1 00:00:20,153 --> 00:00:24,758 JAMES: WELCOME TO STAR GAZERS. 2 00:00:24,858 --> 00:00:28,561 I'M JAMES ALBURY, DIRECTOR OF THE KIKA SILVA PLA PLANETARIUM IN GAINESVILLE FLORIDA. 3 00:00:28,661 --> 00:00:31,865 DEAN: AND I'M DEAN REGAS, ASTRONOMER FROM THE CINCINNATI OBSERVATORY. 4 00:00:31,965 --> 00:00:35,502 JAMES: SPRINGTIME IS KNOWN FOR GREAT KITE-FLYING WEATHER. 5 00:00:35,602 --> 00:00:39,539 AND COINCIDENTALLY, THERE IS A CONSTELLATION VISIBLE AFTER SUNSET THAT LOOKS SURPRISINGLY 6 00:00:39,639 --> 00:00:40,540 LIKE A KITE! 7 00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:42,675 DEAN: THAT'S RIGHT, JAMES. 8 00:00:42,776 --> 00:00:47,013 THIS WEEK WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE CONSTELLATION BOOTES THE HERDSMAN, AND GIVE YOU SOME INFORMATION 9 00:00:47,113 --> 00:00:48,948 ABOUT SOME OF ITS BRIGHTEST STARS. 10 00:00:49,049 --> 00:00:50,750 JAMES: LET'S SHOW YOU! 11 00:00:50,850 --> 00:00:55,922 JAMES: OK, WE HAVE OUR SKY SET FOR AN HOUR AFTER SUNSET FACING NORTHEAST WHERE WE SEE 12 00:00:56,022 --> 00:00:58,792 THE BIG DIPPER HIGH ABOVE THE NORTH STAR. 13 00:00:58,892 --> 00:01:02,929 IF ITS CUP WAS FULL OF WATER IT'D BE POURING RIGHT INTO THE LITTLE DIPPER AND OVERFLOWING 14 00:01:03,029 --> 00:01:04,731 ONTO ME! 15 00:01:04,831 --> 00:01:07,700 DEAN: IF WE SHOOT AN ARROW THROUGH THE TWO STARS ON THE END OF THE BIG DIPPER'S CUP, 16 00:01:07,801 --> 00:01:11,771 AND CONTINUE THAT LINE, IT'LL RUN SMACK DAB INTO THE NORTH STAR. 17 00:01:11,871 --> 00:01:15,742 JAMES: NOW, LET'S USE THE BIG DIPPERS HANDLE TO FIND BOOTES. 18 00:01:15,842 --> 00:01:19,879 SIMPLY DRAW AN IMAGINARY LINE THROUGH THE HANDLE OF THE BIG DIPPER AND EXTEND IT OUT 19 00:01:19,979 --> 00:01:24,584 ALONG THE CURVE, OR ARC, AND YOU'LL ARC YOUR WAY TO THE BRIGHT STAR, ARCTURUS. 20 00:01:24,684 --> 00:01:30,023 DEAN: ARCTURUS IS THE BRIGHTEST STAR IN BOOTES THE HERDSMAN AND HAS THE UNIQUE DISTINCTION 21 00:01:30,123 --> 00:01:35,261 OF BEING THE FOURTH BRIGHTEST STAR IN THE NIGHT SKY; THE BRIGHTEST STAR IS SIRIUS, #2 22 00:01:35,361 --> 00:01:38,465 IS CANOPUS AND #3 IS ALPHA CENTAURI. 23 00:01:38,565 --> 00:01:44,971 JAMES: JOHANN BAYER USED GREEK LETTERS (ALPHA THROUGH OMEGA, AND THEN A THROUGH K TO LABEL 24 00:01:45,071 --> 00:01:48,007 THE 35 MOST PROMINENT STARS IN BOOTES. 25 00:01:48,108 --> 00:01:51,111 JOHN FLAMSTEED LATER INCREASED THIS NUMBER TO 54 STARS. 26 00:01:51,211 --> 00:01:55,548 DEAN: GOOD LUCK FINDING ALL THOSE STARS WITHOUT A SUPER DARK SKY! 27 00:01:55,648 --> 00:02:00,753 NEVERTHELESS, EIGHT OF THOSE STARS ARE EASILY VISIBLE TO THE NAKED EYE, AND THE SIX BRIGHTEST 28 00:02:00,854 --> 00:02:03,056 ONES ARE EVEN VISIBLE FROM A CITY. 29 00:02:03,156 --> 00:02:06,192 JAMES: THOSE STARS FORM A KITE-SHAPED PATTERN. 30 00:02:06,292 --> 00:02:13,366 THEIR NAMES, TRAVELING COUNTER-CLOCKWISE FROM ARCTURUS ARE: RHO BOOTIS, SEGINUS, NEKKAR, 31 00:02:13,466 --> 00:02:16,136 DELTA BOOTIS AND IZAR. 32 00:02:16,236 --> 00:02:21,241 THE TWO STARS HANGING OFF EITHER SIDE OF ARCTURUS, MAKING A TAIL FOR THE KITE, ARE MUPHRID (TO 33 00:02:21,341 --> 00:02:24,577 THE WEST) AND ZETA BOOTIS (TOWARD THE EAST). 