VOA – CONNECT
EPISODE # 289
AIR DATE: 07 28 2023
TRANSCRIPT

OPEN
((VO/NAT/SOT))
((Open Animation))


BLOCK A


((PKG)) WASHING AWAY / PART 2:
Building a future for Newtok
((TRT: 22:13))
((Topic Banner: Washing Away – Part 2))
((Producer/Camera/Editor: Gabrielle Weiss))
((LOcation: Newtok, Alaska; Mertarvik, Alaska))
((Main characters: 1 female; 2 male))
((Sub characters: 1 female; 2 male))
((Blurb:
One of the largest relocation projects in the US is happening in Alaska, which is warming at more than two times the global average. After a devastating typhoon, the village of Newtok desperately needs to move the rest of its residents to the new village of Mertarvik, but the pace of new construction is slower than the erosion.))
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Text on screen))
Alaska is at the forefront of climate change.
It is warming at two to three times the rate of the global average. The Alaska Native Village of Newtok is disappearing due to melting permafrost, erosion and ever-stronger storms.
Last fall, a dangerous storm surge created by Typhoon Murbok eroded nearly 40 feet [12 meters] of land in one night.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Stanley Tom
Manager, Tom’s store))
People of Newtok, we need to be prepared before the strong winds arrive. The typhoon could arrive unexpectedly.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Kiely Paniyak
Newtok Resident))
I’m scared of this. And we should have leaved. It's really sad. And me and my family needs to be safe.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Marnell Tubig
Newtok Resident))
They said about four feet [1.2 m] of water. Just hope for the best and prepare for the worst.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Lucinta ‘Pauki’ Carl
Mother, Teacher, Council Member))
This usually is land, low grass like this. Now it's covered with water. And high tide is still coming.
((Clarissa Ivon
Daughter))
More high tide coming up.
((Lucinta ‘Pauki’ Carl
Mother, Teacher, Council Member))
We're going to spend the night at the school.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Elsie
Newtok Resident))
I didn’t think any kind of typhoon would come this way, but it happened. And for our safety and for kids, we need to move to a higher ground. There’s no more time for us to stay in Newtok.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Joseph John Jr.
Newtok Resident))
We've had water come up before, but this is the worst one ever.
((Andy Patrick Sr.
Newtok Resident))
Looks like Niugtaq [Newtok] is trying to warn us, you know. Better get together and work together and move across there. Right now, Niugtaq [Newtok] is not stable. You see? Maybe next storm, big storm, it might wipe the whole village.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Text on screen))
The relocation of Newtok to higher and safer ground has been in the works for decades and is one of the largest projects of its kind in the U.S.
As new houses are built, families move to Mertarvik. So far, less than half of the Newtok residents have been able to move.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Title/Credits on screen:
Washing Away - Part 2
Producer/Camera/Editor: Gabrielle Weiss))
((Locator:
Village of Newtok))
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Sabastain Usugan
Newtok Village Council Member))
This, here, building was our community center, where they’d play bingo or Eskimo dance, where we’d invite the other neighboring village, and now it's just rotting away. I mean, it's not usable anymore because you can actually take a 12 foot, two by four and drive it into the ground, and you'll take another 12 foot, two by four and push that. That's like 24 feet [7.32 meters] and you won't even touch the bottom. Yeah, rotting away, like the erosion, like the land.
((NATS))
((Sabastain Usugan
Newtok Village Council Member))
My dad built this [in the] late seventies, early eighties. The whole house is sinking down. Our bedroom was here. A wall here, bedroom there, and my bedroom. Now it's sinking. Now there’s literally water in the house. I moved out of this house like, a year and a half ago. I moved into a house that was empty. Who knows? I might get a house in Mertarvik. Maybe not or I don't know. It’s up to the council members to decide who gets a house. The reason why I'm not looking forward to a new house is because where you grew up, it's hard to let go. I'll see how rotted it is.
((NATS))
((Sabastain Usugan
Newtok Village Council Member))
You can actually see how much it sank. It's all around, just sitting there in a puddle. I tried to prevent water from getting too high, but it was a battle that I could never win. And when they moved me to this house right here, it was much better, safer house. And since they moved me there, my chances of getting a house over there [in Mertarvik] went back because I’m living in a better house than my old house.
((NATS))
((Sabastain Usugan
Newtok Village Council Member))
My son.
Well, I got to get going. I’m in a rush. I got to beat the tide.
((NATS/MUSIC))


TEASE
((VO/NAT))
((Banner))
More to come after the break….

