1 00:00:20,787 --> 00:00:24,924 JAMES: HEY THERE STAR GAZERS. 2 00:00:25,025 --> 00:00:28,661 I'M JAMES ALBURY, DIRECTOR OF THE KIKA SILVA PLA PLANETARIUM IN GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA. 3 00:00:28,762 --> 00:00:31,297 DEAN: AND I'M DEAN REGAS, ASTRONOMER FOR THE CINCINNATI 4 00:00:31,398 --> 00:00:32,532 OBSERVATORY. 5 00:00:32,632 --> 00:00:34,768 WE'RE HERE TO HELP YOU FIND YOUR WAY AROUND THE SKY. 6 00:00:34,868 --> 00:00:37,237 JAMES: ON THE MORNINGS OF NOVEMBER 17TH 7 00:00:37,337 --> 00:00:39,472 AND 18TH, FROM MIDNIGHT TO DAWN, 8 00:00:39,572 --> 00:00:42,509 WE MAY GET TO SEE THE ANNUAL LEONID METEOR SHOWER. 9 00:00:42,609 --> 00:00:44,277 DEAN: AND THIS YEAR THE MOON IS GOING TO HELP 10 00:00:44,377 --> 00:00:46,212 BY STAYING OUT OF THE WAY. 11 00:00:46,312 --> 00:00:47,380 LET'S SHOW YOU. 12 00:00:47,480 --> 00:00:49,282 DEAN: IF YOU'RE FAR FROM 13 00:00:49,382 --> 00:00:53,720 CITY LIGHTS ON ANY CLEAR MOONLESS NIGHT YOU'RE LIKELY TO SEE A FEW METEORS, IF YOU STAY OUT 14 00:00:53,820 --> 00:00:54,721 LONG ENOUGH AND..... 15 00:00:54,821 --> 00:00:56,122 BOTH: KEEP LOOKING UP. 16 00:00:56,222 --> 00:00:58,391 DEAN: WAIT, WAIT, WAIT.... 17 00:00:58,491 --> 00:00:59,659 THERE'S MORE. 18 00:00:59,759 --> 00:01:01,961 JAMES: METEORS HAVE LONG BEEN CALLED "SHOOTING STARS" 19 00:01:02,062 --> 00:01:03,329 BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE. 20 00:01:03,430 --> 00:01:06,199 BUT THEYRE NOT REALLY STARS SHOOTING ACROSS THE SKY. 21 00:01:06,299 --> 00:01:08,301 JAMES: IN FACT WHEN YOU SEE 22 00:01:08,401 --> 00:01:13,006 A METEOR-- YOU ARE SEEING A TINY SPECK OF SPACE DEBRIS, ANYWHERE FROM THE SIZE OF A 23 00:01:13,106 --> 00:01:15,008 GRAIN OF SAND-TO PEBBLE SIZED. 24 00:01:15,108 --> 00:01:19,112 THEY SLAM INTO OUR EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE AT SUCH HIGH SPEEDS THAT FRICTION WITH 25 00:01:19,212 --> 00:01:21,981 THE GASSES IN OUR EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE CAUSES THE AIR TO GLOW. 26 00:01:22,082 --> 00:01:23,783 DEAN: SO WHEN YOU SEE A "SHOOTING STAR" 27 00:01:23,883 --> 00:01:28,888 YOU ARE ACTUALLY SEEING THE GAS ATOMS IN OUR EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE GLOW ALL ALONG THE 28 00:01:28,988 --> 00:01:29,956 PATH THAT THE METEOR 29 00:01:30,056 --> 00:01:31,724 HAS TRAVELED. 