SpaceTime Series 28 Episode 20
The Astronomy, Space and Science News Podcast
New Discoveries on Earth's Elements, Uranus's Moon Ariel, and the Fate of Comet Atlas
In this episode of SpaceTime, we delve into a groundbreaking study that challenges long-held beliefs about the origins of Earth's missing moderately volatile elements, such as copper and zinc. This research suggests that rather than being lost during the early formation of the solar system, these essential elements were likely retained by the first planetesimals and lost later due to violent cosmic collisions during planetary growth, reshaping our understanding of planetary chemistry and habitability.
Uranus's Moon Ariel: A Window to Its Interior
We also explore the fascinating trench-like features on Uranus's moon Ariel, which may serve as conduits for internal materials. New research indicates that these medial grooves could provide insights into Ariel's geological history and potential subsurface oceans, highlighting the complex interplay of tectonic and volcanic activities on the moon's surface.
Comet Atlas: A Dying Wonder
Additionally, we discuss the fate of Comet G3 Atlas, which has recently passed perilously close to the Sun, resulting in the fragmentation of its nucleus. As it fades from view, Atlas becomes a headless wonder, leaving behind a trail of debris that will continue to orbit the Sun. This episode also features a look at the stunning night skies of February, including the iconic constellations and celestial events to observe.
00:00 Space Time Series 28 Episode 20 for broadcast on 14 February 2025
00:49 New insights into Earth's missing elements
06:30 Trench-like features on Uranus's moon Ariel
12:15 The demise of Comet G3 Atlas
18:00 February night sky highlights
22:45 The constellation Orion and its myths
27:00 Exploring the Pleiades and other celestial wonders
30:15 The significance of the Milky Way in stargazing
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✍️ Episode References
NASA
Science Advances
https://www.science.org/journal/sciadv
Planetary Science Journal
https://www.journals.elsevier.com/planetary-science-journal
Sky and Telescope
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Episode link: https://play.headliner.app/episode/25589155?utm_source=youtube
00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 this is spacetime series 28 episode 20
00:00:02 --> 00:00:05 for broadcast on the 14th of February
00:00:05 --> 00:00:08 2025 coming up on SpaceTime new
00:00:08 --> 00:00:10 discoveries challenge leld theories
00:00:10 --> 00:00:12 about Earth's missing elements
00:00:12 --> 00:00:14 trench-like features on Uranus's Moon
00:00:14 --> 00:00:17 Ariel may be a window into its interior
00:00:17 --> 00:00:21 and the comet Atlas destined to die all
00:00:21 --> 00:00:24 that and more coming up on
00:00:24 --> 00:00:27 SpaceTime welcome to SpaceTime with
00:00:27 --> 00:00:36 Stuart Gary
00:00:36 --> 00:00:44 [Music]
00:00:44 --> 00:00:46 a new study has revealed a surprising
00:00:46 --> 00:00:48 twist in the story of Earth's formation
00:00:48 --> 00:00:51 4.6 billion years ago understanding
00:00:51 --> 00:00:53 where Earth's Essential Elements came
00:00:53 --> 00:00:55 from and why some are missing has long
00:00:55 --> 00:00:58 puzzled scientists now a report in the
00:00:58 --> 00:01:00 journal science advances challenges
00:01:00 --> 00:01:02 traditional theories about why the Earth
00:01:02 --> 00:01:05 and Mars are depleted in moderately
00:01:05 --> 00:01:07 volatile elements these elements like
00:01:07 --> 00:01:10 copper and zinc play a crucial role in
00:01:10 --> 00:01:12 planetary chemistry often accompanying
00:01:12 --> 00:01:14 life Essential Elements such as water
00:01:14 --> 00:01:16 carbon and nitrogen understanding their
00:01:16 --> 00:01:19 origin provides vital clues about why
00:01:19 --> 00:01:22 the Earth became a habitable world the
00:01:22 --> 00:01:23 problem is Earth and Mars contains
00:01:23 --> 00:01:25 significantly fewer moderately volatile
00:01:25 --> 00:01:27 elements than primitive meteorites known
00:01:27 --> 00:01:30 as condres and that's raising
00:01:30 --> 00:01:32 fundamental questions about planetary
00:01:32 --> 00:01:34 formation this new research takes a
00:01:34 --> 00:01:36 Fresh Approach by analyzing iron
00:01:36 --> 00:01:38 meteorites remnants of the metallic
00:01:38 --> 00:01:39 cause of the earliest planetary building
00:01:39 --> 00:01:42 blocks in order to uncover new insights
00:01:42 --> 00:01:45 the study's lead author Diamond V gral
00:01:45 --> 00:01:47 from Arizona State University says the
00:01:47 --> 00:01:49 team found conclusive evidence that
00:01:49 --> 00:01:51 first generation planetesimals in the
00:01:51 --> 00:01:53 inner solar system were unexpectedly
00:01:53 --> 00:01:56 rich in these elements the discovery
00:01:56 --> 00:01:58 reshaped science's understanding of how
00:01:58 --> 00:02:00 planets acquired their ingredients
00:02:00 --> 00:02:02 see until now scientists believe that
00:02:02 --> 00:02:04 moderately volatile elements were lost
00:02:04 --> 00:02:06 either because they never fully
00:02:06 --> 00:02:08 condensed in the early solar system or
00:02:08 --> 00:02:11 because they escaped during planetesimal
00:02:11 --> 00:02:13 differentiation however this study is
00:02:13 --> 00:02:15 revealing a different story it seems
00:02:15 --> 00:02:17 many of the first planetesimals held
00:02:17 --> 00:02:19 onto their moderately volatile elements
00:02:19 --> 00:02:21 suggesting that the building blocks of
00:02:21 --> 00:02:23 Earth and Mars must have lost their
00:02:23 --> 00:02:25 later during a period of violent Cosmic
00:02:25 --> 00:02:28 collisions which shaped their formation
00:02:28 --> 00:02:30 surprisingly the author's that many in a
00:02:30 --> 00:02:32 solar system planetesimals retain
00:02:32 --> 00:02:35 condite like moderately volatile element
00:02:35 --> 00:02:37 abundances showing they created and
00:02:37 --> 00:02:39 preserved them despite undergoing
00:02:39 --> 00:02:41 differentiation this suggests that the
00:02:41 --> 00:02:43 progenitors of Earth and Mars did not
00:02:43 --> 00:02:45 start out depleted in these elements but
00:02:45 --> 00:02:47 instead their loss occurred over a
00:02:47 --> 00:02:49 prolonged period of collisional growth
00:02:49 --> 00:02:51 rather than through incomplete
00:02:51 --> 00:02:53 condensation in the solar nebula or
00:02:53 --> 00:02:54 through planetary
00:02:54 --> 00:02:57 differentiation this work redefines how
00:02:57 --> 00:02:59 science understands the chemical
00:02:59 --> 00:03:01 evolution of planets it shows that the
00:03:01 --> 00:03:03 building blocks of the Earth and Mars
00:03:03 --> 00:03:05 were originally rich in these life
00:03:05 --> 00:03:07 Essential Elements but intense
00:03:07 --> 00:03:09 collisions during planetary growth caus
00:03:09 --> 00:03:13 their depletion this is spacetime still
00:03:13 --> 00:03:16 to come trench-like features on Uranus's
00:03:16 --> 00:03:18 Moon arel may be a window into its
00:03:18 --> 00:03:21 interior and as we predicted last month
00:03:21 --> 00:03:24 Comet G3 Atlas is dying after it swooped
00:03:24 --> 00:03:26 too close to the Sun causing its nucleus
00:03:26 --> 00:03:28 to break apart all that and more still
00:03:28 --> 00:03:30 to come on
00:03:30 --> 00:03:45 [Music]
00:03:45 --> 00:03:47 SpaceTime a new study has raised the
00:03:47 --> 00:03:49 possibility that a giant trench-like
00:03:49 --> 00:03:52 feature on Uranus's Moon RL could be a
00:03:52 --> 00:03:55 window into its interior last year a
00:03:55 --> 00:03:57 study led by planetary scientist Richard
00:03:57 --> 00:03:59 cartright from the Johns Hopkins applied