BREAK ONE

USAGM SHARE
((LogOn Voice Diagnosis Tech (TV/R)
HEADLINE: LogOn: Could Your Voice Help Diagnose Your Next Illness?
TEASER: Technology analyzing thousands of voices may play a role in the future of medicine
BYLINE: Julie Taboh
DATELINE: Washington
PRODUCER: Julie Taboh, Adam Greenbaum
SCRIPT EDITORS: Michelle Quinn, Amy R
TRT: 1:54 & 2:00
[[Voice experts have long known that a person's voice can provide important information about their emotional, physical and mental health. Now a U.S. government-funded project is collecting and analyzing thousands of voices and using artificial intelligence to diagnose illnesses. VOA’s Julie Taboh has more.]]
((Courtesy: Allison Long/USF Health))
((NATS – patient’s voice being tested))
((NARRATOR))
Dr. Yael Bensoussan examines the vocal cords of a patient.
At the University of South Florida Health Voice Center, she treats patients with a range of voice disorders, such as upper airway, voice and swallowing disorders.
And lately, she’s been helping to lead a new project to build a database of 30,000 human voice recordings and train computers to detect diseases through changes in the human voice.
((Radio track: She spoke with VOA via Skype.))
((Dr. Yael Bensoussan, Voice Specialist)) ((SKYPE))
Not only to build that data, but also to develop the guidelines on how to share that data, how to collect that data, and also how to use that data for future AI [artificial intelligence] research. ((Courtesy: Weill Cornell Medicine))
((NARRATOR))
She works with a team of 45 investigators across 12 different universities in North America as well as a startup in Europe. ((NATS - Parkinson’s voice demo, Text on graphic: "Parkinson's disease"))
They study voice samples to help them detect illnesses like Parkinson’s disease…
((NATS - Glottic cancer voice demo, Text on graphic: "Glottic cancer"))
((NARRATOR))
cancer…
((NATS - Vocal fold paralysis demo, Text on graphic: "Vocal Fold Paralysis"))
((NARRATOR))
And voice disorders such as vocal fold paralysis…
The team also studies mood disorders such as depression and anxiety.
((Dr. Yael Bensoussan, Voice Specialist)) ((SKYPE))
So when somebody is depressed, sad, has anxiety, of course their speech changes.
((NARRATOR))
((Courtesy: NIH))
The study is one of four data-generation projects funded by the National Institutes of Health's Bridge to Artificial Intelligence program, designed to use AI to tackle complex biomedical challenges.
((Dr. Yael Bensoussan, Voice Specialist)) ((SKYPE))
They realized that there was such a big gap between the technology that we had available, and the clinical knowledge, and what we use in clinical care in our hospitals.
((NARRATOR))
And doing it while maintaining participants’ privacy.
[[Radio track: Grace Peng is one of the coordinators of the National Institutes of Health’s Bridge2AI program. She spoke with VOA via Zoom.]]
((Grace Peng, National Institutes of Health)) ((Zoom))
We want to think about the ethics associated with collecting people's voices. And how do we keep it private? ((NARRATOR))
((Courtesy: NIH))
The study will start enrolling participants in the coming year. ((Julie Taboh, VOA News, Washington))
BUMP IN ((ANIM))

BLOCK B


((PKG)) WASHING AWAY / PART 2:
Building a future for Newtok….contd.
((MUSIC/NATS))

((Sabastain Usugan
Newtok Village Council Member))
This area, this is where I used to play with a few other friends of mine. That area, somewhere out there. We used to call it ‘the king of the hills’. Yeah, we had a lot of good memories. I have good memories. Now it's just water. It's sad to see the land that you once knew is all gone. The sad part is I can't even show him where the areas that I went out hunting and best hunting spots. Good news is we’ve got stable ground in Mertarvik. Higher ground. It won't erode away.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Sabastain Usugan
Newtok Village Council Member))
I live in Newtok, but I come to Mertarvik to work on the houses,
((Locator:
New Village of Mertarvik))
for community of Newtok, so they can relocate to Mertarvik.
I’m one of the lead techs that’s helping build houses. And I have my son here working with me, and it's his first time working here in Mertarvik.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Sabastain Usugan
Newtok Village Council Member))
Got to keep working. Son, other side.
((Jon Usugan
Sabastain’s Son, Newtok Resident))
Dad.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Sabastain Usugan
Newtok Village Council Member))
Guess he didn't aim straight enough. He missed. He didn't aim straight and shoot true.
((Jon Usugan
Sabastain’s Son, Newtok Resident))
Well, everybody misses, you know. Well, not quite some of them.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Sabastain Usugan
Newtok Village Council Member))
I'm doing two things at once. Working and hunting.
((Patrick LeMay