30 00:01:31,825 --> 00:01:35,562 SO ON ANY CLEAR, DARK, MOONLESS NIGHT YOU CAN SEE A HANDFUL OF METEORS IF YOU HAVE 31 00:01:35,662 --> 00:01:36,830 A LOT OF PATIENCE. 32 00:01:36,930 --> 00:01:39,866 JAMES: BUT ABOUT 12 TIMES A YEAR, WE EXPERIENCE WHAT 33 00:01:39,966 --> 00:01:41,868 WE CALL A METEOR SHOWER. 34 00:01:41,968 --> 00:01:44,537 AND EVERY NOVEMBER WE HAVE THE LEONID METEOR SHOWER, 35 00:01:44,637 --> 00:01:48,374 SO NAMED BECAUSE ITS METEORS APPEAR TO RADIATE FROM THE CONSTELLATION 36 00:01:48,475 --> 00:01:49,943 LEO THE LION. 37 00:01:50,043 --> 00:01:51,277 JAMES: METEOR SHOWERS ARE 38 00:01:51,377 --> 00:01:53,279 A BIT DIFFERENT FROM THE METEORS YOU SEE EVERY NIGHT 39 00:01:53,379 --> 00:01:55,515 BECAUSE THE METEORS IN A METEOR SHOWER 40 00:01:55,615 --> 00:01:58,017 ARE PREDICTABLE AND ARE MADE UP OF COMET DEBRIS. 41 00:01:58,118 --> 00:01:59,352 DEAN: YOU SEE, EVERY TIME 42 00:01:59,452 --> 00:02:01,421 A COMET PASSES THROUGH OUR SOLAR SYSTEM 43 00:02:01,521 --> 00:02:06,126 IT SHEDS SOME OF ITS DEBRIS ALONG ITS ORBIT, AND IF THE EARTH INTERSECTS WITH 44 00:02:06,226 --> 00:02:08,461 THE COMETS PATH-- WE'LL GET A 45 00:02:08,561 --> 00:02:09,729 METEOR SHOWER. 46 00:02:09,829 --> 00:02:11,498 METEOR SHOWERS ARE SOMEWHAT 47 00:02:11,598 --> 00:02:15,335 PREDICTABLE BECAUSE THE EARTH RETURNS TO ABOUT THE SAME SPOT IN SPACE AT THE SAME 48 00:02:15,435 --> 00:02:16,636 TIME EACH YEAR. 49 00:02:16,736 --> 00:02:18,071 JAMES: AND EVERY NOVEMBER 50 00:02:18,171 --> 00:02:20,773 WE PLOW INTO SOME OF THE DEBRIS TRAILS OF COMET TEMPEL-TUTTLE, 51 00:02:20,874 --> 00:02:25,311 A COMET WHICH VISITS THE SUN EVERY 33 YEARS. 52 00:02:25,411 --> 00:02:28,848 AND IN THE YEARS JUST PRECEDING OR FOLLOWING TEMPEL-TUTTLE'S PASSAGE 53 00:02:28,948 --> 00:02:32,719 WE PASS THROUGH DENSER DEBRIS TRAILS, AND WE MAY EXPERIENCE METEOR SHOWERS 54 00:02:32,819 --> 00:02:35,121 WITH GREATER THAN USUAL INTENSITY WHICH WE CALL 55 00:02:35,221 --> 00:02:36,856 METEOR STORMS. 56 00:02:36,956 --> 00:02:40,360 THE LAST STORM FROM THE LEONIDS WAS IN 2002. 57 00:02:40,460 --> 00:02:43,062 DEAN: YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN ONE OF THESE STORMS MAY 58 00:02:43,163 --> 00:02:45,532 HAPPEN, BUT THE BEST PREDICTION TO SEE SOME METEORS 59 00:02:45,632 --> 00:02:49,302 THIS YEAR FOR NORTH AMERICA IS TO GO OUT FROM 1 A.M. 60 00:02:49,402 --> 00:02:51,471 THROUGH DAWN ON THE 17TH OR 18TH. 61 00:02:51,571 --> 00:02:53,940 JAMES: I KNOW THATS REALLY LATE AT NIGHT, 62 00:02:54,040 --> 00:02:57,010 AND IT MIGHT BE COLD OUTSIDE, BUT THAT'S THE BEST TIME TO LOOK. 63 00:02:57,110 --> 00:02:58,478 DEAN: FACE EAST WHERE 64 00:02:58,578 --> 00:02:59,979 OU'LL FIND LEO RISING. 