00:03:59 --> 00:04:01 Physics laboratory in lurel Maryland
00:04:01 --> 00:04:04 proposed that deposits of carbon dioxide
00:04:04 --> 00:04:05 ice and other carbon bearing molecules
00:04:05 --> 00:04:08 on ARL likely originated from chemical
00:04:08 --> 00:04:11 processes inside the moon possibly even
00:04:11 --> 00:04:13 from the subsurface ocean Now new
00:04:13 --> 00:04:15 research May shed light on how these
00:04:16 --> 00:04:17 minerals reached or even is still
00:04:17 --> 00:04:20 reaching the moon's surface the new
00:04:20 --> 00:04:22 study led by Khloe bingfield also from
00:04:22 --> 00:04:25 John's Hopkins points to medial grooves
00:04:25 --> 00:04:27 trenches that cut through Ariel's
00:04:27 --> 00:04:29 massive Canyons as likely conures for
00:04:29 --> 00:04:31 for this exchange the findings are
00:04:32 --> 00:04:33 reported in the planetary science
00:04:33 --> 00:04:35 journal suggest that these grooves are
00:04:35 --> 00:04:37 spreading centers like mid ocean ridges
00:04:38 --> 00:04:40 creating new crust on Earth seaf floors
00:04:40 --> 00:04:42 by bringing up internal material that
00:04:42 --> 00:04:45 forms a new Surface bingfield says if
00:04:45 --> 00:04:47 correct these medial grooves are
00:04:47 --> 00:04:48 probably the best candidates for
00:04:48 --> 00:04:50 sourcing those carbon dioxide deposits
00:04:50 --> 00:04:52 and uncovering more details about the
00:04:52 --> 00:04:55 moon's interior among Ariel's youngest
00:04:55 --> 00:04:57 known surface features the grooves have
00:04:57 --> 00:04:59 long been suspected to be products of a
00:04:59 --> 00:05:01 complex interplay between tectonic and
00:05:02 --> 00:05:04 Volcanic activities using images taken
00:05:04 --> 00:05:07 by NASA's Voyer 2 spacecraft the only
00:05:07 --> 00:05:09 mission to pass by Uranus and its moons
00:05:09 --> 00:05:11 the authors considered that the grooves
00:05:11 --> 00:05:13 may have formed through fishes or
00:05:13 --> 00:05:15 volcanic conduits but the new analysis
00:05:16 --> 00:05:18 leads strongly towards spreading centers
00:05:18 --> 00:05:20 for example the canyon walls flanking
00:05:20 --> 00:05:22 the grooves fit together like puzzle
00:05:22 --> 00:05:24 pieces when their Central floors are
00:05:24 --> 00:05:27 digitally removed and the canyon floors
00:05:27 --> 00:05:29 display regularly spaced ridges in some
00:05:29 --> 00:05:30 locations are Kinder The Tracks of a
00:05:30 --> 00:05:33 construction excavator consistent with a
00:05:33 --> 00:05:36 series of material depositions spreading
00:05:36 --> 00:05:38 centers arise from convection cells
00:05:38 --> 00:05:41 beneath the crust and heat from Ariel's
00:05:41 --> 00:05:43 interior would cause material to ascend
00:05:43 --> 00:05:45 splitting the surface and forcing it
00:05:45 --> 00:05:47 apart as the material is imp placed and
00:05:47 --> 00:05:50 gradually cools curiously Ariel and
00:05:50 --> 00:05:52 several other of Uranus's moons
00:05:52 --> 00:05:53 experienced multiple periods of
00:05:53 --> 00:05:56 geological activity driven by tidal
00:05:56 --> 00:05:58 forces these forces stemming from period
00:05:59 --> 00:06:00 resonances that is where each of the
00:06:00 --> 00:06:02 moon's orbital periods align in precise
00:06:02 --> 00:06:05 ratios causes the icy Interiors to cycle
00:06:05 --> 00:06:07 between phases of heating and in some
00:06:07 --> 00:06:10 instances even melting and then freezing
00:06:10 --> 00:06:12 again scientists think these resonances
00:06:12 --> 00:06:15 helping to sustain oceans beneath arel
00:06:15 --> 00:06:17 and also its smaller neighbor Miranda
00:06:17 --> 00:06:20 for instance in 2024 a study proposed
00:06:20 --> 00:06:21 that such residences formed an ocean
00:06:21 --> 00:06:24 within Miranda's interior and that this
00:06:24 --> 00:06:26 ocean might still exist there today when
00:06:26 --> 00:06:28 it comes to Ariel's possible ocean the
00:06:28 --> 00:06:30 author's highlight of the importance of
00:06:30 --> 00:06:32 the medial grooves for understanding the
00:06:32 --> 00:06:36 likely short lifespan of carbon oxides
00:06:36 --> 00:06:38 it suggests a possible mechanism for imp
00:06:38 --> 00:06:39 placing fresh material in shortlived
00:06:40 --> 00:06:42 compounds including carbon monoxide and
00:06:42 --> 00:06:44 perhaps ammonia bearing species on the
00:06:44 --> 00:06:48 surface Ariel 2 May host a thin Remnant
00:06:48 --> 00:06:50 ocean although bingfield remains
00:06:50 --> 00:06:51 cautious about drawing direct links
00:06:51 --> 00:06:53 between that Ocean and the medial
00:06:53 --> 00:06:56 grooves the size of Ariel's possible
00:06:56 --> 00:06:58 ocean and its depth beneath the surface
00:06:58 --> 00:07:00 can only be estimated but it may be too
00:07:00 --> 00:07:02 isolated to interact with any spreading
00:07:02 --> 00:07:05 centers and while carbon dioxide ises
00:07:05 --> 00:07:08 are present on Ariel surface it's still
00:07:08 --> 00:07:09 unclear as to whether they are
00:07:09 --> 00:07:11 associated with the grooves that's
00:07:11 --> 00:07:13 because Voyer 2 didn't have the
00:07:13 --> 00:07:15 instruments on board to allow it to map
00:07:15 --> 00:07:17 the distribution of the ises to find the
00:07:17 --> 00:07:19 answers cart rits emphasize the need for
00:07:19 --> 00:07:22 further exploration and the importance
00:07:22 --> 00:07:24 of a new dedicated Uranus Mission he
00:07:24 --> 00:07:26 says ssts need an orbit that can make
00:07:26 --> 00:07:29 close passes of Ariel map its medial
00:07:29 --> 00:07:31 grooves in detail and then analyze their
00:07:31 --> 00:07:33 spectral signatures for components like
00:07:33 --> 00:07:36 carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide if
00:07:36 --> 00:07:38 carbon bearing molecules are
00:07:38 --> 00:07:39 concentrated near these grooves then
00:07:40 --> 00:07:41 that would strongly support the idea
00:07:42 --> 00:07:44 that they are windows into Ariel's
00:07:44 --> 00:07:47 interior with Uranus now climbing in the
00:07:47 --> 00:07:49 ranks of exploration priorities Ariel
00:07:49 --> 00:07:51 and its enigmatic medial grooves May
00:07:51 --> 00:07:54 soon come under closer scrutiny offering
00:07:54 --> 00:07:55 scientists an unprecedented look into
00:07:56 --> 00:07:58 the moon's past possibly even its
00:07:58 --> 00:07:59 presence this
00:08:00 --> 00:08:02 SpaceTime still to come as we predicted
00:08:02 --> 00:08:05 last month Comet G3 Atlas is dying after
00:08:05 --> 00:08:08 it swooped too close to the Sun causing
00:08:08 --> 00:08:10 its nucleus to break apart and the
00:08:10 --> 00:08:12 constellation of Ryan the hunter the red
00:08:12 --> 00:08:14 super giant bleo getting ready to go
00:08:14 --> 00:08:18 supern over the PES open star cluster
00:08:18 --> 00:08:20 and the spectacular melenic clouds are
00:08:20 --> 00:08:22 among the highlights of the February
00:08:22 --> 00:08:25 night skies on Skywatch
00:08:25 --> 00:08:32 [Music]
00:08:39 --> 00:08:41 well as we predicted last month Comet G3
00:08:42 --> 00:08:44 Atlas is dying after it swooped too
00:08:44 --> 00:08:46 close to the Sun causing its nucleus to
00:08:46 --> 00:08:48 break apart Atlas passed well inside the
00:08:48 --> 00:08:50 orbit of mercury as it reached parah
00:08:50 --> 00:08:52 helium its closest orbital position to
00:08:52 --> 00:08:55 the sun it's a location where the sun
00:08:55 --> 00:08:58 heats and destroys many comets now as it
00:08:58 --> 00:08:59 moves away from the Sun the the Comets
00:08:59 --> 00:09:01 becoming dimmer and dimmer a sort of
00:09:01 --> 00:09:04 headless Wonder flying through space
00:09:04 --> 00:09:06 it's currently lighting up the southern
00:09:06 --> 00:09:08 hemisphere Skies with impressive Tales
