SpaceTime Series 28 Episode 29
The Astronomy, Space and Science News Podcast
Exploring Callisto's Ocean Potential, Laser Fossil Detection on Mars, and ISS Cleanliness Concerns
In this episode of SpaceTime, we dive into exciting new research suggesting that Jupiter's moon Callisto may harbor a subsurface ocean, potentially making it another ocean world in our solar system. This revelation builds on data from NASA's Galileo spacecraft, which hinted at the presence of a salty liquid water ocean beneath Callisto's icy crust. Advanced modeling techniques have strengthened these claims, setting the stage for further exploration by NASA's Europa Clipper and ESA's Juice missions.
Lasers on Mars: Searching for Ancient Life
We also discuss innovative research that proposes using lasers to identify ancient microbial fossils on Mars. Scientists have successfully detected microbial fossils in gypsum on Earth, raising hopes that similar techniques could uncover evidence of past life on the Red Planet. The findings suggest that gypsum deposits on Mars could conceal traces of ancient life, preserved in mineral formations that formed when water evaporated billions of years ago.
Health Implications of Sterility on the ISS
Additionally, we explore a new study indicating that the overly sterile environment of the International Space Station may be negatively impacting astronaut health. The research suggests that introducing a diverse range of microbes could potentially alleviate immune dysfunction and other health issues experienced by crew members during long missions in space.
00:00 Space Time Series 28 Episode 29 for broadcast on 7 March 2025
00:49 New findings on Callisto's potential subsurface ocean
06:30 Implications for future missions to Jupiter's moons
12:15 Using lasers to detect ancient life on Mars
18:00 Analysis of gypsum deposits and their significance
22:45 Concerns regarding ISS cleanliness and astronaut health
27:00 Overview of March's night sky and celestial events
30:15 Celebrating PI Day and its significance in astronomy
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✍️ Episode References
NASA
https://www.nasa.gov (https://www.nasa.gov/)
AGU Advances
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/23335784 (https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/23335784)
Cell
https://www.cell.com/ (https://www.cell.com/)
Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/astronomy-and-space-sciences (https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/astronomy-and-space-sciences)
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/spacetime-space-astronomy--2458531/support (https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/spacetime-space-astronomy--2458531/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss) .
Episode link: https://play.headliner.app/episode/25944354?utm_source=youtube
00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 this is spacetime series 28 episode 29
00:00:03 --> 00:00:06 for broadcast on the 7th of March
00:00:06 --> 00:00:09 2025 coming up on space time could
00:00:09 --> 00:00:11 Jupiter's moon Kalisto be another Ocean
00:00:11 --> 00:00:14 World using lasers to try and identify
00:00:14 --> 00:00:17 ancient Life on Mars and claims the
00:00:17 --> 00:00:18 International Space Station's
00:00:18 --> 00:00:21 cleanliness might be making its crew
00:00:21 --> 00:00:25 sick all that and more coming up on
00:00:25 --> 00:00:28 SpaceTime welcome to SpaceTime with
00:00:28 --> 00:00:38 steuart Gary
00:00:38 --> 00:00:45 [Music]
00:00:45 --> 00:00:47 as astronomers explore more and more of
00:00:47 --> 00:00:49 the arter solar system they're finding
00:00:49 --> 00:00:50 that ocean worlds appear to be quite
00:00:51 --> 00:00:53 common and now there's another that they
00:00:53 --> 00:00:55 can add to that growing list the Jovian
00:00:55 --> 00:00:58 Moon Kalisto if confirmed Kalisto will
00:00:58 --> 00:01:00 join the likes of gany me Europa
00:01:00 --> 00:01:03 Enceladus Titan Triton Series and Pluto
00:01:03 --> 00:01:05 to name just a few which are all thought
00:01:05 --> 00:01:07 to have liquid water oceans beneath
00:01:07 --> 00:01:10 their icy crusts Kalisto is Jupiter's
00:01:10 --> 00:01:12 second biggest Galilean Moon and it's
00:01:12 --> 00:01:14 more pip Mark with crators than just
00:01:14 --> 00:01:16 about any other object in our solar
00:01:16 --> 00:01:19 system NASA's Galileo spacecraft back in
00:01:19 --> 00:01:21 the 1990s captured magnetic measurements
00:01:21 --> 00:01:23 of Kalisto suggesting its ey shell
00:01:23 --> 00:01:26 surface may be covering a salty liquid
00:01:26 --> 00:01:28 water ocean but the evidence has
00:01:28 --> 00:01:29 actually remained fairly inconclusive
00:01:29 --> 00:01:32 inclusive that's because Kalisto has an
00:01:32 --> 00:01:35 intense ionosphere now a new study
00:01:35 --> 00:01:37 reported in the journal agu advances has
00:01:37 --> 00:01:39 provided a more in-depth review of the
00:01:39 --> 00:01:42 data examining all eight of Galileo's
00:01:42 --> 00:01:44 close flybys of Kalisto which more
00:01:44 --> 00:01:46 strongly suggests that kisto does in
00:01:46 --> 00:01:49 fact Harbor a subsurface ocean but as
00:01:49 --> 00:01:51 well as looking at the flyby data the
00:01:51 --> 00:01:53 authors of the study also undertook more
00:01:53 --> 00:01:54 advanced computer modeling of kalista's
00:01:54 --> 00:01:56 ionosph as well as its geophysical
00:01:56 --> 00:01:58 properties in order to determine if a
00:01:58 --> 00:02:01 subsurface ocean is compatible with the
00:02:01 --> 00:02:03 available information they found
00:02:03 --> 00:02:05 kalista's osphere alone couldn't explain
00:02:05 --> 00:02:07 all the existing observations but that a
00:02:07 --> 00:02:09 subsurface ocean in combination with the
00:02:09 --> 00:02:12 moon's ionosphere could the authors
00:02:12 --> 00:02:14 think kalisto's ocean is likely to be at
00:02:14 --> 00:02:16 least several tens of kilometers deep
00:02:17 --> 00:02:19 it's encased beneath a solid ice shell
00:02:19 --> 00:02:21 that itself could range from tens to
00:02:21 --> 00:02:23 hundreds of kilometers thick these new
00:02:23 --> 00:02:25 findings are setting the stage for
00:02:25 --> 00:02:27 additional Studies by both NASA's Europa
00:02:27 --> 00:02:29 clippa spacecraft and the European space
00:02:29 --> 00:02:31 agency's Ed Jupiter icy moons Explorer
00:02:31 --> 00:02:33 Mission both of which are currently on
00:02:33 --> 00:02:37 their way to the Jovian system needless
00:02:37 --> 00:02:40 to say we'll keep you informed this is
00:02:40 --> 00:02:43 spacetime still to come using lasers to
00:02:43 --> 00:02:46 try and identify Life on Mars and a new
00:02:46 --> 00:02:48 study suggests that the International
00:02:48 --> 00:02:50 Space Station's cleanliness might be
00:02:50 --> 00:02:52 making its crew sick all that and more
00:02:52 --> 00:02:57 coming up on SpaceTime
00:02:57 --> 00:03:09 [Music]
00:03:09 --> 00:03:11 a new study suggest that lasers could be
00:03:12 --> 00:03:14 used to try and identify the fossils of
00:03:14 --> 00:03:16 ancient microbial life on the red planet