65 00:03:00,079 --> 00:03:04,184 HE HAS A BACKWARD QUESTION MARK FOR HEAD, AND A TRIANGLE FOR A TAIL. 66 00:03:04,284 --> 00:03:06,886 THE METEORS WILL SEEM TO RADIATE FROM AROUND THERE. 67 00:03:06,986 --> 00:03:09,789 JAMES: AS THE NIGHT GOES ON, LEO WILL GET HIGHER 68 00:03:09,889 --> 00:03:12,959 IN THE SKY AND YOU'LL HAVE A BETTER CHANCE OF SEEING MORE METEORS. 69 00:03:13,059 --> 00:03:15,361 DEAN: MAYBE YOU'LL SEE A FEW REALLY BRIGHT METEORS 70 00:03:15,461 --> 00:03:16,663 WITH LONG TRAILS! 71 00:03:16,763 --> 00:03:18,198 JAMES: OR MAYBE NOT. 72 00:03:18,298 --> 00:03:20,033 JAMES: AND ONE MORE THING, 73 00:03:20,133 --> 00:03:25,104 THE LEONIDS ARE THE FASTEST OF ALL METEORS BECAUSE WE ARE HITTING THEM NEARLY HEAD ON. 74 00:03:25,205 --> 00:03:31,511 THEY SLAM INTO OUR EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE TRAVELING AT SPEEDS OVER 158,000 MILES PER HOUR! 75 00:03:31,611 --> 00:03:32,745 WATCH OUT! 76 00:03:32,845 --> 00:03:35,782 DEAN: AND FOR THOSE OF YOU CAN ONLY STAY UP UNTIL 77 00:03:35,882 --> 00:03:39,285 10PM, YOU CAN GET A PREVIEW OF THE WINTER SKY. 78 00:03:39,385 --> 00:03:43,723 LOOK SOUTHEAST FOR ORION AND HIS SNAZZY BELT OF THREE STARS RISING UP. 79 00:03:43,823 --> 00:03:46,326 JAMES: THE BELT STARS CAN POINT YOU TO OTHER STAR 80 00:03:46,426 --> 00:03:47,327 PATTERNS. 81 00:03:47,427 --> 00:03:49,195 CONNECT THE DOTS AND KEEP GOING UP. 82 00:03:49,295 --> 00:03:54,033 YOU'LL RUN INTO TAURUS THE BULL - THAT LOOKS LIKE A V-SHAPE OF STARS. 83 00:03:54,133 --> 00:03:56,769 AND IF YOU KEEP GOING A LITTLE FURTHER YOU'LL COME TO THE BEST STAR 84 00:03:56,869 --> 00:03:59,772 CLUSTER IN THE SKY, THE SEVEN SISTERS. 85 00:03:59,872 --> 00:04:02,609 DEAN: BACK TO THE EARLY MORNING SKY ON THE 17TH 86 00:04:02,709 --> 00:04:04,510 OR 18TH BE SURE TO GET OUT 87 00:04:04,611 --> 00:04:07,146 AND WATCH THE LEONID METEOR SHOWER RADIATING FROM 88 00:04:07,247 --> 00:04:08,414 LEO THE LION. 89 00:04:08,514 --> 00:04:11,084 JAMES: AND JUST AS DAWN BREAKS THE GIANT PLANET JUPITER 90 00:04:11,184 --> 00:04:12,885 WILL RISE AND JOIN THE SHOW. 91 00:04:12,986 --> 00:04:14,487 SO HAPPY METEOR SHOWER AND... 92 00:04:14,587 --> 00:04:18,587 BOTH: KEEP LOOKING UP!