00:09:08 --> 00:09:10 near the Horizon just after sunset
00:09:10 --> 00:09:12 images taken in mid January show the
00:09:12 --> 00:09:14 comet's ice and Rocky nucleus still
00:09:14 --> 00:09:17 looking bright and centrally condensed
00:09:17 --> 00:09:19 but over successive nights across late
00:09:19 --> 00:09:22 January the nucleus became more diffused
00:09:22 --> 00:09:24 as it fragmented and began to
00:09:24 --> 00:09:25 disintegrate some of the Comet
00:09:25 --> 00:09:27 scattering remains of rocks and ice will
00:09:27 --> 00:09:30 continue to orbit the Sun some in nearly
00:09:30 --> 00:09:32 the same outward section of the orbit
00:09:32 --> 00:09:33 that the comet's nucleus would have
00:09:33 --> 00:09:36 taken Atlas has been an impressive sight
00:09:36 --> 00:09:38 so bright or inspiring that it may
00:09:38 --> 00:09:40 eventually become known as the great
00:09:40 --> 00:09:41 Comet of
00:09:41 --> 00:09:46 2025 this is spacetime
00:09:46 --> 00:10:00 [Music]
00:10:00 --> 00:10:02 and time now to turn our eyes to the
00:10:02 --> 00:10:04 skies and check out the celestial spere
00:10:04 --> 00:10:08 for February on Skywatch February is the
00:10:08 --> 00:10:09 second month of the year in the Julian
00:10:09 --> 00:10:12 and gorian calendars it's also the
00:10:12 --> 00:10:13 shortest month of the year and the only
00:10:14 --> 00:10:15 one which is a length of less than 30
00:10:16 --> 00:10:18 days the month is 28 days in common
00:10:18 --> 00:10:21 years and 29 in leap years with a
00:10:21 --> 00:10:25 quadral 29th day being caught a leap day
00:10:25 --> 00:10:27 this additional day every fourth year is
00:10:27 --> 00:10:28 needed to keep the calendar year
00:10:28 --> 00:10:30 synchronized ized with the astronomical
00:10:30 --> 00:10:33 year because seasons and astronomical
00:10:33 --> 00:10:35 events don't repeat in whole numbers of
00:10:35 --> 00:10:37 days calendars that have the same number
00:10:37 --> 00:10:39 of days in each year tend to drift over
00:10:39 --> 00:10:41 time with respect to the event the year
00:10:41 --> 00:10:44 is supposed to track by inserting an
00:10:44 --> 00:10:46 additional day every fourth year this
00:10:46 --> 00:10:48 drift can be corrected the extra days
00:10:48 --> 00:10:50 occur in years which are multiples of
00:10:50 --> 00:10:52 four with the exception of years
00:10:52 --> 00:10:56 divisible by 100 but not by 400
00:10:56 --> 00:10:58 similarly in the Looney solar Hebrew
00:10:58 --> 00:11:01 calendar Ada a 13th month is added seven
00:11:01 --> 00:11:04 times every 19 years to the 12 lunar
00:11:04 --> 00:11:06 months in its common years in order to
00:11:06 --> 00:11:08 keep its calendar from also drifting
00:11:08 --> 00:11:11 through the seasons and in the bar High
00:11:11 --> 00:11:12 calendar elip days added whenever it's
00:11:12 --> 00:11:14 needed in order to ensure that the
00:11:14 --> 00:11:16 following year begins on the vernal
00:11:16 --> 00:11:19 equinox the length of the day is also
00:11:19 --> 00:11:20 occasionally Changed by the insertion of
00:11:20 --> 00:11:23 leap seconds into coordinated universal
00:11:23 --> 00:11:26 time or UTC more often referred to as
00:11:26 --> 00:11:29 GMT or Greenwich meantime this is needed
00:11:29 --> 00:11:30 because of the variability in Earth
00:11:31 --> 00:11:34 rotational period but unlike leap days
00:11:34 --> 00:11:36 leap seconds aren't introduced on a
00:11:36 --> 00:11:38 regular schedule since the variability
00:11:38 --> 00:11:41 in the length of the day is not entirely
00:11:41 --> 00:11:42 predictable okay let's turn our
00:11:42 --> 00:11:45 attention to the sky now and throughout
00:11:45 --> 00:11:47 most of February Sky Watchers in the
00:11:47 --> 00:11:48 southern hemisphere may be lucky enough
00:11:48 --> 00:11:50 to catch sight of the occasional meteor
00:11:51 --> 00:11:52 associated with the alpha and Betto
00:11:52 --> 00:11:56 centur meteor showers now as their names
00:11:56 --> 00:11:58 suggest they appear to radiate out from
00:11:58 --> 00:11:59 the direction of the con constellation
00:11:59 --> 00:12:02 senturus as two separate streams
00:12:02 --> 00:12:04 although they RAR produce more than one
00:12:04 --> 00:12:07 or two meteors per hour they usually
00:12:07 --> 00:12:09 peek around February the 8th and to see
00:12:09 --> 00:12:11 them at their best you really should be
00:12:11 --> 00:12:12 looking towards the east a few hours
00:12:13 --> 00:12:13 before
00:12:14 --> 00:12:16 Dawn okay looking North now and high in
00:12:16 --> 00:12:19 the sky is the famous constellation of
00:12:19 --> 00:12:22 Orion the hunter Orion is one of the
00:12:22 --> 00:12:24 best known and most recognized
00:12:24 --> 00:12:26 constellations in the sky in Greek
00:12:26 --> 00:12:29 mythology Orion was the son of a Goro
00:12:29 --> 00:12:31 and Poseidon was also known as Neptune
00:12:31 --> 00:12:34 the god of the sea in Roman mythology
00:12:34 --> 00:12:36 Orion was a mighty but egotistical and
00:12:36 --> 00:12:39 conceited Hunter who once boasted that
00:12:39 --> 00:12:41 his skill would allow him to kill all
00:12:41 --> 00:12:44 the world's animals so the Earth goddess
00:12:44 --> 00:12:46 Gia sent scorpus the Scorpion to kill
00:12:46 --> 00:12:49 him and save the animals Orion was stung
00:12:49 --> 00:12:52 in the shoulder but then the Healer ofus
00:12:52 --> 00:12:53 intervened to save him and crushed the
00:12:53 --> 00:12:56 Scorpion both Orion and the Scorpion
00:12:56 --> 00:12:57 were then placed in the Heavens to play
00:12:57 --> 00:12:59 out the story each year
00:12:59 --> 00:13:01 with scorpus rising in the east as the
00:13:01 --> 00:13:05 defeated Orion sets in the west now A
00:13:05 --> 00:13:07 variation of this Fable speaks of Orion
00:13:07 --> 00:13:09 getting a little bit too close to emus
00:13:09 --> 00:13:12 the goddess of Chastity now her brother
00:13:12 --> 00:13:14 Apollo didn't approve of this
00:13:14 --> 00:13:16 relationship and tricked Artemus into
00:13:16 --> 00:13:18 testing her skill by shooting an arrow
00:13:18 --> 00:13:20 at a distant Speck on the ocean what
00:13:20 --> 00:13:23 emus didn't know was that that Speck was
00:13:23 --> 00:13:25 actually Aion swimming to escape the
00:13:25 --> 00:13:28 giant scorpion created to kill him when
00:13:28 --> 00:13:30 adamus discovered what she had done she
00:13:30 --> 00:13:32 placed Orion's body in the sky as the
00:13:32 --> 00:13:36 Stars we see today similar variations to
00:13:36 --> 00:13:37 this story appear in other cultures
00:13:37 --> 00:13:39 including ancient Egypt where Orion is
00:13:40 --> 00:13:41 known as Osiris the god of the
00:13:41 --> 00:13:43 underworld and of
00:13:43 --> 00:13:45 regeneration the very earliest depiction
00:13:45 --> 00:13:47 that's been linked to the constellation
00:13:47 --> 00:13:49 Orion is a prehistoric mammoth ivory
00:13:49 --> 00:13:52 carving found in a cave in the arch
00:13:52 --> 00:13:54 Valley in West Germany
00:13:54 --> 00:13:57 1979 archaeologists have estimated that
00:13:57 --> 00:13:58 it would have been fashioned somewhere
00:13:58 --> 00:14:02 between 32 and 38 years ago the
00:14:02 --> 00:14:04 distinctive pattern of Orion has been
00:14:04 --> 00:14:06 recognized in numerous cultures around
00:14:06 --> 00:14:08 the world including ancient Babylonian
00:14:08 --> 00:14:10 star catalogs dating back to the late
00:14:10 --> 00:14:13 Bronze Age Orion's easily identified by
00:14:13 --> 00:14:16 its rectangle of four stars surrounding
00:14:16 --> 00:14:18 a central Trio of stars in a row which
00:14:18 --> 00:14:21 form aion's belt and hanging from the
00:14:21 --> 00:14:24 belt are stars which make up the sword
00:14:24 --> 00:14:26 of Orion to those of our listeners in
