STAR GAZER
THE INTERNATIONAL EDITION
Lorain County JVS NASA CORE / 15181 Route 58 South / 440/775-1400
/ FAX 440/775-1460 / nasaco@leeca.org / http://core.nasa.gov
Horkheimer: Greetings greetings, fellow star gazers. As most of
you know, right now we are experiencing one of the most wonderful
planetary gatherings of the 5 naked eye planets that you're ever
likely to see, all of which occurs just after it gets dark out.
Plus next week on May 14th Venus and the Moon will present one
of the most spectacular pairings you've ever seen. Let me show
you:
O.K., we've got our skies set up for last Sunday, May 5th just after sunset at dusk, facing west where you would have seen 3 planets forming a wonderful triangle ... 8,000 mile wide Venus, 75,000 mile wide Saturn and 4,000 mile wide Mars; 3 planets in a super huddle. And up to their left the king of the planets, 88,000 mile wide Jupiter and to top it off, below the super huddle, 3,000 mile wide Mercury which this week is at its very best viewing for the entire year. 5 planets in an absolutely super gathering which changes from night to night. Indeed, if you are watching this show early in the week you will be able to see how the triangle changes its shape as the planets move from night to night. Monday May 6th, Tuesday the 7th, Wednesday the 8th, Thursday the 9th and on Friday the 10th Venus and Mars are so close that only half a full moon would fit between them. Saturday they're still very close and on Sunday still close. And next week on Monday the 13th the drama intensifies as a slender sliver of a crescent moon sneaks up alongside Mercury. But the big night is Tuesday the 14th, a night which you absolutely have to mark on your calendar because on that night the crescent moon and Venus will be only 1 degree away from each other, a sight you will never forget ... a picture that has awed human beings even before the dawn of written history in the most ancient of cave drawings.
Venus the most brilliant of all the planets, side by side with our nearest neighbor the Moon. Plus the crescent moon will look like it has a grayish-black full moon cradled in it, a phenomenon called the " old moon in the new moon's arms" which is created by sunlight bouncing off our Earth, then back up to the dark portion of the moon and then back to Earth once again. And if you have any way of photographing this event please do so because it's simply the kind of celestial picture that will take your breath away. And while you're looking up Tuesday night remind yourself that on that night our 2,000 mile wide Moon will be only 239,000 miles away whereas 8,000 mile wide Venus will be 130 million miles beyond. But because of the exquisite never ending dance of Venus and the Moon, every once in a while the 2 of them line up in our line of sight to give us a picture of true celestial awe and wonder. On Wednesday the 15th the Moon will be between Venus and Jupiter and on the 16th, just past the king of the planets. Once again: Monday the 13th the Moon beside Mercury, then the big night, Tuesday the 14th the Moon beside Venus. Wednesday the 15th and Thursday the 16th. Wow! Lovely celestial sights on lovely May nights. I'm Jack Horkheimer, Keep Looking Up!
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Horkheimer: You still have time to see one
of the most wonderful gatherings of the 5 naked eye planets you'll
ever see. On the 13th the Moon will sneak up alongside Mercury,
but the big night is the 14th when brilliant Venus and the crescent
Moon complete with earthshine will be less than 1 degree away
from each other in a sight you will never forget. Indeed although
they'll look like they are huddled side by side, in reality our
2,000 mile wide Moon will be only 239,000 miles away whereas 8,000
mile wide Venus will be 130 million miles beyond. On the 15th
the Moon will be between Venus and Jupiter and on the 16th just
past the planet king. Don't miss this! I'm Jack Horkheimer, Keep
Looking Up!
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* This week's Sky At A Glance and
Planet Roundup from Sky & Telescope.
This week's Sky At A Glance displays current week only.
Starry Night Deluxe was used to produce this episode
of Star Gazer
Lorain County JVS NASA CORE / 15181 Route 58 South / 440/775-1400 / FAX 440/775-1460 / nasaco@leeca.org / http://core.nasa.gov
Horkheimer: Greetings greetings, fellow star gazers and do you know that when we look up at the stars at night we see the same star patterns which our ancestors saw thousands of years ago, and which our descendants will see thousands of years from now? Indeed, the star patterns we see every night appear to be never-changing and fixed in their positions relative to each other. But in reality they're not. In fact all of the stars we see are moving at incredible speeds throughout space in every conceivable direction but because they are all so incredibly far away it takes many generations to notice even small changes in their positions relative to one another, except for a couple of them.
And it was Edmund Halley for whom Halley's Comet is named who discovered this, when almost 300 years ago he discovered that the bright star Arcturus had changed its position from its location in ancient star charts which made him wonder if perhaps the stars were not as permanently fixed as everyone thought. Of course he was right, because we now know that all the stars are moving and that Arcturus changes its position among the stars faster than any bright star except Alpha Centauri. But that's just one of the extraordinary things about Arcturus. And before I tell you more, let me show you how to find it.