00:03:16 --> 00:03:19 Mars the idea comes about because
00:03:19 --> 00:03:20 scientists have now successfully used
00:03:20 --> 00:03:23 lasers to identify microbial fossils in
00:03:23 --> 00:03:26 Gypsum rocks here on Earth and because
00:03:26 --> 00:03:28 gypsum samples on Earth are a close
00:03:28 --> 00:03:30 analog for sulfate rocks on on Mars it
00:03:30 --> 00:03:32 raises the possibility of also using
00:03:32 --> 00:03:34 lasers to search for fossils on the red
00:03:34 --> 00:03:37 planet billions of years ago water on
00:03:37 --> 00:03:39 Mars dried up and gypsum and other
00:03:39 --> 00:03:41 sulfates were formed when pools
00:03:41 --> 00:03:43 evaporated leaving behind minerals that
00:03:43 --> 00:03:44 precipitated out of the water and
00:03:45 --> 00:03:47 potentially fossilized any organic life
00:03:47 --> 00:03:49 that may have existed there this means
00:03:49 --> 00:03:52 that if microbes such as bacteria lived
00:03:52 --> 00:03:54 on Mars traces of their presence could
00:03:54 --> 00:03:56 be preserved as Martian
00:03:56 --> 00:03:58 fossils now according to the authors
00:03:58 --> 00:04:00 gypsum deposits formed on Ms could
00:04:00 --> 00:04:02 conceal evidence of past life on the red
00:04:02 --> 00:04:04 planet microbes similar to that first
00:04:04 --> 00:04:06 life that formed on Earth 4 billion
00:04:06 --> 00:04:08 years ago so how did they reach their
00:04:08 --> 00:04:10 conclusions well the author selected a
00:04:11 --> 00:04:12 miniature laser powered Mass
00:04:12 --> 00:04:14 spectrometer that was light enough to
00:04:14 --> 00:04:16 travel on a spacecraft yet capable of
00:04:16 --> 00:04:18 analyzing the chemical composition of a
00:04:18 --> 00:04:20 sample in detail as fine as just one
00:04:20 --> 00:04:23 micrometer they sample gypsum from a
00:04:23 --> 00:04:25 quaran Algeria analyzing it using a mass
00:04:25 --> 00:04:27 spectrometer and an optical microscope
00:04:27 --> 00:04:29 Guided by criteria which can help
00:04:29 --> 00:04:31 distinguish between potential microbial
00:04:31 --> 00:04:34 fossils and natural rock formations
00:04:34 --> 00:04:35 these include morphology which is
00:04:35 --> 00:04:38 irregular sinuous and potentially Hollow
00:04:38 --> 00:04:40 as well as the presence of chemical
00:04:40 --> 00:04:42 elements necessary for Life carbonaceous
00:04:42 --> 00:04:44 material and minerals like clay or
00:04:44 --> 00:04:46 Dolomite which can be influenced by the
00:04:46 --> 00:04:48 presence of bacteria they successfully
00:04:48 --> 00:04:50 identified long twisting fossil
00:04:50 --> 00:04:52 filaments within the Algerian gypsum
00:04:52 --> 00:04:53 which have previously been interpreted
00:04:53 --> 00:04:56 as cob bacteria and are now thought to
00:04:56 --> 00:04:58 be sulfur oxidizing bacteria these were
00:04:59 --> 00:05:01 embedded in the gypsum and surrounded by
00:05:01 --> 00:05:04 dite clay minerals and pyite the
00:05:04 --> 00:05:05 presence of these minerals in the earth
00:05:05 --> 00:05:07 rocks signals the presence of organic
00:05:07 --> 00:05:09 life because procaryotes without a
00:05:10 --> 00:05:12 nucleus Supply Elements which Clays need
00:05:12 --> 00:05:14 to form and that also facilitate
00:05:14 --> 00:05:16 Dolomite formation in an acidic
00:05:16 --> 00:05:18 environment like Ms by increasing the
00:05:18 --> 00:05:20 alkalinity around them and concentrating
00:05:20 --> 00:05:23 ions in their cell envelopes for dite to
00:05:23 --> 00:05:25 form within gypsum without the presence
00:05:25 --> 00:05:27 of organic life extremely high
00:05:27 --> 00:05:28 temperatures and pressures would be
00:05:28 --> 00:05:30 needed that would have dehydrated the
00:05:30 --> 00:05:32 gypsum and these simply are not
00:05:32 --> 00:05:33 consistent with our knowledge of the
00:05:33 --> 00:05:36 Martian environment a report in the
00:05:36 --> 00:05:37 Journal of the Frontiers and astronomy
00:05:37 --> 00:05:39 and space Sciences claims that if Mass
00:05:39 --> 00:05:41 spectrometers can identify the presence
00:05:41 --> 00:05:44 of Clays and Dolomite in Martian gypson
00:05:44 --> 00:05:46 in addition to other bios signatures
00:05:46 --> 00:05:48 this could be a key signal of fossilized
00:05:49 --> 00:05:50 ancient Life on
00:05:50 --> 00:05:52 Mars This is
00:05:52 --> 00:05:55 spacetime still to come a new study
00:05:55 --> 00:05:56 suggest the International Space
00:05:56 --> 00:05:58 Station's cleanliness might be making
00:05:58 --> 00:06:01 its crew sick and the Mars Equinox the
00:06:01 --> 00:06:03 constellations of tourist the bull and
00:06:03 --> 00:06:05 Leo the Lion and don't forget it's
00:06:05 --> 00:06:06 almost
00:06:06 --> 00:06:09 359 that's Pi Day all that and more
00:06:09 --> 00:06:12 coming up on MCH
00:06:12 --> 00:06:25 [Music]
00:06:25 --> 00:06:27 Skywatch a new study suggest the
00:06:27 --> 00:06:28 International Space Station's
00:06:28 --> 00:06:30 cleanliness might be making its crew
00:06:30 --> 00:06:33 sick astronauts often experience immune
00:06:33 --> 00:06:35 dysfunction skin rashes and other
00:06:35 --> 00:06:37 inflammatory conditions while traveling
00:06:37 --> 00:06:40 in space now a new study reported in the
00:06:40 --> 00:06:42 journal cell suggests that these issues
00:06:42 --> 00:06:44 are likely due to the overly sterile
00:06:44 --> 00:06:46 nature of the International Space
00:06:46 --> 00:06:48 Station the authors believe the
00:06:48 --> 00:06:50 introduction of a higher diversity of
00:06:50 --> 00:06:51 microbes on the station could
00:06:51 --> 00:06:53 counterintuitively improve the health of
00:06:54 --> 00:06:55 people living aboard the orbiting
00:06:55 --> 00:06:58 Outpost to work this out the authors got
00:06:58 --> 00:06:59 the crew of the International Space
00:06:59 --> 00:07:01 station to collect more than 800 samples
00:07:01 --> 00:07:03 from around the station and then bring
00:07:03 --> 00:07:06 them back to Earth they then identified
00:07:06 --> 00:07:07 which bacterial species in chemicals
00:07:08 --> 00:07:10 were present they found there were far
00:07:10 --> 00:07:11 fewer Free Living microbes on the
00:07:11 --> 00:07:13 station and the author suggest the
00:07:13 --> 00:07:15 intentional introduction of more of them
00:07:15 --> 00:07:17 could help improve the astronaut's
00:07:17 --> 00:07:20 Health without sacrificing hygiene this
00:07:20 --> 00:07:23 is spacetime
00:07:23 --> 00:07:30 [Music]
00:07:37 --> 00:07:39 and time now to turn our eyes to the
00:07:39 --> 00:07:41 skies and check out the celestial sphere
00:07:41 --> 00:07:44 for March on Skywatch happy New Year
00:07:44 --> 00:07:46 well it would be if this was ancient
00:07:46 --> 00:07:49 Mesopotamia or Rome that's because March
00:07:49 --> 00:07:50 was the first month of the New Year
00:07:50 --> 00:07:52 going back to the earliest concept of
00:07:52 --> 00:07:54 celebrating New Year's Day at the time
00:07:54 --> 00:07:58 of the vernal equinox around 2000 BC see
00:07:58 --> 00:08:00 the ancient Roman calendar which had
00:08:00 --> 00:08:02 just 10 months designated March 1st as
00:08:02 --> 00:08:05 the new year that 10-month calendar is