34 00:02:24,677 --> 00:02:29,315 DEAN: ARCTURUS GOT ITS NAME FROM AN ANCIENT GREEK WORD THAT MEANT GUARDIAN OF THE BEAR. 35 00:02:29,415 --> 00:02:34,521 THIS MAKES SENSE SINCE THE CONSTELLATION OF BOOTES IS RIGHT NEXT TO URSA MAJOR, THE GREAT 36 00:02:34,621 --> 00:02:36,389 BEAR. 37 00:02:36,489 --> 00:02:41,094 JAMES: ARCTURUS IS ALMOST 37 LIGHT YEARS AWAY FROM US AND IS A RED GIANT STAR ABOUT 110 38 00:02:41,194 --> 00:02:42,962 TIMES BRIGHTER THAN THE SUN. 39 00:02:43,062 --> 00:02:48,168 IT IS ALSO ESTIMATED TO BE SLIGHTLY LARGER (MASS-WISE) THAN THE SUN, AND BETWEEN 6 BILLION 40 00:02:48,268 --> 00:02:50,069 AND 8.5 BILLION YEARS OLD. 41 00:02:50,170 --> 00:02:54,507 DEAN: POLYNESIAN NAVIGATORS CALLED ARCTURUS HO-KU-LEA, THE 42 00:02:54,607 --> 00:03:00,547 STAR OF JOY. AND FROM HAWAII, ARCTURUS BECAME KNOWN AS THE ZENITH STAR, BECAUSE IT PASSES 43 00:03:00,647 --> 00:03:06,719 ALMOST DIRECTLY OVERHEAD (AS SEEN FROM HAWAII), NEAR MIDNIGHT IN THE LAST FEW DAYS OF APRIL. 44 00:03:06,819 --> 00:03:12,659 JAMES: AND IF YOU LIKE ASTERISMS, WE HAVE A SPRING TRIANGLE TO SHOW YOU, USING ARCTURUS, 45 00:03:12,759 --> 00:03:14,794 REGULUS AND SPICA. 46 00:03:14,894 --> 00:03:17,497 REGULUS IS THE BRIGHTEST STAR IN LEO THE LION. 47 00:03:17,597 --> 00:03:22,535 YOU CAN FIND IT USING THE TWO STARS MEGREZ AND PHECDA, WHICH ARE IN THE BOWL OF THE BIG 48 00:03:22,635 --> 00:03:24,437 DIPPER, CLOSEST TO THE HANDLE. 49 00:03:24,537 --> 00:03:28,841 DEAN: BY DRAWING A LINE FROM MEGREZ THROUGH PHECDA, YOU WILL EVENTUALLY RUN INTO THE HEAD 50 00:03:28,942 --> 00:03:33,646 OF LEO THE LION, WHICH RESEMBLES A BACKWARDS QUESTION MARK; THE DOT OF THE QUESTION MARK 51 00:03:33,746 --> 00:03:35,281 IS REGULUS. 52 00:03:35,381 --> 00:03:39,919 JAMES: THE NEXT STAR, SPICA, IS EASY TO FIND USING OUR ARC TO ARCTURUS TRICK. 53 00:03:40,019 --> 00:03:44,891 BY CONTINUING THE LINE FROM THE BIG DIPPER'S HANDLE, THROUGH ARCTURUS, YOULL SPEED OVER 54 00:03:44,991 --> 00:03:47,594 TO SPICA, THE BRIGHTEST STAR IN VIRGO THE MAIDEN. 55 00:03:47,694 --> 00:03:52,832 DEAN: SO BY DRAWING A LINE FROM REGULUS, TO SPICA AND OVER TO ARCTURUS, YOU CAN MAKE THE 56 00:03:52,932 --> 00:03:54,167 SPRING TRIANGLE. 57 00:03:54,267 --> 00:03:56,336 NOW GRANTED, IT IS A BIG TRIANGLE. 58 00:03:56,436 --> 00:04:01,741 JAMES: AND FOR YOU PLANET WATCHERS, JUPITER IS IN A GREAT LOCATION NOT FAR FROM SPICA. 59 00:04:01,841 --> 00:04:06,246 IT IS JUST TO THE WEST OF SPICA AND THROUGH A SMALL TELESCOPE YOU CAN SEE ITS FOUR LARGEST 60 00:04:06,346 --> 00:04:09,983 MOONS; IO, EUROPA, GANYMEDE AND CALLISTO. 61 00:04:10,083 --> 00:04:15,421 DEAN: JUPITER AND EARTH WERE AT THEIR CLOSEST LAST WEEK, SO JUPITER SHOULD STILL LOOK IMPRESSIVE, 62 00:04:15,521 --> 00:04:17,390 EVEN IN A SMALL TELESCOPE. 63 00:04:17,490 --> 00:04:22,795 DEAN: SO, GET OUTSIDE AND CHECK OUT THE KITE-SHAPED CONSTELLATION OF BOOTES THE HERDSMAN WITH 64 00:04:22,895 --> 00:04:24,664 ITS BRIGHT STAR ARCTURUS 65 00:04:24,764 --> 00:04:29,535 JAMES: AND SEE IF YOU CAN SPOT THE SPRING TRIANGLE AND THE KING OF THE PLANETS, JUPITER! 66 00:04:29,636 --> 00:04:31,804 DEAN: IT'S ALL THEIR WAITING FOR YOU WHEN YOU 67 00:04:31,904 --> 00:04:35,904 BOTH: KEEP LOOKING UP!