers of 753 00:39:56,200 --> 00:39:59,160 Speaker 1: clouds and gases and other planets. Because we spent a 754 00:39:59,160 --> 00:40:02,239 Speaker 1: lot of energy right now trying to understand hurricanes, not 755 00:40:02,360 --> 00:40:04,040 Speaker 1: just because we want to predict them so that we 756 00:40:04,040 --> 00:40:06,759 Speaker 1: can keep people safe because we know where they're gonna land, 757 00:40:06,960 --> 00:40:09,640 Speaker 1: but because they're an example of something that's really difficult 758 00:40:09,680 --> 00:40:12,960 Speaker 1: to talk about, really difficult to calculate. You talked earlier 759 00:40:12,960 --> 00:40:15,400 Speaker 1: in the podcast at the very beginning about chaos, and 760 00:40:15,400 --> 00:40:18,480 Speaker 1: they are a great example of chaos. Like we understand 761 00:40:18,560 --> 00:40:21,760 Speaker 1: the basic rules of everything that goes on inside a hurricane. 762 00:40:21,800 --> 00:40:25,600 Speaker 1: There's no mystery there, there's no like magic happening. It's 763 00:40:25,600 --> 00:40:28,720 Speaker 1: all just water droplets and air moving. But it's still 764 00:40:28,840 --> 00:40:31,680 Speaker 1: very difficult to predict when a hurricane will form and 765 00:40:31,680 --> 00:40:34,440 Speaker 1: what it will do because it's very very sensitive to 766 00:40:34,520 --> 00:40:38,120 Speaker 1: tiny little details, a small change and how it started 767 00:40:38,280 --> 00:40:40,560 Speaker 1: can mean a big change and where it landed, and 768 00:40:40,560 --> 00:40:43,520 Speaker 1: that makes it difficult to handle for our computers. So 769 00:40:43,560 --> 00:40:45,719 Speaker 1: some of the most powerful computers in the world right 770 00:40:45,760 --> 00:40:49,160 Speaker 1: now are spending their cycles trying to understand what's going 771 00:40:49,160 --> 00:40:51,480 Speaker 1: on inside of hurricane. It's a great example of a 772 00:40:51,560 --> 00:40:55,440 Speaker 1: chaos problem. You know, even if particle physicists solid string theory, 773 00:40:55,640 --> 00:40:58,640 Speaker 1: it doesn't mean we could predict where hurricanes will land. 774 00:40:58,640 --> 00:41:00,640 Speaker 1: It's sort of like a problem at aff for in scale. 775 00:41:01,040 --> 00:41:02,879 Speaker 1: So if we can figure this kind of stuff out, 776 00:41:02,920 --> 00:41:05,520 Speaker 1: if we spend our energy understanding hurricanes here on Earth, 777 00:41:05,719 --> 00:41:09,480 Speaker 1: it might very well help us understand whether on alien planets. 778 00:41:09,680 --> 00:41:12,120 Speaker 1: You mean, like if you get good at modeling how 779 00:41:12,320 --> 00:41:16,239 Speaker 1: gases and liquids and fluids basically work right, and what 780 00:41:16,280 --> 00:41:17,960 Speaker 1: they can do, and we can predict how they're going 781 00:41:18,000 --> 00:41:20,360 Speaker 1: to move together. That's right. We need a string theory 782 00:41:20,480 --> 00:41:25,160 Speaker 1: of hurricanes, or you can string together a theory of hurricanes. 783 00:41:25,280 --> 00:41:27,400 Speaker 1: As long as we don't get a string of hurricanes 784 00:41:27,520 --> 00:41:29,879 Speaker 1: that would be pretty dangerous. Just take that sharpie and 785 00:41:29,920 --> 00:41:32,359 Speaker 1: move them out of the way, all right, Well, that's 786 00:41:32,360 --> 00:41:36,080 Speaker 1: pretty cool space hurricanes. They do happen in other planets, 787 00:41:36,400 --> 00:41:39,959 Speaker 1: and also in the upper atmosphere, now, Daniel, I guess 788 00:41:40,000 --> 00:41:41,719 Speaker 1: the question we sort of asked at the beginning was, 789 00:41:42,320 --> 00:41:45,200 Speaker 1: you know, can this same phenomenon happen out there in 790 00:41:45,360 --> 00:41:50,120 Speaker 1: like outer space, like between stars, between galaxies. You know, 791 00:41:50,160 --> 00:41:52,120 Speaker 1: if you have like a cloud of gas and dust, 792 00:41:52,120 --> 00:41:54,240 Speaker 1: can it form a hurricane? Maybe out there in space. 793 00:41:54,400 --> 00:41:56,880 Speaker 1: I suppose it's possible. You know, you need some sort 794 00:41:56,960 --> 00:42:00,320 Speaker 1: of energy source that can create like a low pressure region. 795 00:42:00,520 --> 00:42:03,160 Speaker 1: But we do have big clouds of gas and dust 796 00:42:03,200 --> 00:42:06,400 Speaker 1: out there, and they're heated by supernova and all sorts 797 00:42:06,400 --> 00:42:09,320 Speaker 1: of other stuff, and so in the dynamics of those 798 00:42:09,360 --> 00:42:13,840 Speaker 1: turbulent clouds there potentially could be hurricanes forming, right, or cyclones, 799 00:42:13,840 --> 00:42:16,720 Speaker 1: space cyclones, whatever you want to call them. They're awesome 800 00:42:16,719 --> 00:42:20,560 Speaker 1: in their destructive power, all right. Well as always keep 801 00:42:20,560 --> 00:42:22,360 Speaker 1: an eye on the weather, because they can tell us 802 00:42:22,360 --> 00:42:29,719 Speaker 1: a lot about Earth, about physics, about gases and ions, 803 00:42:29,800 --> 00:42:32,520 Speaker 1: and just help us a little bit more understand how 804 00:42:32,760 --> 00:42:35,080 Speaker 1: things work in the universe. And I find its heartening 805 00:42:35,160 --> 00:42:36,799 Speaker 1: to know that the things we learned here are on 806 00:42:36,840 --> 00:42:39,760 Speaker 1: Earth can be translated to other places in the Solar 807 00:42:39,800 --> 00:42:43,120 Speaker 1: System and other places in the universe. That human science, 808 00:42:43,320 --> 00:42:46,200 Speaker 1: all of our knowledge might help us crack problems on 809 00:42:46,320 --> 00:42:48,760 Speaker 1: other planets. They will know whether to bring an umbrella 810 00:42:48,840 --> 00:42:51,640 Speaker 1: or not to set an or Neptune. Definitely bring an 811 00:42:51,719 --> 00:42:56,560 Speaker 1: umbrella and a space suit made out of diamonds. Hopefully 812 00:42:56,800 --> 00:42:58,880 Speaker 1: all right, Well, we hope you enjoyed that. Thanks for 813 00:42:58,920 --> 00:43:09,960 Speaker 1: joining us, See you next time. Thanks for listening, and 814 00:43:10,000 --> 00:43:12,680 Speaker 1: remember that Daniel and Jorge explained. The Universe is a 815 00:43:12,760 --> 00:43:16,200 Speaker 1: production of I Heart Radio. For more podcast for my 816 00:43:16,320 --> 00:43:19,880 Speaker 1: heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 817 00:43:20,000 --> 00:43:22,360 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.