00:08:05 --> 00:08:07 still reflected today with a name
00:08:07 --> 00:08:09 September or September being Latin for
00:08:09 --> 00:08:12 seven October octo meaning 8 November or
00:08:12 --> 00:08:15 November 9 and December or Des meaning
00:08:15 --> 00:08:18 10 it wasn't really until the gorian
00:08:18 --> 00:08:20 calendar that January 1st marked the
00:08:20 --> 00:08:22 start of the new year but in the
00:08:22 --> 00:08:24 beginning was mostly Catholic countries
00:08:24 --> 00:08:27 that adopted it Protestant Nations only
00:08:27 --> 00:08:29 gradually moved across with the British
00:08:29 --> 00:08:31 for example not adopting the reformed
00:08:31 --> 00:08:33 calendar until
00:08:33 --> 00:08:35 1752 prior to that date the British
00:08:35 --> 00:08:38 Empire and its American colonies still
00:08:38 --> 00:08:41 celebrated New Year's Day on March 25th
00:08:41 --> 00:08:43 the highlight of this month is the March
00:08:43 --> 00:08:45 Equinox which will take place on the
00:08:45 --> 00:08:47 evening of Thursday March the 20th
00:08:47 --> 00:08:50 Australian eastern daylight time that's
00:08:50 --> 00:08:52 5:01 in the morning of Thursday March 20
00:08:53 --> 00:08:56 us Easter daylight time and 9:01 a.m. R
00:08:56 --> 00:08:58 mean time for our listeners in the
00:08:58 --> 00:09:01 northern hemisphere it means the vernal
00:09:01 --> 00:09:03 equinox the start of spring although
00:09:03 --> 00:09:05 south of the Equator it's the autal
00:09:05 --> 00:09:08 Equinox meaning a move into Autumn the
00:09:08 --> 00:09:10 day marks the point in Earth's orbit
00:09:10 --> 00:09:11 around the sun when the planet's
00:09:11 --> 00:09:14 rotational axis means the sun will
00:09:14 --> 00:09:16 appear to rise exactly due east and set
00:09:16 --> 00:09:18 exactly Due West to someone standing on
00:09:18 --> 00:09:22 the equator it means almost equal hours
00:09:22 --> 00:09:24 of Darkness and Light in fact the very
00:09:24 --> 00:09:26 word Equinox is derived from the Latin
00:09:26 --> 00:09:29 meaning Equis or equal and nox meaning
00:09:29 --> 00:09:32 night it all comes about because Earth's
00:09:32 --> 00:09:34 rotational axis is tilted at an angle of
00:09:34 --> 00:09:37 around 23.4 de in relation to the
00:09:37 --> 00:09:38 ecliptic the plane created by Earth's
00:09:39 --> 00:09:42 orbit around the Sun that axial tilt is
00:09:42 --> 00:09:43 always pointed at the same position in
00:09:43 --> 00:09:46 the sky regardless of Earth's orbital
00:09:46 --> 00:09:49 position around the Sun so on any other
00:09:49 --> 00:09:50 day of the year either the Northern or
00:09:50 --> 00:09:52 Southern Hemisphere it tilted more
00:09:52 --> 00:09:55 towards the Sun but on the two equinoxes
00:09:55 --> 00:09:57 usually around March 21st and September
00:09:57 --> 00:10:00 23rd each year the two of Earth's axis
00:10:00 --> 00:10:02 is directly perpendicular to the sun's
00:10:02 --> 00:10:05 Rays however there's a complication
00:10:05 --> 00:10:07 called procession this causes earth spin
00:10:07 --> 00:10:09 axis to wobble ever so slightly just
00:10:09 --> 00:10:12 like the axle of a spinning top the rate
00:10:12 --> 00:10:14 of procession is only about half a
00:10:14 --> 00:10:15 degree per Century so people don't
00:10:15 --> 00:10:18 notice it on human time scales and
00:10:18 --> 00:10:20 because the direction of Earth's axis of
00:10:20 --> 00:10:22 rotation determines at which point in
00:10:22 --> 00:10:24 Earth's orbit Seasons occur procession
00:10:24 --> 00:10:26 will cause a particular season for
00:10:26 --> 00:10:28 example the southern hemisphere Autumn
00:10:28 --> 00:10:30 to occur at a slight slightly different
00:10:30 --> 00:10:33 place from year to year over 21 year
00:10:33 --> 00:10:36 cycle at the same time Earth orbit
00:10:36 --> 00:10:38 itself is subjected to small changes
00:10:38 --> 00:10:40 called pertubations see Earth's orbits
00:10:40 --> 00:10:43 in ellipse and there's a slow change in
00:10:43 --> 00:10:45 its orientation which gradually shifts
00:10:45 --> 00:10:47 the point of parhelion Earth's closest
00:10:47 --> 00:10:50 orbital position to the sun now these
00:10:50 --> 00:10:52 two effects the procession of the axis
00:10:52 --> 00:10:54 of rotation and the change in the orbits
00:10:54 --> 00:10:57 orientation work together to shift the
00:10:57 --> 00:10:59 seasons with respect to parhelion
00:10:59 --> 00:11:01 and because we use a calendar year
00:11:01 --> 00:11:02 that's aligned to the occurrence of the
00:11:02 --> 00:11:05 seasons the date of perhelion gradually
00:11:05 --> 00:11:08 regresses through a 21 year cycle
00:11:08 --> 00:11:10 and there's another complication
00:11:10 --> 00:11:11 Australia and some of the other
00:11:11 --> 00:11:13 commonwealth countries start their
00:11:13 --> 00:11:15 seasons on the first day of the month
00:11:15 --> 00:11:17 what are referred to as meteorological
00:11:17 --> 00:11:19 Seasons rather than on the Soler season
00:11:19 --> 00:11:21 equinoxes which are referred to as
00:11:21 --> 00:11:24 astronomical Seasons so that means
00:11:24 --> 00:11:26 Australia's Autumn officially began on
00:11:26 --> 00:11:28 March 1st rather than on the day of the
00:11:28 --> 00:11:31 March Equinox meteorological seasons are
00:11:31 --> 00:11:32 used because it makes it easier for
00:11:32 --> 00:11:34 meteorologists and climatologists to
00:11:34 --> 00:11:36 break the seasons down into more exact
00:11:36 --> 00:11:38 3month calendar groupings for comparing
00:11:38 --> 00:11:40 seasonal and monthly
00:11:40 --> 00:11:42 statistics the moment of the March
00:11:42 --> 00:11:45 Equinox is also important in astronomy
00:11:45 --> 00:11:46 because it's used to define the
00:11:46 --> 00:11:48 celestial coordinate system of right
00:11:48 --> 00:11:51 Ascension and declination in astronomy
00:11:51 --> 00:11:53 the celestial coordinate system is the
00:11:53 --> 00:11:55 astronomical equivalent to the latitude
00:11:55 --> 00:11:56 and longitudinal coordinates used on
00:11:56 --> 00:11:59 Earth's surface it's used to spef
00:11:59 --> 00:12:00 specify the position of objects in
00:12:00 --> 00:12:02 three-dimensional space and the
00:12:02 --> 00:12:03 direction of those objects on the
00:12:03 --> 00:12:05 celestial sphere the imaginary Globe
00:12:05 --> 00:12:07 surrounding the earth in other words it
00:12:08 --> 00:12:09 lets scientists determine the position
00:12:09 --> 00:12:11 of a celestial object such as a
00:12:11 --> 00:12:13 satellite a planet Stars galaxies and so
00:12:13 --> 00:12:16 on right Ascension which uses the symbol
00:12:16 --> 00:12:18 Alpha is the angular distance measured
00:12:18 --> 00:12:20 eastwards along the celestial equator
00:12:20 --> 00:12:23 from the vernal equinox on the celestial
00:12:23 --> 00:12:25 sphere it's analogous to terrestrial
00:12:25 --> 00:12:27 longitude declination which uses the
00:12:27 --> 00:12:30 symbol Delta measur is the angle north
00:12:30 --> 00:12:32 or south of the celestial equator and so
00:12:32 --> 00:12:33 it's the celestial equivalent to
00:12:33 --> 00:12:35 terrestrial
