1 00:00:19,953 --> 00:00:24,424 JAMES: Welcome to Star Gazers. 2 00:00:24,524 --> 00:00:28,194 I'm James Albury, director of the Kika Silva Pla Planetarium in Gainesville, Florida. 3 00:00:28,294 --> 00:00:30,897 DEAN: And I'm Dean Regas, astronomer from the Cincinnati 4 00:00:30,997 --> 00:00:35,168 Observatory, and we're here to help you find you way around the sky. 5 00:00:35,268 --> 00:00:39,372 As we get into the month of March, James and I would like to issue you a challenge. 6 00:00:39,472 --> 00:00:41,174 JAMES: That s right Dean. 7 00:00:41,274 --> 00:00:45,512 We re looking for keen-eyed star gazers to locate the two closest planets to the Sun. 8 00:00:45,612 --> 00:00:47,547 DEAN: We re talking Mercury and Venus. 9 00:00:47,647 --> 00:00:49,149 Now, I m warning you. 10 00:00:49,249 --> 00:00:51,017 This could be tough. 11 00:00:51,117 --> 00:00:55,355 Mercury and Venus are just now emerging from the far side of the Sun and will be popping 12 00:00:55,455 --> 00:00:57,490 out in the western sky just after sunset. 13 00:00:57,590 --> 00:01:00,026 JAMES: You will have to time this just right and 14 00:01:00,126 --> 00:01:04,798 have a clear view to the western horizon and even then you might not be able to see them. 15 00:01:04,898 --> 00:01:07,834 They will slowly appear farther from the Sun as the month progresses. 16 00:01:07,934 --> 00:01:10,570 DEAN: The challenge is this: what is the first day 17 00:01:10,670 --> 00:01:12,705 you can spot them both in the sky. 18 00:01:12,806 --> 00:01:14,140 JAMES: Oooh, I like it! 19 00:01:14,240 --> 00:01:15,208 DEAN: Challenge issued. 20 00:01:15,308 --> 00:01:16,342 JAMES: Challenge accepted! 21 00:01:16,443 --> 00:01:18,178 DEAN: Let s head to the sky! 22 00:01:18,278 --> 00:01:21,815 DEAN: Okay, we have the sky set for February 25th 23 00:01:21,915 --> 00:01:23,650 facing west. 24 00:01:23,750 --> 00:01:27,587 The Sun is about to set and as it does we want to look for suspiciously bright lights 25 00:01:27,687 --> 00:01:28,855 near the horizon. 26 00:01:28,955 --> 00:01:31,191 JAMES: The brightest planet in the night sky is Venus 27 00:01:31,291 --> 00:01:35,628 and it should be the first of our two planets to pop into view as the sky darkens. 28 00:01:35,728 --> 00:01:38,665 There it is just above the treetops. 29 00:01:38,765 --> 00:01:42,535 Now it will be extremely low in the sky so you will need a viewing spot free from trees 30 00:01:42,635 --> 00:01:43,937 or buildings. 31 00:01:44,037 --> 00:01:45,405 And of course it has to be clear out! 32 00:01:45,505 --> 00:01:47,707 DEAN: Mercury, on the other hand, may be the real 33 00:01:47,807 --> 00:01:49,442 challenge to find in February. 34 00:01:49,542 --> 00:01:54,781 It is way dimmer than Venus and tends to get lost in the haze above the horizon. 35 00:01:54,881 --> 00:01:58,885 But as the weeks roll on, Mercury will become easier to spot. 36 00:01:58,985 --> 00:02:02,122 Here is the sky, same time of night on February 26 37 00:02:02,222 --> 00:02:03,123 27 38 00:02:03,223 --> 00:02:06,626 28 and March 1st. 39 00:02:06,726 --> 00:02:09,629 JAMES: Venus appears higher in the sky and you see 40 00:02:09,729 --> 00:02:11,664 that little dot next to it? 41 00:02:11,764 --> 00:02:14,300 That is the elusive planet Mercury. 42 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:18,238 Most people have never seen Mercury (or at least they probably never noticed it), but 43 00:02:18,338 --> 00:02:19,506 Venus will help. 44 00:02:19,606 --> 00:02:22,642 On March 2nd they ll be closer still and on March 3rd 45 00:02:22,742 --> 00:02:24,144 They ll be in conjunction! 