Go outside any clear evening in spring, look north for the Big Dipper, then use it as a guide, because to find Arcturus all you need to do is shoot an arrow through the handle of the Big Dipper and that arrow will land on Arcturus, the brightest star in the constellation Bootes, the herdsman. And once you've found it think of this: while all the other stars are moving in different directions at different speeds, Arcturus' direction and speed are special. You see Arcturus is moving almost 90 miles per second toward the constellation Virgo which causes it to change its position among the stars one full moon width every nine hundred years. And that's fast!
So Bootes is the one constellation that's changing
its shape faster than all the rest ... So fast I like to think
of Arcturus as the star of a million years because it was only
one-half a million years ago that Arcturus first became visible
to the eyes of man. And incredibly in just one-half million years
more it will disappear from naked eye view. You see, although
ancient records listed Arcturus as the 6th brightest star in the
heavens, it has moved so much closer it is now the 4th brightest.
In fact, we who walk this planet now are seeing Arcturus as bright
as any humans ever will because right now Arcturus is as close
as it will ever come to planet Earth. Indeed it will soon, cosmically
speaking, pass us by and speed away into the void forever. Arcturus,
one of the brightest stars of our time, invisible to our ancestors
only half a million years ago will be invisible once again half
a million years from now! I'm Jack Horkheimer, Keep Looking Up!
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Horkheimer : You know many people believe that
all the stars are fixed in position relative to one another but
they're not. Take Arcturus for instance which you can find by
shooting an imaginary arrow through the handle of the Big Dipper.
Arcturus is moving so fast, 90 miles per second, that it actually
changes its position by 1 full moon width every 900 years in the
direction of Virgo. Indeed, whereas ancient records listed Arcturus
as the 6th brightest star it has since moved so close to us it
is now the 4th brightest. But not for long it will soon move away
from us and in a mere half a million years will disappear from
sight all together. So catch it while you can. I'm Jack Horkheimer,
Keep Looking Up!
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Please give us your comments. (Click
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* This week's Sky At A Glance and
Planet Roundup from Sky & Telescope.Starry Night Deluxe was used to produce this episode
of Star GazerLorain County JVS NASA CORE / 15181 Route 58 South / 440/775-1400 / FAX 440/775-1460 / nasaco@leeca.org / http://core.nasa.gov
Horkheimer : Greetings greetings fellow star gazers and what an exciting month this has been and continues to be because as you regular viewers know, 5 naked eye planets were lined up in a row at the beginning of the month and have been constantly changing their places day by day. And while several spectacular groupings have already occurred, nevertheless a super meeting of the 2 brightest is yet to happen. And the twin stars of Gemini will oversee it all. Let me show you:
O.K., we've got our skies set up for a week and a half ago, Tuesday May 14th just after sunset, facing west where you would have seen an incredible crescent moon parked right alongside the brightest planet, Venus. Up to their right the second brightest planet, Jupiter; just below them tiny Mars and below it the ringed planet Saturn and below it Mercury. Then as night after night passed the Moon moved on and Mercury and Saturn slowly descended and eventually disappeared below the horizon, leaving however the 2 most brilliant planets of them all hovering under the twin stars of Gemini, Castor and Pollux.
And we can watch as these 2 brightest planets slowly approach each other for a super side by side meeting on June 1st. Now a full moon is 1/2 a degree wide and on Saturday the 25th Venus will be only 9 degrees away from Jupiter which means we could line up 18 full moons side by side between Venus and Jupiter. On Sunday the 26th they are 8 degrees or 16 full moons apart. On Monday the 27th, 7 degrees or 14 full moons apart. On Tuesday the 28th 6 degrees or 12 full moons. On Wednesday 5 degrees or 10 full moons; on Thursday 4 degrees or 8 full moons apart; 3 degrees or 6 full moons apart on Friday the 31st and on June 1st they're a mere 2 degrees or 4 full moons apart lined up side by side just below the side by side Gemini twins. On June 2nd , less than 2 degrees apart but Venus now appears a bit higher above the horizon than Jupiter. Then 1 day later on monday the 3rd Venus is even higher and the 2 planets are at their absolute closest and little more than 3 full moons would fit between them. Don't miss this!
But if you do, on Tuesday the 4th Venus will
be directly above Jupiter yet another truly spectacular pairing,
and only 4 full moon widths away. Once again: the 25th, 26th,
27th, 28th, 29th, 30th, 31st, June 1st, June 2nd, June 3rd, and
June 4th. And while you're looking up you may want to remind yourself
that 8,000 mile wide Venus is brighter than 88,000 mile wide Jupiter
only because it's so much closer, a mere 120 million miles away
at the beginning of June while Jupiter is 560 million miles away.