Newtok Relocation Project Manager))

No, you're not hunting. You're getting your food for the winter.
((Sabastain Usugan
Newtok Village Council Member))
Yeah.
((Patrick LeMay
Newtok Relocation Project Manager))
I get it, you know. So it's a matter of, you know, instead of me losing the crew for a day so they can go get their food for the winter, they're getting their food while they're working and we're getting people moved. It can't get any better than that.
((Sabastain Usugan
Newtok Village Council Member, Newtok Resident))
As long as we get work done, he's happy, we're happy, everything works out. We may catch, we may miss, it’s part of life. So, we get it done.
((NATS))
((Patrick LeMay
Newtok Relocation Project Manager))
Yeah, they’re following the wind. Alright, Sabastain.
((Sabastain Usugan
Newtok Village Council Member, Newtok resident))
Now I've got to run after it. Yup. I hit it on the wing. That's why I like my boss.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Patrick LeMay

Newtok Relocation Project Manager))
So what we're doing here is, we're laying a foundation for the next house. And I like to think of it is, we're laying the foundation for a family to grow and flourish, away from that devastating area they've lived in in the past.
Just very gently.
We have four houses started. Floor joists are getting reading to go in a fifth. We’re setting foundations today on a Saturday for the remaining three houses. We’re going to try to get as many of these closed in before the snow drives us home.
With the wheels like that.
((NATS))
((Patrick LeMay

Newtok Relocation Project Manager))
If we stop at a certain point, we don't have windows in a house or a roof on a house, these houses will pack with snow and all the lumber would be ruined. We're making an end run for getting all eight houses closed in. Closed in means roof on, windows on, and siding on, to protect what we've done. And if I thought the weather was going to change, and we weren’t going to be able to get that goal, it would be better to leave everything off the ground, wrapped up nice and tight, so water can’t get to it. So, we've decided this week to make a run for it. And I hope it doesn't bite us in the butt.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Darielle Robinson
Yugtun Elementary Teacher))
Focus, focus. We don’t have much time.
((Student))
Does this look like mouse food?
((Darielle Robinson
Yugtun Elementary Teacher))
Yes. We’ll cut that up into smaller pieces. That’s excellent.
So, the kids in their groups are finding dirt and grass and berries and kind of stuff that they would see out here in Mertarvik. We’re going to go inside and we’re going to make terrariums. On Fridays, we have outdoor school.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Harry “Panai” Nevak
Yugtun Elementary Teacher))
Tegaa, what did you work on?
They just grow up speaking English and some of them are transacting from Yup’ik to English. We want them to speak, keep speaking in their native language.
((NATS))
((Student))
Kaviaq in Yugtun. Fox in English.
((Darielle Robinson
Yugtun Elementary Teacher))
So there are about 45 kids in the whole school.
((Harry “Panai” Nevak
Yugtun Elementary Teacher))
Yeah.
((Darielle Robinson
Yugtun Elementary Teacher))
So the number is going up, which we’re excited about. That means more kids are moving over from Newtok.
((Harry “Panai” Nevak
Yugtun Elementary Teacher))
Finally.

((Darielle Robinson
Yugtun Elementary Teacher))
Finally.

((Harry “Panai” Nevak
Yugtun Elementary Teacher))
We need Newtok here asap, as soon as possible, because the erosion is not going to wait for people to move here. It’s just going to keep eroding away. So, by the end of fall season, probably by freeze-up, it’ll, the river line will probably be like maybe 50 to maybe 20 feet [15.6 meters] away from the school. I’m estimating. I’m not sure. Only He knows how far it will be. Not me. I can only estimate.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Laverna Andy
Mertarvik Resident))
I live with my husband, my three kids, and my nephew. I didn't want to move here without a job at Mertarvik. So I applied for the laborer job, so I can work and provide for my family. It’s a new experience for me, but building from ground zero, nothing to a home, is remarkable.
((NATS))
((Laverna Andy
Mertarvik Resident))
We don’t have bed frames at the moment. We left our bed frame at Newtok because it was getting too old. I like my kitchen because it has cabinets and sink, which I didn't have in Newtok. I don't know. This is like an upgrade for me. It's way better than our home in Newtok. Everybody is under one roof. I got picked to get a new home because the condition of my home at Newtok was really bad. There was a lot of holes. The foundation of it was rotting. During the winter, our house would shift. It'd be nice if it was a three bedroom home, but I'm still blessed to have a better home.