00:14:26 --> 00:14:28 the southern hemisphere Orion appears to
00:14:28 --> 00:14:30 be up side down with the sword on his
00:14:30 --> 00:14:33 belt pointing upwards and if you look
00:14:33 --> 00:14:35 really really carefully you'll notice
00:14:35 --> 00:14:38 that the Middle star in the sword looks
00:14:38 --> 00:14:40 a bit fuzzy that's because it's not a
00:14:40 --> 00:14:43 star but rather a huge star forming
00:14:43 --> 00:14:46 region that is Messier 42 or m42 the
00:14:46 --> 00:14:51 great nebula in Orion located some 1
00:14:51 --> 00:14:53 light years away m42 is the nearest
00:14:54 --> 00:14:56 large star forming region to Earth
00:14:56 --> 00:14:58 containing hundreds of newly forming
00:14:58 --> 00:15:01 Stars and Proto Stars a light year is
00:15:01 --> 00:15:04 about 10 trillion kilomet the distance a
00:15:04 --> 00:15:06 photon can travel in a year at 300
00:15:06 --> 00:15:08 km per second the speed of light in a
00:15:08 --> 00:15:10 vacuum and the ultimate speed limit of
00:15:10 --> 00:15:13 the universe the Orion Nebula is more
00:15:13 --> 00:15:15 than 24 light years across and it
00:15:15 --> 00:15:18 contains as much mass as 2 Suns it's
00:15:18 --> 00:15:20 one of the most scrutinized and
00:15:20 --> 00:15:22 photographed objects in the night sky
00:15:22 --> 00:15:24 and is among the most intensely studied
00:15:24 --> 00:15:27 Celestial features AR nebula has
00:15:27 --> 00:15:30 revealed much about the pro of how stars
00:15:30 --> 00:15:32 and planetary systems are formed from
00:15:32 --> 00:15:34 collapsing molecular gas and dust clouds
00:15:34 --> 00:15:37 by studying m42 astronomers have
00:15:37 --> 00:15:40 directly observed protoplanetary discs
00:15:40 --> 00:15:42 Brown dwarfs intense and turbulent
00:15:42 --> 00:15:45 motions of gas and the fertile ionizing
00:15:45 --> 00:15:47 effects of nearby massive stars in the
00:15:47 --> 00:15:50 nebula the Orion Nebula contains a very
00:15:50 --> 00:15:53 young open cluster known as trapezium
00:15:53 --> 00:15:55 due to the asterism of its four primary
00:15:55 --> 00:15:58 Stars the trapezium itself is a
00:15:58 --> 00:16:00 component of the much larger Orion
00:16:00 --> 00:16:02 Nebula cluster an association of around
00:16:02 --> 00:16:05 2 Stars within a diameter of just 20
00:16:06 --> 00:16:07 light
00:16:07 --> 00:16:09 years the brightest star in the
00:16:09 --> 00:16:11 constellation of Orion is the
00:16:11 --> 00:16:13 semi-regular variable red super giant
00:16:13 --> 00:16:16 bleers which represents the scorpion
00:16:16 --> 00:16:18 sting on Orion's shoulder currently
00:16:19 --> 00:16:21 known as bleers and commonly referred to
00:16:21 --> 00:16:23 by the public as Beetle Juice don't say
00:16:23 --> 00:16:25 it three times the names of both
00:16:25 --> 00:16:27 tortured mispronunciations of the
00:16:27 --> 00:16:29 original Arabic name iptal haza meaning
00:16:29 --> 00:16:31 the hand of the big man the big man
00:16:32 --> 00:16:35 being a Ryan the hunter located some 643
00:16:35 --> 00:16:37 light years away bleers is the ninth
00:16:37 --> 00:16:41 brightest star in the night sky and it's
00:16:41 --> 00:16:44 big really big in fact red giants like
00:16:44 --> 00:16:46 bleg girl are among the largest stars in
00:16:46 --> 00:16:49 the universe at least in terms of volume
00:16:49 --> 00:16:50 although they're by no means the most
00:16:50 --> 00:16:51 massive or
00:16:51 --> 00:16:55 luminous calculations of ble G's Mass
00:16:55 --> 00:16:57 range from slightly under 10 to a little
00:16:57 --> 00:16:59 over 20 times that of the Sun
00:16:59 --> 00:17:02 and it shines with some 100 times
00:17:02 --> 00:17:04 the sun's brightness if it were placed
00:17:04 --> 00:17:06 at the location of our sun at the center
00:17:06 --> 00:17:08 of our solar system its visible surface
00:17:08 --> 00:17:10 would extend almost as far out as
00:17:10 --> 00:17:12 Jupiter engulfing the orbits of the
00:17:12 --> 00:17:15 planets Mercury Venus Earth and Mars as
00:17:15 --> 00:17:18 well as the main asteroid belt pgar
00:17:18 --> 00:17:20 began its life around 10 million years
00:17:20 --> 00:17:24 ago as a spectral type O or B blue star
00:17:24 --> 00:17:26 astronomers describe stars in terms of
00:17:26 --> 00:17:29 spectral types A classification system
00:17:29 --> 00:17:31 based on temperature and characteristics
00:17:31 --> 00:17:33 the hottest most massive and most
00:17:33 --> 00:17:35 luminous stars are known as spectr type
00:17:35 --> 00:17:38 O blue stars they're followed by spectr
00:17:38 --> 00:17:41 type B blue white stars then spectr type
00:17:41 --> 00:17:44 a white stars spectr type f whitish
00:17:44 --> 00:17:47 yellow stars spectr type G yellow stars
00:17:47 --> 00:17:49 that's where our sun fits in then there
00:17:49 --> 00:17:51 are spectr type K orange stars and the
00:17:51 --> 00:17:53 coolest and least massive stars are
00:17:54 --> 00:17:56 spectr Type M red stars often referred
00:17:56 --> 00:17:59 to as red dwarves each spectral
00:17:59 --> 00:18:01 classification system is also subdivided
00:18:01 --> 00:18:03 using a numeric digit to represent
00:18:03 --> 00:18:05 temperature with zero being the hottest
00:18:05 --> 00:18:07 and nine being the coolest and then
00:18:07 --> 00:18:09 aroman numerals added to represent
00:18:09 --> 00:18:12 Luminosity put them all together and our
00:18:12 --> 00:18:16 sun is officially classified as a g2v or
00:18:16 --> 00:18:19 G25 yellow dwarf star also included in
00:18:19 --> 00:18:21 the Stellar classification system are
00:18:21 --> 00:18:24 special types LT and Y which are
00:18:24 --> 00:18:26 assigned to failed Stars known as brown
00:18:26 --> 00:18:28 dwarves some of which were actually born
00:18:28 --> 00:18:30 as spectral type M red stars but became
00:18:30 --> 00:18:32 Brown dwarves after losing some of their
00:18:32 --> 00:18:35 Mass Brown dwarves fital category
00:18:35 --> 00:18:37 between the largest planets which are
00:18:37 --> 00:18:39 about 13 times the mass of Jupiter and
00:18:39 --> 00:18:41 the smaller spectr type Mr red dwarf
00:18:41 --> 00:18:44 stars which are between 75 and 80 times
00:18:44 --> 00:18:47 the mass of Jupiter or about 0.08 solar
00:18:48 --> 00:18:51 masses red super Giants are fascinating
00:18:51 --> 00:18:53 objects after spending billions of years
00:18:53 --> 00:18:55 fusing hydrogen into helium in their
00:18:55 --> 00:18:58 core a star's core hydrogen Supply
00:18:58 --> 00:19:00 eventually Runs Out And The Balancing
00:19:00 --> 00:19:02 Act between nuclear fusion pushing
00:19:02 --> 00:19:04 outwards and gravity pushing inward
00:19:04 --> 00:19:08 stops with gravity winning the entire
00:19:08 --> 00:19:10 mass of the star then comes crashing
00:19:10 --> 00:19:13 down on the core this causes a dramatic
00:19:13 --> 00:19:15 increase in the cause pressure and
00:19:15 --> 00:19:18 consequently temperature things get hot
00:19:18 --> 00:19:19 enough to trigger what's called a helium
00:19:19 --> 00:19:22 flash this causes the core helium which
00:19:22 --> 00:19:24 is being created in the star to begin
00:19:24 --> 00:19:26 fusing into carbon and oxygen at the
00:19:26 --> 00:19:29 same time the hydrogen Rich region
00:19:29 --> 00:19:31 around the Stellar core has now moved
00:19:31 --> 00:19:32 down into that region where the
00:19:32 --> 00:19:34 temperatures and pressures are high
00:19:34 --> 00:19:36 enough for hydrogen fusion into helium
00:19:36 --> 00:19:39 to commence in a shell around the core
00:19:39 --> 00:19:40 now as all this is going on the
00:19:40 --> 00:19:42 increasing core temperature results in
00:19:42 --> 00:19:44 an increasing level of luminosity and
00:19:44 --> 00:19:46 the resulting radiation pressure from