00:12:35 --> 00:12:38 latitude marking the veral equinox and
00:12:38 --> 00:12:39 setting the Western evening sky this
00:12:39 --> 00:12:41 time of year is one of the oldest
00:12:41 --> 00:12:43 recognized constellations in the heavens
00:12:43 --> 00:12:46 Taurus the Bull so named around 6
00:12:46 --> 00:12:49 years ago in Greek mythology Taurus
00:12:49 --> 00:12:52 represents the king of the god Zeus Zeus
00:12:52 --> 00:12:55 lasted after King ao's Daughter Europa
00:12:55 --> 00:12:57 who was looking after a herd of cattle
00:12:57 --> 00:13:00 now being a God and with Godlike Powers
00:13:00 --> 00:13:02 Zeus decided to transform himself into a
00:13:02 --> 00:13:05 powerful white ball so that he could get
00:13:05 --> 00:13:07 closer to the beautiful Europa now once
00:13:07 --> 00:13:10 transformed into a bull Zeus convinced
00:13:10 --> 00:13:12 Europa to climb on his back and he then
00:13:12 --> 00:13:14 carried her off to the island of creit
00:13:14 --> 00:13:16 Taurus's head is represented by a
00:13:16 --> 00:13:19 dominant v-shaped grouping of stars the
00:13:19 --> 00:13:20 bright reddish star in the group is
00:13:20 --> 00:13:23 alaran an orange giant one a half times
00:13:23 --> 00:13:26 the mass of the Sun located 65 light
00:13:26 --> 00:13:28 years away a lightyear is about 10
00:13:28 --> 00:13:31 trillion kilm the distance of feron can
00:13:31 --> 00:13:34 travel in a year at 300 km/ second
00:13:34 --> 00:13:36 the speed of light in a vacuum and the
00:13:36 --> 00:13:38 ultimate speed limit of the universe
00:13:38 --> 00:13:41 albran is the 14th brightest star in the
00:13:41 --> 00:13:43 night sky and the closest bright star to
00:13:43 --> 00:13:45 the point of the vernal equinox in
00:13:45 --> 00:13:48 ancient Arabic aut Bran's name means the
00:13:48 --> 00:13:50 follower as it appears to follow the
00:13:50 --> 00:13:53 Seven Sisters of the ples it's also the
00:13:53 --> 00:13:54 first of the four royal or Guardian
00:13:54 --> 00:13:57 Stars identified by the ancient
00:13:57 --> 00:13:59 Mesopotamians now that v-shaped grouping
00:13:59 --> 00:14:03 of stars near uran is known as the hies
00:14:03 --> 00:14:05 it's the nearest young open star cluster
00:14:05 --> 00:14:08 to Earth located just 153 light years
00:14:08 --> 00:14:11 away between utaran and the Orion
00:14:11 --> 00:14:13 constellation you'll see a bright red
00:14:13 --> 00:14:16 star that's bleo the ninth brightest
00:14:16 --> 00:14:18 star in the night sky these days more
00:14:18 --> 00:14:20 commonly called Beetle Juice if you turn
00:14:20 --> 00:14:22 to the north now you'll see the two
00:14:22 --> 00:14:25 bright stars polax and Casta which
00:14:25 --> 00:14:27 represent the northern constellation of
00:14:27 --> 00:14:29 Gemini the twins in Greek mythology they
00:14:29 --> 00:14:31 were brothers who traveled with Jason
00:14:31 --> 00:14:33 aboard the ship Argo in search of the
00:14:33 --> 00:14:36 Gordon fleece paax is an orange hued
00:14:36 --> 00:14:39 evolved giant Star located 34 light
00:14:39 --> 00:14:42 years away it has about twice the Sun's
00:14:42 --> 00:14:44 mass and has bloated out to around 11
00:14:44 --> 00:14:48 times the Sun's diameter in 2006 an
00:14:48 --> 00:14:50 extra Solar Planet or exoplanet
00:14:50 --> 00:14:52 designated poax B was discovered
00:14:52 --> 00:14:55 orbiting the star the planet is a gas
00:14:55 --> 00:14:57 giant orbiting its host star every 1.61
00:14:58 --> 00:15:00 Earth years the other star cter is
00:15:00 --> 00:15:03 located some 51 L years away and it's
00:15:03 --> 00:15:05 actually a system of six stars
00:15:05 --> 00:15:07 comprising three eclipsing binaries
00:15:07 --> 00:15:09 eclipsing binaries are binary star
00:15:09 --> 00:15:11 systems in which the orbital plane of
00:15:11 --> 00:15:13 the two stars in the system lies so
00:15:13 --> 00:15:15 nearly along the line of sight from The
00:15:15 --> 00:15:17 Observer here on Earth that the stars
00:15:17 --> 00:15:20 appear to Eclipse each other looking to
00:15:20 --> 00:15:21 the Northeast now and you'll see the
00:15:21 --> 00:15:24 star regulars or little King the
00:15:24 --> 00:15:25 brightest St in the constellation Leo
00:15:25 --> 00:15:28 the Lion Leo is mentioned by Homer and
00:15:28 --> 00:15:31 his famous 8th Century BC poem The
00:15:31 --> 00:15:34 Odyssey according to Greek mythology Leo
00:15:34 --> 00:15:36 was killed by Hercules as the first of
00:15:36 --> 00:15:39 his 12 Labors located some 79 light
00:15:39 --> 00:15:42 years away regulus is a multiple star
00:15:42 --> 00:15:44 system composed of at least four stars
00:15:45 --> 00:15:47 regulus a designated alphal leonus is a
00:15:47 --> 00:15:49 spectroscopic binary comprising a
00:15:49 --> 00:15:52 rapidly spinning spectral type B blue
00:15:52 --> 00:15:54 white star around 3 and 1/2 times more
00:15:54 --> 00:15:56 massive than the sun with some 288 times
00:15:56 --> 00:15:59 the sun's luminosity and a small
00:15:59 --> 00:16:02 companion star most likely a white dwarf
00:16:02 --> 00:16:04 the still a corpse of what once would
00:16:04 --> 00:16:06 have been a sunlike star the pair take
00:16:07 --> 00:16:09 about 40 days to orbit each other
00:16:09 --> 00:16:11 spectroscopic binaries are double star
00:16:11 --> 00:16:13 systems orbiting each other so closely
00:16:13 --> 00:16:15 and at such an angle that they can only
00:16:15 --> 00:16:17 be visually separated from our Viewpoint
00:16:17 --> 00:16:19 here on Earth at least by their
00:16:19 --> 00:16:20 spectroscopic
00:16:20 --> 00:16:23 signatures astronomers describe stars in
00:16:23 --> 00:16:25 terms of spectral types it's a
00:16:25 --> 00:16:26 classification system based on
00:16:26 --> 00:16:29 temperature and characteristics the
00:16:29 --> 00:16:31 hottest most massive and most luminous
00:16:31 --> 00:16:33 stars are known as spectr type O blue
00:16:33 --> 00:16:36 stars they're followed by spectr type B
00:16:36 --> 00:16:38 blue white stars then spectral type a
00:16:38 --> 00:16:41 white stars spectral type f whitish
00:16:41 --> 00:16:44 yellow stars then spectral type G yellow
00:16:44 --> 00:16:46 stars that's where our sun fits in then
00:16:46 --> 00:16:49 the spectr type K orang in stars and the
00:16:49 --> 00:16:51 coolest and least massive of all stars
00:16:51 --> 00:16:54 are spectral type M red stars commonly
00:16:54 --> 00:16:56 referred to as red dwarfs each spectral
00:16:57 --> 00:16:58 classification system is further sub
00:16:58 --> 00:17:00 divided using a numeric digit to
00:17:00 --> 00:17:02 represent temperature with zero being
00:17:02 --> 00:17:04 the hottest and nine the coolest and
00:17:04 --> 00:17:06 then you add a Roman numeral to
00:17:06 --> 00:17:09 represent Luminosity so our son
00:17:09 --> 00:17:14 technically is a g2v or G25 yellow dwarf
00:17:14 --> 00:17:16 star also included in the Stellar
00:17:16 --> 00:17:18 classification system are spectral types
00:17:18 --> 00:17:21 LT and Y which are assigned to failed
00:17:21 --> 00:17:23 Stars known as brown dwarves some of
00:17:23 --> 00:17:25 which were born of spectral type M red
00:17:25 --> 00:17:27 dwarf stars but became Brown dwarves