In fact, if Jupiter was as close as Venus it would be dazzling
in broad daylight. Indeed, in reality Venus is so small 11 Venuses
could be lined up across Jupiter's middle. Wow! I'm Jack Horkheimer,
Keep Looking Up!
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Horkheimer : Since the beginning of this month
the 5 naked eye planets have been changing their positions from
night to night and next week a super meeting of the 2 brightest
planets will happen while the twin stars of Gemini look on. Every
night Jupiter and Venus have been coming closer to each other,
frequently moving 2 full moon widths closer every single night.
On the 30th they will be only 4 degrees apart, on the 31st, 3
degrees and on June 1st they'll be only 2 degrees apart and lined
up side by side. They'll be even closer on June 2nd and ta da!
closest on June 3rd little more than 1 1/2 degrees apart, so close
it'll knock your socks off. I'm Jack Horkheimer, Keep Looking
Up!
How did you like this episode?
Please give us your comments. (Click
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* This week's Sky At A Glance and
Planet Roundup from Sky & Telescope.Starry Night Deluxe was used to produce this episode
of Star GazerLorain County JVS NASA CORE / 15181 Route 58 South / 440/775-1400 / FAX 440/775-1460 / nasaco@leeca.org / http://core.nasa.gov
Horkheimer : Greetings greetings fellow star gazers and although the great gathering of the 5 naked eye planets has come to an end, nevertheless during the next 2 weeks the 2 brightest planets will dance beside each other while the 2 brightest stars of Gemini look on. And this week I want to give you a much closer look at these 4 contenders for your attention in the night sky.
O.K., we've got our skies set up for Monday May 27, just after dark facing west where you will see the 2 brightest planets, Venus and Jupiter and directly above them the 2 brightest stars of Gemini, Pollux and Castor and if you watch from night to night you will see Venus and Jupiter approach each other, meet and then change positions. Tuesday the 28th, Wednesday the 29th, Thursday the 30th, Friday the 31st, and Saturday June 1st Venus and Jupiter will be side by side. Sunday June 2nd Venus passes Jupiter, on Monday the third it is closest to Jupiter and Tuesday the 4th it is directly above it. In fact, on the 4th Jupiter, Venus and Pollux are lined up in a row and although Venus and Jupiter seem to be the winners as contenders for our attention because they are so brilliant, I think that after I explain what Pollux and Castor are all about you will declare them the real winners on a cosmic scale.
You see while Venus is the brightest and the
apparent winner, it is actually the smallest of the 4, a mere
8,000 mile wide planet, 120 million miles away. The 2nd brightest,
Jupiter, is dimmer only because of its distance, 560 million miles
beyond and really wins out against Venus if size counts because
88,000 mile wide Jupiter is so huge 11 Venuses could be lined
up across its middle which leaves Pollux and Castor. And here
again we are fooled by brightness because even though Pollux is
brighter than Castor, when we're finished you'll see that Castor
takes the prize. Pollux is actually 11 times the diameter of our
own sun and so huge 108 Jupiters could fir inside it. It is only
dimmer than Jupiter because it is 240 trillion miles away which
is 40 light years distant. And even though it is bigger and brighter
than its twin brother Castor, Castor takes the celestial whopper
prize because Castor isn't just 1 star but is in reality 6 stars,
all spinning in an intricate cosmic waltz like 3 stellar couples.
Pair A is twice the diameter of our sun, pair B 1 1/2 times our
sun's diameter and pair C, 3/4 our sun's size. And all 6 of these
stars that make up Castor are a whopping 300 trillion miles away
that's 50 light years distant. So who do you think wins the cosmic
prize? Is it the brightest, Venus? 2nd brightest, Jupiter? 3rd
brightest Pollux? Or 4th brightest Castor? It's a no brainer for
me. Castor tops them all! I'm Jack Horkheimer, Keep Looking Up!
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Horkheimer : Right now the 2 brightest planets
are hovering underneath the 2 brightest stars of Gemini, Pollux
and Castor. On June 4th Venus will be directly above Jupiter on
a direct line with Pollux. And although Venus is the brightest,
it's the smallest of the 4. The others are less bright only because
they're so much farther away. 88,000 mile wide Jupiter is 560
million miles away; Pollux, 11 times our Sun's diameter, is 240
trillion miles away and the celestial whopper, Castor is in reality
6 stars all spinning in an intricate waltz like 3 stellar couples
and a whopping 300 trillion miles away. So who gets the prize?
Brightest Venus or dimmest Castor? It's a no brainer. I'm Jack
Horkheimer, Keep Looking Up!
How did you like this episode?
Please give us your comments. (Click
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* This week's Sky At A Glance and
Planet Roundup from Sky & Telescope.
This week's Sky At A Glance displays current week only
Starry Night Deluxe was used to produce this episode
of Star Gazer
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