00:19:46 --> 00:19:48 the shell burning causes the OU of
00:19:48 --> 00:19:50 diffuse gasas envelope of the star to
00:19:50 --> 00:19:53 expand to hundreds of times its previous
00:19:53 --> 00:19:56 radius and as the now blured Stars
00:19:56 --> 00:19:58 chromosphere or visible surface moves
00:19:58 --> 00:20:01 further away from its core it cools down
00:20:01 --> 00:20:03 turning redder hence the star has become
00:20:03 --> 00:20:06 a red giant small stars like the sun
00:20:06 --> 00:20:08 eventually lose their outer envelopes
00:20:08 --> 00:20:10 completely which continue expanding
00:20:10 --> 00:20:13 outwards as planetary nebula this
00:20:13 --> 00:20:15 ultimately exposes the Stars white heart
00:20:15 --> 00:20:18 St core as a white dwarf which is then
00:20:18 --> 00:20:20 left to slowly cool down over the aons
00:20:20 --> 00:20:24 of time however stars with masses more
00:20:24 --> 00:20:26 than around eight times that of the sun
00:20:26 --> 00:20:28 experience a very different fate unlike
00:20:28 --> 00:20:31 the sun their Fusion cycle doesn't end
00:20:31 --> 00:20:32 with helium in the core fusing into
00:20:32 --> 00:20:35 carbon and oxygen they have enough Mass
00:20:35 --> 00:20:37 to fuse carbon and oxygen in their core
00:20:37 --> 00:20:39 into progressively heavier and heavier
00:20:39 --> 00:20:41 elements through a different process
00:20:41 --> 00:20:43 while the shell burning around the core
00:20:43 --> 00:20:45 also fuses progressively heavier and
00:20:45 --> 00:20:48 heavier elements carbon nitrogen oxygen
00:20:48 --> 00:20:52 neon magnesium silicon sulfur nickel and
00:20:52 --> 00:20:55 eventually iron these stars have become
00:20:55 --> 00:20:58 super Giants eventually they'll explode
00:20:58 --> 00:21:01 as core collapse Supernova ending up as
00:21:01 --> 00:21:03 either superdense strange objects called
00:21:03 --> 00:21:06 neutron stars or even stranger objects
00:21:06 --> 00:21:09 called black holes singularities of
00:21:09 --> 00:21:11 infinite density and zero volume where
00:21:11 --> 00:21:13 the laws of physics the science
00:21:13 --> 00:21:16 understands them no longer apply it's
00:21:16 --> 00:21:18 too early to tell whether BG's ultimate
00:21:18 --> 00:21:21 fate will be as a neutron star or black
00:21:21 --> 00:21:24 hole as a red super giant balgar is
00:21:24 --> 00:21:26 reaching the end of its life and it's
00:21:26 --> 00:21:29 expected to explode as a core or type 2
00:21:29 --> 00:21:32 supern over any day now of course in
00:21:32 --> 00:21:34 astronomical terms any day now could
00:21:34 --> 00:21:36 mean tomorrow or it could mean a million
00:21:36 --> 00:21:38 years from now when it does explode
00:21:38 --> 00:21:41 balos will temporarily outshine all the
00:21:41 --> 00:21:43 other stars in our galaxy and it will be
00:21:43 --> 00:21:45 clearly visible in the daytime sky on
00:21:45 --> 00:21:48 Earth the last star to be seen by humans
00:21:48 --> 00:21:50 to go supernova in our galaxy was tyo
00:21:50 --> 00:21:53 star that was in 1572 and that was
00:21:53 --> 00:21:56 before the invention of the
00:21:56 --> 00:21:58 telescope diagonally opposite ble girl
00:21:58 --> 00:22:00 marking Orion's left foot is the blue
00:22:01 --> 00:22:03 super giant star Riel the second
00:22:03 --> 00:22:04 brightest star in the constellation
00:22:04 --> 00:22:07 Orion riel's part of a triple possibly
00:22:08 --> 00:22:10 quadruple star system with three or four
00:22:10 --> 00:22:13 small companion Stars the primary star
00:22:13 --> 00:22:16 Riel a is located some 863 light years
00:22:16 --> 00:22:18 away and is about 23 times the mass of
00:22:18 --> 00:22:21 the Sun the Stars already exhausted its
00:22:21 --> 00:22:24 core hydrogen Supply and it's swollen
00:22:24 --> 00:22:26 out to between 79 and 115 times the
00:22:27 --> 00:22:29 sun's radius and it's somewhere between
00:22:29 --> 00:22:34 120 and 279 times as luminous
00:22:34 --> 00:22:36 like battle G it's now fusing
00:22:36 --> 00:22:37 progressively heavier and heavier
00:22:37 --> 00:22:40 elements in its core meaning it too will
00:22:40 --> 00:22:41 soon go
00:22:41 --> 00:22:44 supernova rul a pulsates quy
00:22:44 --> 00:22:46 periodically and is classified as an
00:22:46 --> 00:22:49 alpha signy variable star Alpha signy
00:22:49 --> 00:22:51 variables are variable blue or white
00:22:51 --> 00:22:53 super giant starss which exhibit
00:22:53 --> 00:22:56 non-radial pulsations meaning some areas
00:22:56 --> 00:22:58 of the star surface are Contracting
00:22:58 --> 00:23:01 while others are expanding this causes
00:23:01 --> 00:23:03 irregular variations in brightness due
00:23:03 --> 00:23:06 to beating of multiple pulsation periods
00:23:06 --> 00:23:08 the pulsations are likely caused by eyon
00:23:08 --> 00:23:10 opacy variations and typically have
00:23:10 --> 00:23:12 periods ranging from several days to a
00:23:12 --> 00:23:16 few weeks rajula's companion star Riel B
00:23:16 --> 00:23:19 is some 500 times fainter than the super
00:23:19 --> 00:23:21 giant and it's only visible with a
00:23:21 --> 00:23:23 telescope Riel B itself is a
00:23:23 --> 00:23:26 spectroscopic binary system comprising
00:23:26 --> 00:23:28 two main sequence blue white stars
00:23:29 --> 00:23:30 main sequence stars are those happily
00:23:30 --> 00:23:33 fusing hydrogen into helium in their
00:23:33 --> 00:23:35 core and spectroscopic binaries a double
00:23:35 --> 00:23:38 star systems orbiting each other so
00:23:38 --> 00:23:40 closely and at such an angle that they
00:23:40 --> 00:23:41 can only be visually separated at least
00:23:41 --> 00:23:43 from our viewpoint on Earth by the
00:23:43 --> 00:23:46 spectroscopic signatures the two stars
00:23:46 --> 00:23:48 making up rajel B are estimated to be
00:23:48 --> 00:23:52 3.9 and 2.9 times the mass of the Sun
00:23:52 --> 00:23:54 respectively and one of those Stars
00:23:54 --> 00:23:57 rajel BB itself may be a binary it
00:23:57 --> 00:23:59 appears to have a very close visual
00:23:59 --> 00:24:02 companion R you see of almost identical
00:24:02 --> 00:24:05 appearance the third brightest star in
00:24:05 --> 00:24:08 Orion is bellatrx Ryan's left shoulder
00:24:08 --> 00:24:10 it's a spectr type B main sequence blue
00:24:10 --> 00:24:13 star with about 8.6 times the mass and
00:24:13 --> 00:24:15 six times the radius of the Sun
00:24:15 --> 00:24:18 Bellatrix is located about 250 light
00:24:18 --> 00:24:21 years away it has an estimated age of
00:24:21 --> 00:24:23 approximately 25 million years now
00:24:23 --> 00:24:25 that's old enough for sty of this Mass
00:24:25 --> 00:24:27 to have consumed much of the hydrogen in
00:24:27 --> 00:24:29 its core and and begin the process of
00:24:29 --> 00:24:31 evolving away off the main sequence into
00:24:31 --> 00:24:32 a blue
00:24:32 --> 00:24:35 giant one the most stunning nebula in
00:24:35 --> 00:24:38 Orion is the spectacular HSE head nebula
00:24:38 --> 00:24:42 Bard 33 the HSE head is a dark nebula
00:24:42 --> 00:24:44 located just south of the star alac
00:24:44 --> 00:24:46 which is the furthest East on Orion's
00:24:46 --> 00:24:48 build and is part of the much larger
00:24:48 --> 00:24:51 Orion molecular cloud complex located
00:24:51 --> 00:24:53 around 1500 L years away the HSE head
00:24:53 --> 00:24:55 nebula was first recorded in
00:24:55 --> 00:24:58 1888 it's one of the most identifiable
00:24:58 --> 00:25:00 nebula simply because of the shape of
00:25:00 --> 00:25:03 its swirling clouds of dark dust and gas
00:25:03 --> 00:25:05 which really does bear an incredible
00:25:05 --> 00:25:08 resemblance to a horse's head to the
00:25:08 --> 00:25:10 west of Orion's Belt you'll see a
00:25:10 --> 00:25:12 v-shaped grouping of stars which