00:17:27 --> 00:17:30 after losing some of their Mass Brown
00:17:30 --> 00:17:31 dwarves fit into a unique category
00:17:32 --> 00:17:33 between the largest planets which can
00:17:33 --> 00:17:36 have around 13 times the mass of Jupiter
00:17:36 --> 00:17:38 and the smallest spectr type M red dwarf
00:17:38 --> 00:17:41 stars which are around 75 to 80 times
00:17:41 --> 00:17:44 the mass of Jupiter or about 0.08 solar
00:17:45 --> 00:17:47 masses the primary star in Alpha leonus
00:17:47 --> 00:17:49 completes a full rotation around its
00:17:49 --> 00:17:52 axis in under 16 hours that's incredibly
00:17:52 --> 00:17:54 quick especially when compared to our
00:17:54 --> 00:17:57 Sun's 30-day rotational period now this
00:17:57 --> 00:17:59 gives the primary star an obl appearance
00:17:59 --> 00:18:01 and it causes what's known as gravity
00:18:01 --> 00:18:03 darkening meaning its poles are
00:18:03 --> 00:18:05 considerably hotter and five times
00:18:05 --> 00:18:07 brighter per unit surface area than its
00:18:07 --> 00:18:10 equatorial region scientists estimate
00:18:10 --> 00:18:12 that if it were rotating just 15% faster
00:18:13 --> 00:18:15 the star's gravity would be insufficient
00:18:15 --> 00:18:16 to hold it together and it would
00:18:16 --> 00:18:19 literally spin itself apart located
00:18:19 --> 00:18:22 further away a regular b c and d which
00:18:22 --> 00:18:25 are all dim main sequence Stars main
00:18:25 --> 00:18:27 sequence stars are those undergoing
00:18:27 --> 00:18:29 hydrogen fusion into helium in their
00:18:29 --> 00:18:32 core like the sun's currently doing
00:18:32 --> 00:18:34 regulus B and C are thought to orbit
00:18:34 --> 00:18:36 each other every 600 Earth years and are
00:18:36 --> 00:18:39 located around 5 astronomical units
00:18:39 --> 00:18:42 away from regular SE an astronomical
00:18:42 --> 00:18:43 unit is the average distance between the
00:18:43 --> 00:18:46 Earth and the Sun around 150 million
00:18:46 --> 00:18:50 kilm or 8.3 L minutes regular speed is a
00:18:50 --> 00:18:53 spectr type f white yellow star while
00:18:53 --> 00:18:55 its companion regular C is a small
00:18:55 --> 00:18:58 spectr Type M Red Dwarf star regular Ste
00:18:58 --> 00:19:00 is a bit more of a question mark it's a
00:19:00 --> 00:19:02 dim star and at least from our point of
00:19:02 --> 00:19:04 view it appears to be sharing motion
00:19:04 --> 00:19:06 across the sky with other members in the
00:19:06 --> 00:19:08 group at the opposite end of the
00:19:08 --> 00:19:10 constellation of regulus is the star bet
00:19:10 --> 00:19:14 leonus or debula the horse's tail it's
00:19:14 --> 00:19:16 aluminous white star thought to be
00:19:16 --> 00:19:18 spectr type A about half as bright as
00:19:18 --> 00:19:20 regulus and the third brightest star in
00:19:20 --> 00:19:23 the constellation Leo be leonus has
00:19:23 --> 00:19:25 about 1.8 times the mass of the Sun and
00:19:25 --> 00:19:28 about 15 times the sun's luminosity it's
00:19:28 --> 00:19:31 suspected of being a dwarf seph or data
00:19:31 --> 00:19:33 scoy type variable star meaning its
00:19:33 --> 00:19:35 Luminosity varies very slightly over a
00:19:35 --> 00:19:37 period of several hours due to
00:19:37 --> 00:19:39 pulsations on its surface also at the
00:19:39 --> 00:19:42 other end of Leo other stars theater and
00:19:42 --> 00:19:45 Lotto leonus the loins of the lion
00:19:45 --> 00:19:47 theater leonus is about 165 light years
00:19:47 --> 00:19:50 away it's a very young spectr type a
00:19:50 --> 00:19:53 white star about 2 and a half times the
00:19:53 --> 00:19:56 mass of the sun with an age of just 550
00:19:56 --> 00:19:59 million years the Leona suspect shows
00:19:59 --> 00:20:01 enhanced absorption lines for metals
00:20:01 --> 00:20:02 that these elements other than hydrogen
00:20:02 --> 00:20:05 and helium this increased metallicity
00:20:05 --> 00:20:07 appears around 12% higher than the sun
00:20:08 --> 00:20:10 allowing the star to radiate with some
00:20:10 --> 00:20:12 141 times the Luminosity of the Sun from
00:20:12 --> 00:20:14 its outer atmosphere at an effective
00:20:14 --> 00:20:17 temperature of 9350 Kelvin literally
00:20:17 --> 00:20:20 giving it a white hot glow located some
00:20:20 --> 00:20:23 79 light years away L leonus is another
00:20:23 --> 00:20:25 spectroscopic binary consisting of two
00:20:25 --> 00:20:28 stars orbiting each other every 183
00:20:28 --> 00:20:30 Earth years is the primary star is a
00:20:30 --> 00:20:33 spectral type f yellow dwarf star a
00:20:33 --> 00:20:34 little hotter and more massive than the
00:20:34 --> 00:20:37 sun algebra or gamma leonus is a binary
00:20:37 --> 00:20:39 star system with a visible third
00:20:39 --> 00:20:42 component the two primary stars are
00:20:42 --> 00:20:44 located 126 light years away and can be
00:20:44 --> 00:20:47 resolved in a backyard telescope both
00:20:47 --> 00:20:49 are yellow Giants orbiting each other
00:20:49 --> 00:20:52 every 600 Earth days the unrelated tury
00:20:53 --> 00:20:55 star named for leonus is a yellow Tin
00:20:55 --> 00:20:57 Star which can be seen through
00:20:57 --> 00:20:59 binoculars it's traditional name algebra
00:20:59 --> 00:21:02 means the forehead other stars in the
00:21:02 --> 00:21:04 system include Delta leonus or zosma
00:21:04 --> 00:21:06 which is a blue white star 58 L is from
00:21:07 --> 00:21:09 Earth Epsilon leonus a yellow giant some
00:21:09 --> 00:21:12 251 light is from Earth and Zeta leonus
00:21:12 --> 00:21:14 an optical Triple Star the brightest
00:21:14 --> 00:21:16 component is a white giant about 260
00:21:17 --> 00:21:18 light years from Earth while the second
00:21:18 --> 00:21:21 brightest star 39 Le owners is widely
00:21:21 --> 00:21:23 spaced and is located to the south of
00:21:23 --> 00:21:25 the primary with the third and faintest
00:21:25 --> 00:21:28 St in the system 35 leonus located to
00:21:28 --> 00:21:30 the north North also located in Leo is
00:21:30 --> 00:21:33 tonus visible as a double star through
00:21:33 --> 00:21:35 binoculars it includes a yellow giant
00:21:35 --> 00:21:38 located some 621 light years from Earth
00:21:38 --> 00:21:41 and a binary secondary star 54 leonus a
00:21:41 --> 00:21:43 pair of blue white stars divisible in
00:21:43 --> 00:21:46 small telescopes and located 289 light
00:21:46 --> 00:21:48 years from Earth also in the
00:21:48 --> 00:21:51 constellation Leo you'll find the Leo
00:21:51 --> 00:21:53 Triplet a group of three galaxies
00:21:53 --> 00:21:58 Messier 65 Messier 66 and NGC 3628 all
00:21:58 --> 00:22:01 appearing relatively close together
00:22:01 --> 00:22:05 Messier 65 also known as NGC 3623 is an
00:22:05 --> 00:22:08 intermediate spiral possibly bad spiral
00:22:08 --> 00:22:11 galaxy about 37 million light years away
00:22:11 --> 00:22:15 M65 disc appears to be slightly wared
00:22:15 --> 00:22:17 and a relatively recent burst of star
00:22:17 --> 00:22:18 formation is suggestive of some
00:22:18 --> 00:22:20 gravitational interaction with the other
00:22:20 --> 00:22:22 two galaxies in the Leo triplet possibly
00:22:22 --> 00:22:25 around 800 million years ago nearby is