((NATS))
((Laverna Andy
Mertarvik Resident))
The bathroom. Every other two days, we go and dump the honey bucket way up to the landfill. It's not a toilet. It's actually a five gallon bucket. This house doesn't have any plumbing yet. Hopefully, that will come in soon when everybody from Newtok moves here. That's going to take quite a lot of time because getting funding from the agencies is time. The erosion doesn't have a time. It just keeps eroding.
((NATS))

TEASE
((VO/NAT))
((Banner))
More to come after the break….

BREAK TWO

USAGM
((LogOn Underwater Drones (TV, R)
HEADLINE: LogOn: Underwater Drones Take Off Like Those in the Air
TEASER: The discovery of the Endurance shipwreck in Antarctic waters this year has encouraged hobbyists to take up underwater drones
BYLINE: Genia Dulot
VIDEOGRAPHER: Genia Dulot
PRODUCER: Genia Dulot
SCRIPT EDITORS: Michelle Quinn
TRT: 2:01
[[As they overcome the challenges of operating in water, underwater drones are becoming more available for hobbyists, researchers and public agencies. Genia Dulot reports.)) ((NARRATION))
Jesuit Robotics, a high school robotics team from Sacramento, California, has been designing remotely operated vehicles, or ROVs, for more than a decade.
[[For Radio: Charlie Diaz, a member of the Jesuit Robotics team]]
((Charlie Diaz, Jesuit Robotics))
We developed the grippers ourselves, the cameras, our modularly adjustable buoyancy systems.
((BROLL: Shots of Jesuit Robotics team))
((NARRATION))
Jesuit Robotics recently exhibited its underwater drone at a competition in Long Beach, California. Called the Manatee, this underwater drone can map shipwrecks or work on environmental projects.
((Charlie Diaz, Jesuit Robotics))
We have our custom AI detection software. … Our bottom gripper helps us to restore seagrass beds.
((NARRATION))
((Courtesy: FALKLANDS MARITIME HERITAGE TRUST, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC / AFP))
Entrancing many, the recent discovery by ROV of the Endurance, which sank in Antarctic waters in 1915. That effort cost an estimated $10 million.
ROVs have been slow to take off among hobbyists, however. Several startup companies are making design changes and adding technology to make drones work better underwater and reduce costs.
Blue Robotics, a Los Angeles firm, works on waterproofing underwater drone parts such as the thruster, which propels the ROV in the right direction, and has added various sensors measuring temperature, pressure and depth.
[[For Radio: Rustom Jehangir is founder and CEO of Blue Robotics]]
((Rustom Jehangir, CEO Blue Robotics))
Instead of trying to protect the motor from the water, why don’t we make a waterproof motor? That’s really the innovation here.
((Courtesy: Blue Robotics))
((NARRATION))
These new underwater drones cannot go to the deep sea, but they are being used in conditions unsafe for human divers, and by hobbyists, says Fritz Stahr, an ocean technology expert.
[[For Radio: Fritz Stahr, a judge at the competition, and chief technology officer at Open Ocean Robotics, a marine technology firm.]]
((Fritz Stahr, Ocean Tech Expert))
The ability for everybody or more people to be that explorer, to be that person who understands what’s going on in their local environment, is really important.
((NARRATION))
Unlike aerial drones, technology has yet to solve the problem of underwater communications. For now, these drones are controlled by a tether.
((Genia Dulot for VOA News, Los Angeles))
BUMP IN ((ANIM))