00:25:12 --> 00:25:14 represent the head of Taurus the Bull
00:25:14 --> 00:25:17 who in Greek mythology was changed by
00:25:17 --> 00:25:19 the god Zeus to carry princess Europa
00:25:19 --> 00:25:22 off to creit the V is also part of a
00:25:22 --> 00:25:24 large open star cluster known as the
00:25:24 --> 00:25:27 Hades one of Taurus's eyes is the giant
00:25:27 --> 00:25:30 orange star called auran or the follower
00:25:30 --> 00:25:32 which is located around 65 light years
00:25:32 --> 00:25:34 away and has about 1 and a half times
00:25:34 --> 00:25:37 the mass of the Sun aloran is thought to
00:25:37 --> 00:25:39 contain a number of Jupiter sized
00:25:39 --> 00:25:42 planets uran's already evolved off the
00:25:42 --> 00:25:45 main sequence having exhausted its core
00:25:45 --> 00:25:48 hydrogen fuel supply it follows the ples
00:25:48 --> 00:25:51 or seven sisters a spectacular open star
00:25:51 --> 00:25:54 cluster to the northwest of the V
00:25:54 --> 00:25:56 located in the constellation tourus the
00:25:56 --> 00:25:58 ples is one of the nearest and youngest
00:25:58 --> 00:26:01 star clusters to Earth located just 443
00:26:01 --> 00:26:03 light years away there's a story in
00:26:03 --> 00:26:05 Greek mythology which tells us that
00:26:05 --> 00:26:07 Orion fell in love with the Seven
00:26:07 --> 00:26:10 Sisters and pursued them for a long time
00:26:10 --> 00:26:12 eventually Zeus turned both the Ryan and
00:26:12 --> 00:26:15 the ples into Stars interestingly a
00:26:15 --> 00:26:18 similar story is told in the Aboriginal
00:26:18 --> 00:26:20 dream time culture of the great Victoria
00:26:20 --> 00:26:22 desert region NE old Deere in our back
00:26:22 --> 00:26:24 south Australia Orion's described as a
00:26:25 --> 00:26:27 young male Hunter who chases but never
00:26:27 --> 00:26:29 catches the pl who are a group of seven
00:26:29 --> 00:26:32 young women in Orion's right hand is a
00:26:32 --> 00:26:34 club filled with magic fire and
00:26:34 --> 00:26:36 represented by the Red Giant star
00:26:36 --> 00:26:39 balgar however the pl's oldest sister
00:26:39 --> 00:26:41 represented by the Hades star cluster
00:26:41 --> 00:26:44 taunt standing in front of him she
00:26:44 --> 00:26:46 defensively lifts her foot which is the
00:26:46 --> 00:26:49 St aleran and is also full of Fire magic
00:26:49 --> 00:26:51 and this causes Orion great humiliation
00:26:51 --> 00:26:53 putting out his fire and allowing the
00:26:53 --> 00:26:56 Seven Sisters to escape now one of the
00:26:56 --> 00:26:57 interesting facts about this ancient
00:26:57 --> 00:27:00 dream time story is that it accurately
00:27:00 --> 00:27:02 describes the variability of bleers
00:27:02 --> 00:27:05 which brightens and Fades over a 400 day
00:27:05 --> 00:27:08 period the play7 sisters story is
00:27:08 --> 00:27:10 remarkably similar to Legends found in
00:27:10 --> 00:27:12 many other cultures around the world and
00:27:12 --> 00:27:13 which haven't had any contact with each
00:27:14 --> 00:27:16 other for tens of thousands of years to
00:27:16 --> 00:27:18 play these seven brighter Stars can be
00:27:18 --> 00:27:20 seen with the uned eye hence the Seven
00:27:20 --> 00:27:23 Sisters nickname but this spectacular
00:27:23 --> 00:27:25 open star cluster actually consists of
00:27:25 --> 00:27:26 more than 100
00:27:26 --> 00:27:29 stars now if you follow Orion's built to
00:27:29 --> 00:27:31 the east it brings you to Sirus one of
00:27:31 --> 00:27:33 the nearest and brightest stars in the
00:27:33 --> 00:27:37 sky located just 8.7 light years away
00:27:37 --> 00:27:39 Sirus is a binary star system with a
00:27:39 --> 00:27:42 spectral type a white star orbited by a
00:27:42 --> 00:27:45 white dwarf it's the brightest star in
00:27:45 --> 00:27:47 the constellation Canis Major the great
00:27:47 --> 00:27:50 dog in Greek mythology Sirius was the
00:27:50 --> 00:27:52 dog star and the canine companion of
00:27:52 --> 00:27:54 Orion the hunter to the ancient
00:27:54 --> 00:27:56 Egyptians Sirus was known as the god
00:27:56 --> 00:27:59 Anubis lord of the underworld who had
00:27:59 --> 00:28:01 the head of a dog and who invented eming
00:28:01 --> 00:28:03 the funeral rights and who guided one
00:28:03 --> 00:28:06 through the underworld to judgment where
00:28:06 --> 00:28:07 he attended the scales during the
00:28:07 --> 00:28:09 weighing of the heart that determine
00:28:09 --> 00:28:12 one's fate in the afterlife later Anubis
00:28:12 --> 00:28:14 was replaced by Osiris as lord of the
00:28:14 --> 00:28:16 underworld Sirius also represented the
00:28:16 --> 00:28:19 god Isis and ancient Egyptians initially
00:28:19 --> 00:28:20 based their calendar on the Stars yearly
00:28:21 --> 00:28:22 motion across the
00:28:22 --> 00:28:25 sky now if you look high in the southern
00:28:25 --> 00:28:27 sky in February you'll see the star
00:28:27 --> 00:28:30 kopus a a white super giant located 313
00:28:30 --> 00:28:32 light years away the second brightest
00:28:32 --> 00:28:36 star in the night sky after Sirius in
00:28:36 --> 00:28:38 Greek mythology canopus was the Helmsman
00:28:38 --> 00:28:40 of the Greek king Manus and the
00:28:40 --> 00:28:42 brightest St the constellation Kina
00:28:42 --> 00:28:44 which represents the KE of the boat used
00:28:44 --> 00:28:46 by Jason and the Argonauts in their
00:28:46 --> 00:28:49 quest for the Golden Fleece located
00:28:49 --> 00:28:51 nearby are the vessel's sails
00:28:51 --> 00:28:53 represented by the constellation V and
00:28:53 --> 00:28:55 the roof of the boat's rear cabin or
00:28:55 --> 00:28:57 poop deck which is represented by the
00:28:57 --> 00:28:58 constellation
00:28:58 --> 00:29:01 purus also in the southern Skies this
00:29:01 --> 00:29:03 time of year you'll see the large and
00:29:03 --> 00:29:05 small melenic clouds which are two dwarf
00:29:05 --> 00:29:07 galaxies orbiting our own galaxy The
00:29:07 --> 00:29:10 Milky Way the melanic clouds were known
00:29:10 --> 00:29:13 to the Polynesians and Mari and served
00:29:13 --> 00:29:15 as important navigation markers they're
00:29:15 --> 00:29:17 named in honor of the Portuguese
00:29:17 --> 00:29:19 Navigator Ferdinand mellan who was the
00:29:19 --> 00:29:21 first European to site them during the
00:29:21 --> 00:29:22 first circum navigation of the earth
00:29:22 --> 00:29:25 between 1519 and
00:29:25 --> 00:29:27 1522 mellan himself didn't complete the
00:29:27 --> 00:29:30 circle navigation he was killed in the
00:29:30 --> 00:29:32 Philippines during the Battle of
00:29:32 --> 00:29:34 mtan right now the large melenic cloud
00:29:34 --> 00:29:36 is located almost directly overhead and
00:29:36 --> 00:29:40 is about 163 L years away although
00:29:40 --> 00:29:42 it looks like an irregular dwarf Galaxy
00:29:42 --> 00:29:43 astronomers have classified it as a
00:29:44 --> 00:29:47 disrupted B spiral it's around 14 L
00:29:47 --> 00:29:49 years in diameter and contains about 10
00:29:49 --> 00:29:52 billion times the mass of the Sun
00:29:52 --> 00:29:54 located slightly lower and to the West
00:29:54 --> 00:29:56 you'll see the small melenic Cloud which
00:29:56 --> 00:29:58 is located around 200 light years
00:29:58 --> 00:30:01 away it's classified as an irregular
00:30:01 --> 00:30:04 dwarf Galaxy about 7 L years wide
00:30:04 --> 00:30:06 with about 7 billion times the mass of
00:30:06 --> 00:30:08 the Sun astronomers speculate that it
00:30:08 --> 00:30:11 too was once a bad spiral galaxy but
00:30:11 --> 00:30:13 become disrupted by the gravitational
00:30:13 --> 00:30:17 title perturbations of the Milky Way and
00:30:17 --> 00:30:18 joining us now for the rest of our tour
00:30:19 --> 00:30:20 of the febr night skies is science