00:22:25 --> 00:22:30 Messier 66 or ngc3 627 another
00:22:30 --> 00:22:33 intermediate spiral galaxy some 95 L
00:22:33 --> 00:22:35 years wide and about 36 million L years
00:22:35 --> 00:22:38 away gravitational interaction from its
00:22:38 --> 00:22:39 past encounters with the neighboring
00:22:39 --> 00:22:41 galaxies in the triplet has resulted in
00:22:41 --> 00:22:43 extremely high Central Mass
00:22:43 --> 00:22:46 concentration a high molecular to atomic
00:22:46 --> 00:22:48 mass ratio and a resolved non-rotating
00:22:48 --> 00:22:50 clump of neutral Atomic hydrogen
00:22:50 --> 00:22:52 apparently removed from one of its
00:22:52 --> 00:22:54 spiral arms the third member in the
00:22:54 --> 00:22:58 group is NGC 3628 the hamburger Galaxy
00:22:59 --> 00:23:01 a spiral galaxy with a spectacular
00:23:01 --> 00:23:04 300 lye long tidal trail of gas and
00:23:04 --> 00:23:08 stars NGC 3628 is located 35 million
00:23:08 --> 00:23:11 light years away its most conspicuous
00:23:11 --> 00:23:13 feature is the broad and obscuring band
00:23:13 --> 00:23:15 of dust located along the outer edge of
00:23:15 --> 00:23:18 its spiral arms effectively transecting
00:23:18 --> 00:23:20 the galaxy to the view from
00:23:20 --> 00:23:22 Earth other bright well-known galaxies
00:23:22 --> 00:23:27 in Leo include Messier 95 Messier 96
00:23:27 --> 00:23:31 Messier 10 5 and NGC
00:23:31 --> 00:23:34 2903 m95 and m96 are both spiral
00:23:34 --> 00:23:37 galaxies each about 20 million light
00:23:37 --> 00:23:41 years from Earth m95 is a b spiral
00:23:41 --> 00:23:45 another B spiral galaxy is NGC 2903
00:23:45 --> 00:23:47 which is thought to be very similar in
00:23:47 --> 00:23:50 size and structure to our own Milky Way
00:23:50 --> 00:23:53 galaxy it was discovered by William hsel
00:23:53 --> 00:23:54 in
00:23:54 --> 00:23:58 1784 close to the m95 m96 pair is is the
00:23:58 --> 00:24:00 elliptical galaxy
00:24:00 --> 00:24:02 m105 which is also around 20 million
00:24:02 --> 00:24:05 light years from Earth okay let's turn
00:24:05 --> 00:24:07 to the east now and the constellation of
00:24:07 --> 00:24:10 corvis the crow in Greek mythology
00:24:10 --> 00:24:12 corvis was a really clever crow in fact
00:24:12 --> 00:24:14 he could talk to people however after
00:24:14 --> 00:24:16 refusing to speak to the god Apollo he
00:24:16 --> 00:24:19 was banished to the sky together with
00:24:19 --> 00:24:21 crater the cup and Hydra the snake one
00:24:21 --> 00:24:24 of the bright stars in Hydra is alad the
00:24:24 --> 00:24:27 solitary one so named because it appears
00:24:27 --> 00:24:28 all alone in the sky
00:24:28 --> 00:24:31 Sky okay turning to the Western Horizon
00:24:31 --> 00:24:33 now and you'll see the star AA in the
00:24:33 --> 00:24:35 southern tip of the constellation idanis
00:24:35 --> 00:24:38 the river eridanus is one of the largest
00:24:38 --> 00:24:40 and longest constellations in the sky
00:24:40 --> 00:24:42 AKA means The River's End as it marks
00:24:43 --> 00:24:45 the end of the river idanis located
00:24:45 --> 00:24:48 around 139 light years away akona is a
00:24:48 --> 00:24:51 binary star system comprising two stars
00:24:51 --> 00:24:54 Alpha Arney a and Alpha ridney B one of
00:24:54 --> 00:24:56 the 10 apparent brightest stars in the
00:24:56 --> 00:24:59 night sky Alpha ridney a is a young hot
00:24:59 --> 00:25:02 spectr type B blue star about 6.7 times
00:25:02 --> 00:25:05 the mass of the sun with a stunning
00:25:05 --> 00:25:09 3 times the sun's Luminosity aka's
00:25:09 --> 00:25:11 extremely high rotational velocity of
00:25:11 --> 00:25:14 over 16 km/s gives it an oblate shape
00:25:14 --> 00:25:15 making it one of the least sperical
00:25:15 --> 00:25:17 stars in the Milky Way with an
00:25:17 --> 00:25:20 equatorial diameter some 56% greater
00:25:20 --> 00:25:22 than its polar diameter this distorted
00:25:22 --> 00:25:24 shape means the star displays
00:25:24 --> 00:25:26 significant latitudinal temperature
00:25:26 --> 00:25:28 variations with its polar temperature
00:25:28 --> 00:25:30 being being above 20 Kelvin while
00:25:30 --> 00:25:32 its equatorial temperature being much
00:25:32 --> 00:25:34 further away from the Stiller core is
00:25:34 --> 00:25:36 only around 10 Kelvin those high
00:25:36 --> 00:25:38 poar temperatures are generating a fast
00:25:38 --> 00:25:41 polar wind ejecting matter from the Star
00:25:41 --> 00:25:43 and generating a polar envelope of hot
00:25:43 --> 00:25:46 gas and plasma the companion star Alpha
00:25:46 --> 00:25:49 ridney B appears to be a spectr type a
00:25:49 --> 00:25:51 white star with about twice the mass of
00:25:51 --> 00:25:53 the Sun the two stars orbit each other
00:25:53 --> 00:25:56 at an average distance of roughly 12.3
00:25:56 --> 00:25:59 astronomical units
00:25:59 --> 00:26:01 now just a quick reminder that March
00:26:01 --> 00:26:04 14th marks the yearly celebration of the
00:26:04 --> 00:26:07 mathematical constant Pi Pi is the ratio
00:26:07 --> 00:26:09 of a circle circumference to its
00:26:09 --> 00:26:12 diameter but it's also an irrational
00:26:12 --> 00:26:13 number meaning its decimal
00:26:13 --> 00:26:15 representation never ends and never
00:26:15 --> 00:26:18 repeats more than just a number Pi has
00:26:18 --> 00:26:20 important applications in astrophysics
00:26:20 --> 00:26:22 orbital mechanics and other fields of
00:26:22 --> 00:26:25 astronomy it's been calculated to over a
00:26:25 --> 00:26:27 trillion digits and the current record
00:26:27 --> 00:26:29 for reciting ire from memory is over
00:26:29 --> 00:26:32 70 digits imagine sitting next to
00:26:32 --> 00:26:36 that person at a dinner party as for me
00:26:36 --> 00:26:39 359 is about it of course as well as
00:26:39 --> 00:26:42 P day March 14 is also the birthday of
00:26:42 --> 00:26:45 the great Professor Dr Albert Einstein
00:26:45 --> 00:26:47 and joining us now for the rest of our
00:26:47 --> 00:26:49 tour of the March night skies is science
00:26:49 --> 00:26:51 writer Jonathan allly good St well you
00:26:51 --> 00:26:53 know I reckon this is a fantastic time
00:26:53 --> 00:26:55 of the year for stargazing March because
00:26:55 --> 00:26:56 where I live in the southern hemisphere
00:26:56 --> 00:26:58 we're just coming out of summer so the
00:26:58 --> 00:27:00 weather is still good and the nights are
00:27:00 --> 00:27:01 still warm enough for getting outside
00:27:01 --> 00:27:02 and looking up for our friends in the
00:27:02 --> 00:27:04 north their wintry conditions are still
00:27:05 --> 00:27:06 biting perhaps but the sites you can see
00:27:06 --> 00:27:08 in March are well worth enduring even
00:27:08 --> 00:27:10 the cooler nighttime conditions that you
00:27:10 --> 00:27:11 still have because there are lots of
00:27:11 --> 00:27:12 great things to see and we'll start in
00:27:12 --> 00:27:14 the northern part of the sky as seen
00:27:14 --> 00:27:16 from down here south of the Equator and
00:27:16 --> 00:27:17 the first thing we spot of course is the
00:27:17 --> 00:27:19 mighty constellation Orion it's one of
00:27:19 --> 00:27:21 the most easily recognizable