BLOCK C


((PKG)) WASHING AWAY / PART 2: Building a future for Newtok Contd.
((NATS))
((Sabastain Usugan
Newtok Village Council Member))
Hi, Patrick.
((Patrick LeMay
Newtok Relocation Project Manager))
Come on in. You can actually see where they had the shoreline.
((Sabastain Usugan
Newtok Village Council Member))
It used to be a lot closer to here. It wasn’t this far out here.
((Patrick LeMay
Newtok Relocation Project Manager))
Right.
The river’s taking the shore over here and depositing it over here. And I’ve watched the barges that have come in to deliver our materials. They hug that shoreline along Newtok and around, and that tells you that’s the deepest channel, and that’s where the waves are going to grow, and when the waves grow, coming in and hitting Newtok, that’s when the erosion happens.
((Sabastain Usugan
Newtok Village Council Member))
Yeah, especially from the south winds.
((Patrick LeMay
Newtok Relocation Project Manager))
Yes, when the winds come from the south. You know, 20 years ago, when this whole relocation started, you can tell that it was done on a typewriter versus now we have it all on electronic, and we can have color photos in our documents to show what we’re actually doing, and really good maps.
I’ve been tracking the erosion since 2014. And here's the village of Newtok with their runway over here. The school is right here, and this is…that green line is the 2019 erosion. And if we want to see where the shoreline was in 1954, it was way out here. I mean, you can see the yellow line where all the houses used to be. And we can tell that in 1954, the village of Newtok was a mile [1.6 km] away from the shoreline.
((Sabastain Usugan
Newtok Village Council Member))
Just looking at that yellow line, it brings back a lot of memories.
((Patrick LeMay
Newtok Relocation Project Manager))
Well, it doesn’t put pressure on me because we’re waiting on funding. And I can’t, I can’t build anything, or I can’t have our crew build anything without money. I feel the pain. I'm sad by it. The biggest reality is when power goes out in the village, and the community floods, everybody goes into the school. Well, if a corner of the school gets impacted this year, and makes it so it's not occupiable, this community has no safe shelter in storms. Average land loss a year is about 73 feet [22 meters]. The greatest land loss in any given year has been 135 feet [41 meters]. So, we could lose the school this year.
((NATS))
((Patrick LeMay
Newtok Relocation Project Manager))
19 years old, he’s my best equipment operator.
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Rammen Carl
Mertarvik Resident))
Building more homes right now. Everybody's going to move here. Everybody that are living over there, that are still living in Newtok, are going to get homes. That’s the good news. So hopefully, by next year, most of them will be on this side, on Mertarvik side. No more Newtok.
((Jon Usugan
Newtok Resident))
Our ancestry, before they built Newtok, they said the erosion would get over there too. Like sure enough, 21, 22 years later, it got close.
((Rammen Carl
Mertarvik Resident))
It's getting dangerous over there.
((Jon Usugan
Newtok Resident))
Yup.
((Rammen Carl
Mertarvik Resident))
School is really heavy, you know. Who knows it can break off in one piece and all be gone.
((Jon Usugan
Newtok Resident))
Yup. It’s good news though. We’re moving.
((NATS))
((Joe Babbin
Electrician))
Today, it's blowing too hard to get up on a roof and put plywood on. A weather delay isn't ideal, but, you know, you just got to deal with it because you got to seal up the houses for winter or they're just not going to last. You know, when you got a ten foot [3 meter] snow load in the winter, it'll just eat everything. I like seeing the impact of significantly improving people's livelihoods. It's very challenging after the barge gets here and you have to fit everything to build a house on a small plane. But it comes with its challenges. But it's definitely really rewarding being at the front of climate change on a big relocation project. That’s, it’s really good.
((NATS))
((Patrick LeMay
Newtok Relocation Project Manager))
These houses are built much different than Newtok. This house is coming together fast.
((Laverna Andy
Mertarvik Resident))
Three weeks and four days.
((Patrick LeMay
Newtok Relocation Project Manager))
This year, we're building all four bedrooms. So, they'll be the larger families moving. Last year, we had seven, two-bedroom homes available. So they were the smaller families. The rule, I think, is four people and under… You have five.
((Laverna Andy
Mertarvik Resident))
They chose me because of the condition of my home.
((Patrick LeMay
Newtok Relocation Project Manager))
Because of the condition of your home.
You know, there's a lot of needs beyond housing. But, right now, the primary need is housing. Yes, they need water, sewer. Yes, they need broadband. They need a new clinic, and a tribal office. But, all that stuff is great and it costs money. But if the money can be used first for housing and get everybody over here, then we can focus on all that other stuff. Everybody wants a flush toilet and running water in their house, but the people that are left behind in Newtok, they don't care about that stuff. They just want to move.
((Laverna Andy
Mertarvik Resident))
Yup.
((NATS))
((Laverna Andy
Mertarvik Resident))
It's my first time building a home. It is fun. I feel good about helping build Mertarvik. My parents are still in Newtok, and hopefully, by the end of this month or middle of next month, this house, their house will be complete.
I miss it over there. I miss my office job. In Newtok, I was an accountant. When the store moves, I will still be an accountant. There's none here, no store in Mertarvik.
We've had four families move this year, including me. They may think they're left behind. They're not. It is a family separation, but eventually everybody will move here. It's just trying to find funding to build new homes for them.
It is hard. Newtok is over there. Nine miles [14 km] out. Home will always be home.
((Text on screen))
By the end of the construction year, 45 homes will have been built in Mertarvik.
Dozens more are needed for the entire community to move and to relieve overcrowding.
((NATS/MUSIC))