00:30:21 --> 00:30:22 writer Jonathan Elli from sky and
00:30:22 --> 00:30:25 Telescope magazine St it well February
00:30:25 --> 00:30:27 evenings if you have nice Dark Skies you
00:30:27 --> 00:30:29 can see the Milky Way stretching right
00:30:29 --> 00:30:30 across the sky from the south to the
00:30:30 --> 00:30:32 north Milky Way of course is our galaxy
00:30:32 --> 00:30:35 seeing from the inside gets the name
00:30:35 --> 00:30:37 milky because each St is sort of too
00:30:37 --> 00:30:39 faint and too indistinct on its own to
00:30:39 --> 00:30:41 pick out with the human eye but you put
00:30:41 --> 00:30:42 them all together and just big sort of
00:30:42 --> 00:30:45 Milky hazy wispy patch throughout the
00:30:45 --> 00:30:47 whole sky so it's how Galaxy seen from
00:30:47 --> 00:30:49 the inside honestly if you get to some
00:30:49 --> 00:30:51 Dark Skies which unfortunately most
00:30:51 --> 00:30:53 people these days don't because we all
00:30:53 --> 00:30:54 grow up in cities and things and you got
00:30:54 --> 00:30:55 terrible light pollution and you never
00:30:55 --> 00:30:57 see the Mooky way but if you do get out
00:30:57 --> 00:30:59 in the country and you can see the Moy W
00:30:59 --> 00:31:01 and you see our galaxy from the inside
00:31:01 --> 00:31:03 and you see what anyone would have seen
00:31:03 --> 00:31:05 every night 70 80 100 years ago when we
00:31:05 --> 00:31:07 had cities that didn't have lights
00:31:07 --> 00:31:09 blaring out all the time everywhere and
00:31:09 --> 00:31:10 all this light pollution and stuff it's
00:31:10 --> 00:31:12 terrible you just can't see your thing
00:31:12 --> 00:31:13 these and now when you have blackouts
00:31:13 --> 00:31:15 people ring up emergency services and
00:31:15 --> 00:31:17 concern that there are all these lights
00:31:17 --> 00:31:18 in the sky well I think I mentioned this
00:31:18 --> 00:31:20 on the program once before that you know
00:31:20 --> 00:31:22 when that famous TV series Cosmos came
00:31:22 --> 00:31:23 out in the beginning of the 80s about
00:31:23 --> 00:31:26 1980 I think it was car Caren version
00:31:26 --> 00:31:28 yeah yeah yeah the um I I remember
00:31:28 --> 00:31:30 reading that they got letters from
00:31:30 --> 00:31:32 people around the world saying what a
00:31:32 --> 00:31:33 great show it was but they got letters
00:31:33 --> 00:31:35 from people like kids who live in places
00:31:35 --> 00:31:37 like Tokyo that's of that sort of cities
00:31:37 --> 00:31:39 where there's so much life pollution 34
00:31:39 --> 00:31:41 million people here well they lit these
00:31:41 --> 00:31:43 letter said oh wow we didn't realize
00:31:43 --> 00:31:45 that stars are real we thought stars
00:31:45 --> 00:31:46 were made up to science fiction because
00:31:46 --> 00:31:48 we've never seen we've never seen Stars
00:31:48 --> 00:31:50 that's how bad it was back then it's
00:31:50 --> 00:31:51 even worse now because there so many
00:31:51 --> 00:31:53 more people in living living the cities
00:31:53 --> 00:31:54 anyway we're getting a bit depressed
00:31:54 --> 00:31:55 here um let's get back to the Milky Way
00:31:55 --> 00:31:57 so down in the South we've got the
00:31:57 --> 00:31:58 Southern Cross Everyone likes to see
00:31:58 --> 00:32:00 it's the smallest constellation in the
00:32:00 --> 00:32:01 sky it looks a bit like a kite and at
00:32:01 --> 00:32:03 the moment it's lying on its left hand
00:32:03 --> 00:32:04 side and sort of pointing slightly
00:32:04 --> 00:32:06 downwards high above the something cross
00:32:06 --> 00:32:08 you've got a constellation called Karina
00:32:08 --> 00:32:10 now assuming you do have dark skies and
00:32:10 --> 00:32:11 you've let your eyes adapt to the
00:32:11 --> 00:32:13 darkness you got to give a good 20 30
00:32:13 --> 00:32:15 minutes away from any sources of light
00:32:15 --> 00:32:17 then you should be able to make a whisky
00:32:17 --> 00:32:19 make out a whisky patch of light in
00:32:19 --> 00:32:20 Karina it's about the size of a couple
00:32:20 --> 00:32:23 of full moons now this is the Kina
00:32:23 --> 00:32:24 nebula and it's considered to be one of
00:32:24 --> 00:32:27 the best nebulas in in the entire Sky
00:32:27 --> 00:32:29 it's just really spectacular if you look
00:32:29 --> 00:32:31 at it through a a telescope to the uned
00:32:31 --> 00:32:34 eye it's just a faint diffuse glow but
00:32:34 --> 00:32:36 if you try using averted Vision that's
00:32:36 --> 00:32:38 where you don't look directly at
00:32:38 --> 00:32:39 something you look out of the sort of
00:32:39 --> 00:32:41 side of your eye out the corner of your
00:32:41 --> 00:32:43 eye you will get a bit of a better view
00:32:43 --> 00:32:44 of it because looking out the side of
00:32:44 --> 00:32:46 your eye ensures that you're using the
00:32:46 --> 00:32:47 part of your retina that's most
00:32:47 --> 00:32:49 sensitive to the low light levels you
00:32:49 --> 00:32:51 get at night time so try that try vered
00:32:51 --> 00:32:53 Vision when you in the night sky looking
00:32:53 --> 00:32:55 at things you you sometimes do get a bit
00:32:55 --> 00:32:57 of a better view now Kina is one of the
00:32:57 --> 00:32:58 three con ation that used to belong to
00:32:58 --> 00:33:00 one much bigger constellation called
00:33:01 --> 00:33:03 aronas or the ship of the Argonauts Kina
00:33:03 --> 00:33:05 is the Keel of the ship there's another
00:33:05 --> 00:33:06 constellation called V which is the
00:33:06 --> 00:33:08 sales and another constellation called
00:33:08 --> 00:33:10 puppet which is the deck or Qui deck now
00:33:10 --> 00:33:12 V and puppet are also visible at this
00:33:12 --> 00:33:13 time of the year they're up even higher
00:33:13 --> 00:33:16 in the sky up above Kina and the
00:33:16 --> 00:33:17 Southern Cross and each of them each of
00:33:18 --> 00:33:19 those constellations have lots of great
00:33:19 --> 00:33:20 things to see if you have a small
00:33:20 --> 00:33:22 telescope or even a pair of binoculars
00:33:22 --> 00:33:24 flb when I was a teenager just looking
00:33:24 --> 00:33:26 through a tiny pair of binoculars around
00:33:26 --> 00:33:28 this part of the sky and it's amazing
00:33:28 --> 00:33:30 what you can see stars look good to them
00:33:30 --> 00:33:31 naked eye but you look through even the
00:33:31 --> 00:33:33 small pair of binoculars and you really
00:33:33 --> 00:33:35 see them sparkle and shine it really
00:33:35 --> 00:33:37 does make them seem brighter I quite
00:33:37 --> 00:33:39 often prefer to stargaze through
00:33:39 --> 00:33:42 binoculars I've got a pair of 8X 56
00:33:42 --> 00:33:45 which are pretty good size you go high
00:33:45 --> 00:33:46 than that they're hard to hold they get
00:33:46 --> 00:33:48 a bit heavy 7 by 50s are a good size
00:33:48 --> 00:33:51 binoculars are great for just staring
00:33:51 --> 00:33:53 they really really are uh when you use a
00:33:53 --> 00:33:55 TOS scope yeah sure you can see galaxies
00:33:55 --> 00:33:56 and things but you get a very narrow
00:33:56 --> 00:33:58 field of view typically whereas
00:33:58 --> 00:34:00 binoculars give you a nice wide feeling
00:34:00 --> 00:34:02 of view which is great for when you're
00:34:02 --> 00:34:03 just sweeping around the night sky for
00:34:04 --> 00:34:05 enjoyment purposes or if you just
00:34:05 --> 00:34:06 beginning to learn your way around the
00:34:06 --> 00:34:08 night sky so if you got a pair ofs have
00:34:08 --> 00:34:09 a look around that area the
00:34:09 --> 00:34:11 constellation Karina V and puppet
00:34:11 --> 00:34:12 because they're all in the Milky Way and
00:34:12 --> 00:34:14 they've got lots of great things to see
00:34:14 --> 00:34:15 now higher still than puppet and pretty
00:34:15 --> 00:34:17 much overhead in fact for people who