00:27:21 --> 00:27:23 constellations for start it's got these
00:27:23 --> 00:27:25 three stars in a row you can't miss them
00:27:25 --> 00:27:26 I mean you might think oh you can look
00:27:27 --> 00:27:28 up and see any three stars in a row with
00:27:28 --> 00:27:29 these three stars are very close
00:27:29 --> 00:27:30 together and in a straight line and
00:27:30 --> 00:27:32 that's known as the belt of Orion
00:27:32 --> 00:27:34 because Orion mythology of Orion Orion
00:27:34 --> 00:27:36 is the hunter so there's a big hunter up
00:27:36 --> 00:27:37 in the sky so this is around his middle
00:27:37 --> 00:27:39 this is his belt and extending
00:27:39 --> 00:27:42 southwards from the belt are a few stars
00:27:42 --> 00:27:44 and a little fuzzy patch and together
00:27:44 --> 00:27:45 that's known as The Sword of Orion
00:27:45 --> 00:27:47 because the sword is hanging down from
00:27:47 --> 00:27:50 his belt that fuzzy patch is the amazing
00:27:50 --> 00:27:53 great nebula in Orion it's a huge star
00:27:53 --> 00:27:55 forming region about 1300 light years
00:27:55 --> 00:27:56 from Earth you've probably seen pictures
00:27:57 --> 00:27:58 of it and if you haven't just get on the
00:27:58 --> 00:28:00 internet and just see plenty of pictures
00:28:00 --> 00:28:01 of it and Hubble and that sort of thing
00:28:01 --> 00:28:02 it looks looks amazing just see it with
00:28:03 --> 00:28:04 your own eyes if you just want to see
00:28:04 --> 00:28:06 this great neon with your own eyes go
00:28:06 --> 00:28:09 outside and let your eyes dark adapt for
00:28:09 --> 00:28:11 about 20 minutes or so that means just
00:28:11 --> 00:28:13 keep away from all sources of life don't
00:28:13 --> 00:28:14 look at lights because soon as you look
00:28:14 --> 00:28:15 at lights you blind yourself again when
00:28:16 --> 00:28:17 you're doing stargazing you've got to
00:28:17 --> 00:28:19 let your eyes adapt to the dark just
00:28:19 --> 00:28:21 keep away from lights street lights any
00:28:21 --> 00:28:22 lights on the outside of your house or
00:28:22 --> 00:28:23 the neighbor's house whatever try and
00:28:23 --> 00:28:25 get into somewhere shadowed where you
00:28:25 --> 00:28:26 just don't have any lights in then
00:28:26 --> 00:28:27 you'll be able to see the faint stuff
00:28:27 --> 00:28:29 because theion nebula is faint and it's
00:28:29 --> 00:28:32 small and fuzzy so get out there once
00:28:32 --> 00:28:33 your eyes are dark adapted and see if
00:28:33 --> 00:28:34 you can see this nebula it'll just be
00:28:35 --> 00:28:36 the tiniest smudge of light and you
00:28:36 --> 00:28:38 might have to use what's called averted
00:28:38 --> 00:28:40 Vision astronomers use this a lot
00:28:40 --> 00:28:41 averted Vision that's where you don't
00:28:41 --> 00:28:43 look directly at it but look at it sort
00:28:43 --> 00:28:45 of out the corner of your eye the sort
00:28:45 --> 00:28:46 of outside part of your or the outer
00:28:46 --> 00:28:48 part of your retina has the light
00:28:48 --> 00:28:50 receptors that respond very well to very
00:28:50 --> 00:28:52 dim objects they're good for nighttime
00:28:52 --> 00:28:53 stuff that you don't get color out of
00:28:53 --> 00:28:55 them you just get black and white but
00:28:55 --> 00:28:57 they are more sensitive to very faint
00:28:57 --> 00:28:58 light Lev so give that a right and even
00:28:58 --> 00:29:01 though it seems small and Tiny and fuzzy
00:29:01 --> 00:29:02 without using a telescope it is actually
00:29:02 --> 00:29:04 amazing to think that we can actually
00:29:04 --> 00:29:07 see this huge nebula 1300 light years
00:29:07 --> 00:29:09 away with just their eyes if you compare
00:29:09 --> 00:29:11 what you see with your eyes and then
00:29:11 --> 00:29:13 look at a picture of it you think wow
00:29:13 --> 00:29:14 that is amazing that I can see that and
00:29:14 --> 00:29:15 if you got a pair of binoculars that'll
00:29:16 --> 00:29:17 give you an even better View and even a
00:29:17 --> 00:29:19 small telescope will provide an amazing
00:29:19 --> 00:29:21 view so give that a try if you've got a
00:29:21 --> 00:29:23 small telescope or if you know someone
00:29:23 --> 00:29:25 who has you can borrow it or or go over
00:29:25 --> 00:29:27 and use it with them also visible in the
00:29:27 --> 00:29:28 northern part of the sky if you're
00:29:28 --> 00:29:29 looking from the mid latitudes in the
00:29:29 --> 00:29:31 Southern Hemisphere or it's in the
00:29:31 --> 00:29:32 southern part of the sky if you're
00:29:32 --> 00:29:34 looking from corresponding latitudes in
00:29:34 --> 00:29:35 the northern hemisphere there are a
00:29:35 --> 00:29:36 bunch of constellations of the zodiac
00:29:37 --> 00:29:38 around at the moment I mean there always
00:29:38 --> 00:29:39 are but these ones are really good ones
00:29:39 --> 00:29:41 they've got Taurus we've got Gemini
00:29:41 --> 00:29:43 Cancer and Leo Cancer and Leo they do
00:29:43 --> 00:29:46 seem a bit bare for uned the naked eye
00:29:46 --> 00:29:48 Stargazer not using a telescope but
00:29:48 --> 00:29:49 Gemini and Taurus are really good
00:29:49 --> 00:29:51 actually you can easily spot Gemini
00:29:51 --> 00:29:53 because it has two Bright Stars Castor
00:29:53 --> 00:29:56 and Pollock Gemini is the so-called
00:29:56 --> 00:29:58 constellation of the Twins and Castor
00:29:58 --> 00:30:00 and poock are these two bright stars
00:30:00 --> 00:30:01 that are fairly close to each other and
00:30:01 --> 00:30:03 they're fairly close in brightness to
00:30:03 --> 00:30:04 each other as well they're almost the
00:30:04 --> 00:30:06 same brightness so they are the twin
00:30:06 --> 00:30:08 stars of Gemini Taurus has a very
00:30:08 --> 00:30:11 recognizable wedge shaped group of stars
00:30:11 --> 00:30:13 I clust to call the hiades it's very
00:30:13 --> 00:30:15 easy to see and on on one edge of it
00:30:15 --> 00:30:17 there's a bright reddish star called Al
00:30:17 --> 00:30:19 Deon which is which is quite easy to
00:30:19 --> 00:30:21 spot as well there's another star
00:30:21 --> 00:30:23 cluster in Taurus it's called the
00:30:23 --> 00:30:24 pleades or the Seven Sisters which we've
00:30:24 --> 00:30:26 spoken about many times on the program
00:30:26 --> 00:30:28 and you can see this with the uned eye
00:30:28 --> 00:30:29 you'll probably only see six of the
00:30:30 --> 00:30:31 Stars though and you do need to give
00:30:31 --> 00:30:33 yourself that dark adaption time and
00:30:33 --> 00:30:34 also you might need to use the atic
00:30:34 --> 00:30:36 vision depending on how good your eyes
00:30:36 --> 00:30:38 up young people's eyes they're really
00:30:38 --> 00:30:39 good older people like me you know you
00:30:39 --> 00:30:41 need a bit of help so get yourself dark
00:30:41 --> 00:30:43 adapted and use a verted vision if you
00:30:43 --> 00:30:45 need to Now High overhead at this time
00:30:45 --> 00:30:46 of year for those of us in the south at
00:30:46 --> 00:30:48 least are the two brightest stars in the
00:30:48 --> 00:30:51 night sky that's Sirius and canopus
00:30:51 --> 00:30:52 Sirius the brighter of the two is
00:30:52 --> 00:30:54 actually a double star system you can't