46 00:02:24,244 --> 00:02:25,778 DEAN: James favorite time of the year! 47 00:02:25,879 --> 00:02:30,817 Let s fly up there to get a closer look at our two innermost planets. 48 00:02:30,917 --> 00:02:33,987 JAMES: The reason Mercury and Venus can be so tough 49 00:02:34,087 --> 00:02:37,757 to see is because they re in between us and the Sun. 50 00:02:37,857 --> 00:02:42,462 They re up in the sky as much as any other planet but most of the time the Sun is there 51 00:02:42,562 --> 00:02:43,830 with them. 52 00:02:43,930 --> 00:02:46,499 It s so bright outside you can t find their feeble light. 53 00:02:46,599 --> 00:02:49,202 DEAN: But at certain places in their orbits we can 54 00:02:49,302 --> 00:02:53,439 see them either just after sunset or just before sunrise. 55 00:02:53,540 --> 00:02:57,877 These positions are called elongations when the Sun seems farthest from them 56 00:02:57,977 --> 00:02:59,078 in the sky. 57 00:02:59,179 --> 00:03:01,347 JAMES: If we want to fly to Venus, it would still 58 00:03:01,447 --> 00:03:03,283 be quite a trip. 59 00:03:03,383 --> 00:03:06,052 It is over 150 million miles from Earth this week. 60 00:03:06,152 --> 00:03:07,887 Unfortunately, from above, there wouldn t be 61 00:03:07,987 --> 00:03:09,022 a lot to see. 62 00:03:09,122 --> 00:03:11,558 DEAN: Venus is perpetually covered in clouds. 63 00:03:11,658 --> 00:03:15,862 The clouds reflect a lot of sunlight and trap in a whole lot of heat. 64 00:03:15,962 --> 00:03:20,200 So Venus, although farther from the Sun than Mercury, is the hottest planet. 65 00:03:20,300 --> 00:03:21,668 JAMES: That s right! 66 00:03:21,768 --> 00:03:24,571 The surface of Venus swelters at around 900 degrees Fahrenheit! 67 00:03:24,671 --> 00:03:27,407 DEAN: If we quickly hop over to Mercury we will 68 00:03:27,507 --> 00:03:29,375 find a very different planet. 69 00:03:29,475 --> 00:03:30,944 JAMES: Look, no clouds! 70 00:03:31,044 --> 00:03:34,514 We can see the surface of Mercury every mountain and every crater. 71 00:03:34,614 --> 00:03:39,152 At least we can now thanks to the Messenger spacecraft which mapped out Mercury a few 72 00:03:39,252 --> 00:03:40,386 years ago. 73 00:03:40,486 --> 00:03:42,255 DEAN: We actually didn t know what half of Mercury 74 00:03:42,355 --> 00:03:43,923 looked like until 2011. 75 00:03:44,023 --> 00:03:48,127 It s so close to the Sun that it is really tough to view from Earth. 76 00:03:48,228 --> 00:03:51,464 DEAN: So take the Venus-Mercury challenge and see 77 00:03:51,564 --> 00:03:53,566 when you can first spot the two planets. 78 00:03:53,666 --> 00:03:56,402 JAMES: Look to the western horizon every clear night 79 00:03:56,502 --> 00:03:58,238 just after sunset. 80 00:03:58,338 --> 00:04:02,709 If conditions are just right and you have keen eyesight you may see them on March 1st, 81 00:04:02,809 --> 00:04:04,077 2nd, or 3rd. 82 00:04:04,177 --> 00:04:07,180 DEAN: Or maybe you have such amazing, eagle-eyes 83 00:04:07,280 --> 00:04:09,716 that you may find Venus and Mercury in February. 84 00:04:09,816 --> 00:04:11,851 JAMES: We ll definitely be looking. 85 00:04:11,951 --> 00:04:15,088 Let us know when you see them and try to find them before we do. 86 00:04:15,188 --> 00:04:16,956 DEAN: Accept our challenge as you 87 00:04:17,056 --> 00:04:21,056 BOTH: Keep looking up!