00:34:17 --> 00:34:19 live the midle southern latitudes we've
00:34:19 --> 00:34:21 got the constellation Canis Major the
00:34:21 --> 00:34:23 constellation of the large dog and yes
00:34:23 --> 00:34:26 there is a canis minor the small dog a
00:34:26 --> 00:34:28 little way away the brightest star in
00:34:28 --> 00:34:30 tenis major and that's actually the
00:34:30 --> 00:34:32 brightest star in that night sky overall
00:34:32 --> 00:34:33 is called Sirius it's actually a binary
00:34:33 --> 00:34:35 star system so we have to say not the
00:34:36 --> 00:34:37 brighter star on the side brighter star
00:34:37 --> 00:34:39 system but the secondary star is far too
00:34:39 --> 00:34:41 faint to be seen far too faint you
00:34:41 --> 00:34:43 really only seen that's a white dwarf
00:34:43 --> 00:34:45 isn't it the secondary star yeah a tiny
00:34:45 --> 00:34:46 little thing and it's very very close
00:34:46 --> 00:34:47 and the primary star when you get a
00:34:47 --> 00:34:49 binary star system that's what they
00:34:49 --> 00:34:50 astronomist call this you know they said
00:34:51 --> 00:34:52 is a primary star and the secondary star
00:34:52 --> 00:34:53 the primary star being usually the
00:34:53 --> 00:34:55 bigger brighter one the secondary star
00:34:55 --> 00:34:57 is very often far too faint to be seen
00:34:57 --> 00:35:00 or too close to the primary star so it's
00:35:00 --> 00:35:02 lost in the glare of the primary the
00:35:02 --> 00:35:03 brighter star in that other
00:35:03 --> 00:35:05 constellation pis minor the smaller dog
00:35:05 --> 00:35:07 is called prion and it's the eighth
00:35:07 --> 00:35:09 brightest star in the night sky or we
00:35:09 --> 00:35:10 should say it's the eighth brightest
00:35:10 --> 00:35:12 star system because it too is a binary
00:35:12 --> 00:35:13 star system now if we keep going along
00:35:13 --> 00:35:15 the Milky Way we get Beyond Canis Major
00:35:15 --> 00:35:17 we find the constellations Orion the
00:35:17 --> 00:35:20 hunter then Gemini the Twins and Taurus
00:35:20 --> 00:35:21 the Bull Gemini is really easy to spot
00:35:21 --> 00:35:23 because it has two Bright Stars fairly
00:35:23 --> 00:35:24 close to each other they're called
00:35:24 --> 00:35:28 Castor and Pollock now Castor is a six
00:35:28 --> 00:35:31 star system made up of three binary star
00:35:31 --> 00:35:33 systems all together there are are quite
00:35:33 --> 00:35:34 a few six star systems out there the
00:35:34 --> 00:35:36 other star Pollock it's the oy it's just
00:35:36 --> 00:35:39 a lone star like our son it's you know
00:35:39 --> 00:35:40 so many stars out there are part of
00:35:40 --> 00:35:42 binary systems or triple systems or
00:35:42 --> 00:35:44 puple or whatever they make up the most
00:35:44 --> 00:35:46 common types of star systems we know
00:35:46 --> 00:35:47 multiple star systems yeah there are
00:35:47 --> 00:35:48 stacks of multiple star systems up there
00:35:48 --> 00:35:50 a lot of the Stars you look up in the
00:35:50 --> 00:35:51 night St you think oh that's a lovely
00:35:51 --> 00:35:52 looking star you may not realize it but
00:35:52 --> 00:35:55 it might be a binary system or triple or
00:35:55 --> 00:35:56 a quadruple or whatever so that one
00:35:56 --> 00:35:59 cator just looks like one star but we
00:35:59 --> 00:36:02 know it is six stars poock its neighbor
00:36:02 --> 00:36:04 is just a single star now Taurus I
00:36:04 --> 00:36:06 mentioned Taurus Taurus is easy to spot
00:36:06 --> 00:36:08 because it has a very obvious wedg
00:36:08 --> 00:36:10 shaped grouping of stars it's a star
00:36:10 --> 00:36:12 cluster called the hiades and also just
00:36:12 --> 00:36:14 on the edge of that star cluster is but
00:36:14 --> 00:36:16 not part of the cluster itself is a
00:36:16 --> 00:36:18 bright star called Al Deon let's have a
00:36:18 --> 00:36:20 look at the planets and we have really
00:36:20 --> 00:36:21 good Planet observing conditions at the
00:36:22 --> 00:36:23 moment really really good because four
00:36:23 --> 00:36:25 of the five bright planets can all be
00:36:25 --> 00:36:27 seen in the sky at the same time this
00:36:27 --> 00:36:29 month so starting just after Sunset
00:36:29 --> 00:36:32 you'll see Saturn about 15° above the
00:36:32 --> 00:36:33 Western Horizon it just looks like a
00:36:33 --> 00:36:35 fairly bright star might have a sort of
00:36:35 --> 00:36:38 a yellowish ttin to Saturn's right or or
00:36:38 --> 00:36:40 going sort of north from Saturn you'll
00:36:40 --> 00:36:43 see a much much brighter star looking
00:36:43 --> 00:36:45 thing well that in fact is the planet
00:36:45 --> 00:36:47 Venus it's really bright at the moment
00:36:47 --> 00:36:49 you simply cannot miss it now to the
00:36:49 --> 00:36:50 north there's another bright object
00:36:50 --> 00:36:52 looks like a star but is in fact a
00:36:52 --> 00:36:54 planet this is Jupiter and you will find
00:36:54 --> 00:36:56 it right next to that star cluster in
00:36:56 --> 00:36:59 Taurus right next to high 80s very close
00:36:59 --> 00:37:02 to um that star Al Deon and Jupiter's
00:37:02 --> 00:37:04 going to be brighter than Al Deon so you
00:37:04 --> 00:37:06 should be a EAS tell them apart and
00:37:06 --> 00:37:08 around to the Northeast find me there's
00:37:08 --> 00:37:10 Mars and Mars with like an orange
00:37:10 --> 00:37:12 colored star in Inver fairly bright at
00:37:12 --> 00:37:14 the moment because we've only just gone
00:37:14 --> 00:37:16 past the point of closest approach to
00:37:16 --> 00:37:18 Earth which happened mid January so when
00:37:18 --> 00:37:21 a planet is closest to us it appears
00:37:21 --> 00:37:23 bigger and therefore a bit brighter so
00:37:24 --> 00:37:25 that's why Mars is going to be you
00:37:25 --> 00:37:27 reasonably bright when you go out and
00:37:27 --> 00:37:28 have a look at of this month for people
00:37:28 --> 00:37:29 looking through tat a bit of a
00:37:30 --> 00:37:31 disappointing Apparition as astronomers
00:37:32 --> 00:37:33 call it this time because while yes it
00:37:34 --> 00:37:36 was closest in the current years to us
00:37:36 --> 00:37:38 in mid January closest approach comes
00:37:38 --> 00:37:40 around every 26 months and this one is
00:37:40 --> 00:37:42 not a particularly close approach now if
00:37:42 --> 00:37:44 the Earth had a perfectly circular orbit
00:37:44 --> 00:37:46 around the Sun and Mars had a perfect
00:37:46 --> 00:37:48 circular orbit around the sun then every
00:37:48 --> 00:37:49 time we got to the point of closest
00:37:49 --> 00:37:51 approach there' be the same distance and
00:37:51 --> 00:37:52 Mars will be the same brightness and it
00:37:52 --> 00:37:54 would look the same size for a telescope
00:37:54 --> 00:37:56 because our orbit is not perfectly
00:37:56 --> 00:37:57 circular Mars orbit isn't perfectly
00:37:57 --> 00:37:59 circular sometimes the point of clest
00:37:59 --> 00:38:01 approach Mars is closer to us and
00:38:01 --> 00:38:02 sometimes it's further away and
00:38:02 --> 00:38:03 unfortunately this is one of the further
00:38:03 --> 00:38:05 away ones and even through a telescope
00:38:05 --> 00:38:07 it looks quite small and you're not
00:38:07 --> 00:38:09 going to see a lot of detail on it so we
00:38:09 --> 00:38:12 have to wait for future apparitions at
00:38:12 --> 00:38:14 26- month intervals to get a better view
00:38:14 --> 00:38:16 of the red planet and Stuart is the sky
00:38:16 --> 00:38:18 for febrary that's science writer
00:38:18 --> 00:38:20 Jonathan Nelly from sky and Telescope
00:38:20 --> 00:38:25 magazine this is spacetime
00:38:25 --> 00:38:38 [Music]
00:38:38 --> 00:38:41 and that's the show for now SpaceTime is
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