00:30:54 --> 00:30:56 see the second of its Stars it's a tiny
00:30:56 --> 00:30:58 white dwarf in fact no one can see it so
00:30:58 --> 00:30:59 don't worry about that but it is a
00:30:59 --> 00:31:00 double star system the larger of its two
00:31:01 --> 00:31:02 stars the one we see it's twice as
00:31:02 --> 00:31:04 massive as the sun and yet although
00:31:04 --> 00:31:07 Sirius appears around twice as bright as
00:31:07 --> 00:31:09 that other star canopus the second
00:31:09 --> 00:31:11 brightest star kopus actually is
00:31:11 --> 00:31:14 intrinsically much brighter than Sirus
00:31:14 --> 00:31:15 it just seems dimmer than Sirius because
00:31:15 --> 00:31:17 it's a lot further away canopus is about
00:31:17 --> 00:31:19 310 light years from Earth whereas
00:31:19 --> 00:31:22 Sirius the intrinsically dimmer star is
00:31:22 --> 00:31:25 only 8.6 light years so it's quite
00:31:25 --> 00:31:26 nearby in space ter that's why it seems
00:31:27 --> 00:31:29 brighter than the ual brighter star
00:31:29 --> 00:31:31 canopus but they're both beautiful stars
00:31:31 --> 00:31:32 they're great uh you really can't miss
00:31:33 --> 00:31:34 them you know they are big and bright
00:31:34 --> 00:31:36 now going south along the Noy way past
00:31:36 --> 00:31:38 syrius in canopis heading down the South
00:31:38 --> 00:31:40 now we come to the far shn
00:31:40 --> 00:31:42 constellations such as ring cross and
00:31:42 --> 00:31:44 Karina theing cross is lying on its left
00:31:45 --> 00:31:47 hand side at the moment in mid evening
00:31:47 --> 00:31:49 during March but if you're awake around
00:31:49 --> 00:31:52 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning if you're
00:31:52 --> 00:31:54 stargazing then you'll find it much
00:31:54 --> 00:31:55 higher in the sky and then standing
00:31:55 --> 00:31:57 straight up that other constellation I
00:31:57 --> 00:31:59 mentioned Korean it has another big
00:31:59 --> 00:32:01 nebula that you can see with the uned
00:32:01 --> 00:32:03 eye like the IR nebula but this one is
00:32:03 --> 00:32:06 big it is really really big get out
00:32:06 --> 00:32:07 after midnight if you can when there are
00:32:07 --> 00:32:09 fewer lights around let yourself get
00:32:09 --> 00:32:11 dark adapted and you will see the Kina
00:32:11 --> 00:32:13 nebula with the uned eye it's enormous
00:32:13 --> 00:32:15 and then if you get a full philoscope
00:32:15 --> 00:32:16 onto it you can just spend hours sort of
00:32:16 --> 00:32:19 sweeping around this huge region of
00:32:19 --> 00:32:21 nebulosity out there in space it's it's
00:32:21 --> 00:32:23 it's it is everyone Rises about the
00:32:23 --> 00:32:25 greater IR nebula but really I think the
00:32:25 --> 00:32:27 great nebula in Kina is probably the
00:32:27 --> 00:32:29 better of the two certainly fascinating
00:32:29 --> 00:32:31 when you think of the ticking Time Bomb
00:32:31 --> 00:32:34 inside the nebulosity the two stars
00:32:34 --> 00:32:36 there that are both big blue super
00:32:36 --> 00:32:39 giants that are about to explode they
00:32:39 --> 00:32:40 are when we say about to explode of
00:32:40 --> 00:32:41 course we mean we don't mean like
00:32:42 --> 00:32:43 tomorrow or the next week or whatever or
00:32:43 --> 00:32:46 that suppose could be it could happen
00:32:46 --> 00:32:49 but likely of course it's going to be a
00:32:49 --> 00:32:51 long time from now but yeah in space
00:32:51 --> 00:32:52 astronomical terms and in spellar
00:32:52 --> 00:32:55 evolution terms yeah they're on the way
00:32:55 --> 00:32:58 out and any day now in terms of of you
00:32:58 --> 00:33:00 know the eons they're going to go bang
00:33:00 --> 00:33:01 that'll be pretty impressive they'll be
00:33:01 --> 00:33:04 bright enough to be seen in daylight
00:33:04 --> 00:33:05 probably as bright as the Moon is in
00:33:05 --> 00:33:07 daylight yeah yeah that would be really
00:33:07 --> 00:33:09 impressive I mean night time would be
00:33:09 --> 00:33:11 almost daytime it' be really really
00:33:11 --> 00:33:12 bright you wouldn't have any trouble
00:33:12 --> 00:33:14 reading a book outside that's for sure
00:33:14 --> 00:33:15 you probably have to wear sunglasses in
00:33:15 --> 00:33:17 fact Ste it now turning to the planets
00:33:17 --> 00:33:19 we've got Venus it's brief Venus is
00:33:19 --> 00:33:21 briefly visible right at the start of
00:33:21 --> 00:33:23 March but it's very low down on the
00:33:23 --> 00:33:25 western Horizon after sunset uh and it's
00:33:25 --> 00:33:27 soon going to disappear from view it's
00:33:27 --> 00:33:29 heading as we share from our line of
00:33:29 --> 00:33:30 side it's heading closer and closer to
00:33:30 --> 00:33:31 the sun it's not actually getting closer
00:33:31 --> 00:33:33 to the Sun but it's in line of sight
00:33:33 --> 00:33:35 Wise It's just getting closer so we're
00:33:35 --> 00:33:37 going to lose Venus very quickly for all
00:33:37 --> 00:33:39 of March basically it will reappear in
00:33:39 --> 00:33:41 the morning Sky just above the Eastern
00:33:41 --> 00:33:43 Horizon Before Sunrise early next month
00:33:43 --> 00:33:45 so if you want to see Venus next month
00:33:45 --> 00:33:47 onwards is is a better time Jupiter and
00:33:47 --> 00:33:48 Mars are very prominent in the evening
00:33:49 --> 00:33:51 Sky after sunset at the moment Jupiter
00:33:51 --> 00:33:52 can be found very close to that star
00:33:52 --> 00:33:54 cluster I mentioned earlier the high 8s
00:33:54 --> 00:33:56 in Taurus and also the the star Al de
00:33:56 --> 00:33:58 one it's it's close to those too big and
00:33:58 --> 00:33:59 bright and white and you really can't
00:34:00 --> 00:34:02 miss it Mars which is somewhat dimmer
00:34:02 --> 00:34:04 and has a sort of a ruddy orangey sort
00:34:04 --> 00:34:06 of color it can be found not far from
00:34:06 --> 00:34:07 those two stars in Gemini actually
00:34:07 --> 00:34:09 Castor and Pollock in fact it makes a
00:34:09 --> 00:34:11 nice triangle with them you got pretty
00:34:11 --> 00:34:13 much almost a nu colateral triangle now
00:34:13 --> 00:34:14 that I sort of picture it in my mind
00:34:14 --> 00:34:15 from the style map I was looking at
00:34:15 --> 00:34:17 earlier today you got Castor on poock as
00:34:17 --> 00:34:19 one base of a triangle and then at Apex
00:34:19 --> 00:34:21 you've got Mars so that should be pretty
00:34:21 --> 00:34:23 easy to spot as well finally Saturn
00:34:23 --> 00:34:25 unfortunately is pretty much out of view
00:34:25 --> 00:34:26 this month it's too close to the Sun
00:34:26 --> 00:34:28 from viewing the any time you're going
00:34:28 --> 00:34:30 to see it is in the last days of March
00:34:30 --> 00:34:31 just above the Eastern Horizon Before
00:34:31 --> 00:34:33 Sunrise but next month will be a lot
00:34:33 --> 00:34:35 better for that for those who get up
00:34:35 --> 00:34:37 before the dawn and that's St it is the
00:34:37 --> 00:34:39 skyer March that's science writer
00:34:39 --> 00:34:44 Jonathan NY and this is
00:34:44 --> 00:34:56 [Music]
00:34:56 --> 00:34:59 spacetime and that's the show for now
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