((PKG)) NATURE KICKER: GREAT FALLS, VIRGINIA
((TRT: 02:00))
((Topic Banner:
Nature: Great Falls Park,
McLean, Virginia))
((Camera/Editor: Phil Alexiou))
((Text on screen:
Enjoy the beauty of nature in Northern Virginia))

CLOSING BUMPER ((ANIM))
voanews.com/connect


BREAK THREE
USAGM SHARE

((LogOn: Space Camera (TV, R)

HEADLINE: LogOn: Giant Camera Focuses on the Invisible

TEASER: Camera will document the universe for 10 years, gathering data for dark energy and dark matter research

BYLINE: Matt Dibble

VIDEOGRAPHER: Matt Dibble

PRODUCER: Matt Dibble

SCRIPT EDITORS: Michelle Quinn, Reifenrath

TRT: 1:55

[[In California, a camera the size of a car is being prepared for its mission: documenting unseen phenomena in the universe. Matt Dibble has the story.]]

((Courtesy: SLAC))

((NARRATOR))

At the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in Menlo Park, California

((Courtesy: SLAC))

((NARRATOR))

engineers are building the world’s largest digital camera. The LSST camera, as it’s called,

((Courtesy: Rubin Observatory/NSF/AURA))

((NARRATOR))

will be installed at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in southern Chile to record images of the night sky over a ten-year period.

((Courtesy: Rubin Observatory/NSF/AURA))

((NARRATOR))

By observing a wide swath of the universe over time, researchers expect to gain insight into some of science’s biggest questions.

[[For Radio: PhD student Theo Schutt is running final tests on the camera.]]

((Theo Schutt, Stanford University Ph.D Student))

How old is the universe, how fast is it expanding, why is it expanding?
So we're really like going for the 95% of the universe that we basically don't understand at all.

((Courtesy: NASA))

((NARRATOR))

Scientists theorize that 95% of the universe is made up of dark energy and dark matter, which can’t be seen directly.

((Courtesy: SLAC))

((NARRATOR))

However, the effect that dark energy has on its surroundings can potentially be detected if observed over time.

[[For Radio: ...says astrophysicist Aaron Roodman, who leads the camera project.]]

((Aaron Roodman, Rubin Observatory Deputy Director))
We can study it by looking at galaxies, ((Courtesy: NASA))

studying how the light from distant galaxies has been bent by all the matter between us and the distant galaxy.

((Courtesy: Rubin Observatory/NSF/AURA/ Todd Mason Productions))

((NARRATOR))

The camera will record on most nights, essentially compiling a time-lapse movie.

((NARRATOR))

Each image will be made up of about 3 billion pixels, ((Courtesy: Rubin Observatory/NSF/AURA)) about 300 times the size of a smartphone image. ((end courtesy))

((NARRATOR)) ((Mandatory CG: SLAC))

Funded by the US government, the project will share images ((Courtesy: Rubin Observatory/NSF/AURA))
with international researchers, directing attention to short-lived phenomena as they happen.

((Aaron Roodman, Rubin Observatory Deputy Director))
Within two minutes, we will compare ((Courtesy: NASA))

the objects we see in it — the stars, galaxies, asteroids ((end courtesy)) — with how they previously appeared in prior images. And we will flag any differences.

((NARRATOR))

Researchers are eagerly expecting the unexpected.

((Matt Dibble for VOA News, Menlo Park, California))

BUMP IN ((ANIM))

SHOW ENDS