1 00:00:20,053 --> 00:00:23,790 DEAN: WELCOME TO STAR GAZERS! 2 00:00:23,890 --> 00:00:26,726 I'M DEAN REGAS, ASTRONOMER FROM THE CINCINATTI OBSERVATORY. 3 00:00:26,826 --> 00:00:28,862 JAMES: AND I'M JAMES ALBURY, DIRECTOR OF THE KIKA 4 00:00:28,962 --> 00:00:31,464 SILVA PLA PLANETARIUM IN GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA. 5 00:00:31,564 --> 00:00:35,268 WE ALWAYS HEAR ABOUT THE PLANETS ALIGNING, BUT WE HAVE SOMETHING REALLY SPECIAL HAPPENING 6 00:00:35,368 --> 00:00:38,304 THIS WEEK THAT WE GET TO SHARE WITH THE RED PLANET MARS. 7 00:00:38,405 --> 00:00:40,040 DEAN: THATS RIGHT, JAMES. 8 00:00:40,140 --> 00:00:44,310 MARS, VENUS AND EARTH WILL BE IN JUST THE RIGHT POSITION THAT WE'LL GET TO SEE A 9 00:00:44,411 --> 00:00:46,012 MARS-VENUS SCOOCHIE. 10 00:00:46,112 --> 00:00:47,280 AND IF YOU WERE ON MARS, 11 00:00:47,380 --> 00:00:49,115 YOU WOULD SEE A VENUS-EARTH SCOOCHIE. 12 00:00:49,215 --> 00:00:50,950 JAMES: WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? 13 00:00:51,051 --> 00:00:52,685 LETS SHOW YOU! 14 00:00:52,786 --> 00:00:55,922 JAMES: AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, THE PLANETS ORBIT THE 15 00:00:56,022 --> 00:00:57,857 SUN IN CONCENTRIC ELLIPSES. 16 00:00:57,957 --> 00:01:02,529 MERCURY BEING THE CLOSEST PLANET TO THE SUN; THEN VENUS, THEN EARTH AND THEN MARS. 17 00:01:02,629 --> 00:01:05,565 DEAN: AS WE TRAVEL AROUND THE SUN, WERE ALL TRAVELING 18 00:01:05,665 --> 00:01:07,434 AT DIFFERENT SPEEDS. 19 00:01:07,534 --> 00:01:11,471 THE ASTRONOMER JOHANNES KEPLER NOTICED THAT PLANETS CLOSER TO THE SUN TRAVEL FASTER THAN 20 00:01:11,571 --> 00:01:13,239 THOSE FURTHER AWAY. 21 00:01:13,339 --> 00:01:18,378 IT TAKES MERCURY ONLY 88 EARTH DAYS TO ORBIT THE SUN, AND VENUS TAKES A LITTLE OVER 22 00:01:18,478 --> 00:01:20,513 7 AND A HALF MONTHS TO ORBIT THE SUN. 23 00:01:20,613 --> 00:01:24,517 JAMES: EARTH TAKES APPROXIMATELY 365 DAYS (OR ONE 24 00:01:24,617 --> 00:01:29,322 YEAR) TO ORBIT THE SUN, MEANWHILE MARS TAKES ALMOST TWO YEARS TO ORBIT THE SUN. 25 00:01:29,422 --> 00:01:32,559 WHEN WE VIEW THE SOLAR SYSTEM FROM ABOVE, THE PLANETS LOOK LIKE RUNNERS ON 26 00:01:32,659 --> 00:01:35,462 A RACE TRACK, WITH EACH PLANET IN A DIFFERENT LANE. 27 00:01:35,562 --> 00:01:38,031 JAMES: VENUS AND MARS ARE THE TWO PLANETS THAT CAN 28 00:01:38,131 --> 00:01:40,600 COME CLOSEST TO THE EARTH, AND THEY HAVE A LOT IN COMMON. 29 00:01:40,700 --> 00:01:43,470 DEAN: THEY'RE BOTH ROUND, ROCKY OBJECTS THAT CIRCLE 30 00:01:43,570 --> 00:01:45,038 RELATIVELY CLOSE TO THE SUN. 31 00:01:45,138 --> 00:01:47,073 JAMES: RELATIVELY - AT LEAST COMPARED TO THE OUTER 32 00:01:47,173 --> 00:01:49,809 PLANETS, JUPITER, SATURN, URANUS, AND NEPTUNE. 33 00:01:49,909 --> 00:01:53,179 BUT WHEN YOU LOOK CLOSER AT THEM, THEY PRESENT SOME STARTLING DIFFERENCES. 34 00:01:53,279 --> 00:01:55,782 DEAN: FOR INSTANCE, MARS MIGHT BE A GOOD PLACE TO 35 00:01:55,882 --> 00:01:59,052 PERSONALLY VISIT SOMEDAY, WHILE VENUS WELL 36 00:01:59,152 --> 00:02:01,121 YOU'D DIE PRETTY MUCH INSTANTLY ON THE SURFACE. 37 00:02:01,221 --> 00:02:02,956 JAMES: UGH DONT REMIND ME..... 38 00:02:03,056 --> 00:02:07,260 DEAN: ALL THIS WEEK, VENUS, EARTH AND MARS WILL 39 00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:11,798 BE ARRANGED IN SUCH A WAY THAT WE ON EARTH WILL SEE A CONJUNCTION BETWEEN VENUS 40 00:02:11,898 --> 00:02:13,600 AND MARS. 41 00:02:13,700 --> 00:02:17,337 BASICALLY, VENUS AND MARS WILL BE NEXT TO EACH OTHER IN THE SKY JUST BEFORE SUNRISE. 42 00:02:17,437 --> 00:02:20,006 JAMES: HOWEVER, IF YOU WERE AN OBSERVER ON MARS, 43 00:02:20,106 --> 00:02:23,710 YOU WOULD SEE VENUS AND EARTH NEXT TO EACH OTHER IN THE SKY JUST AFTER SUNSET. 44 00:02:23,810 --> 00:02:25,612 DEAN: HEY JAMES! 45 00:02:25,712 --> 00:02:29,782 LETS VIEW THE SKY FROM EARTH, THEN TAKE OUR VIEWERS TO MARS AND VIEW THE SAME CONJUNCTION 46 00:02:29,883 --> 00:02:30,783 FROM THERE. 47 00:02:30,884 --> 00:02:32,452 JAMES: SOUNDS LIKE A GREAT IDEA, DEAN! 48 00:02:32,552 --> 00:02:33,720 LETS GO! 49 00:02:33,820 --> 00:02:37,223 DEAN: OK, WE HAVE OUR SKIES SET UP FOR OCTOBER 2ND, 50 00:02:37,323 --> 00:02:39,893 JUST BEFORE SUNRISE, FACING EAST. 51 00:02:39,993 --> 00:02:42,729 THERE YOU'LL SEE TWO BRIGHT, NON-TWINKLING LIGHTS. 52 00:02:42,829 --> 00:02:45,331 THE BRIGHTER OF THE TWO IS OUR SISTER PLANET VENUS, 53 00:02:45,431 --> 00:02:48,034 NAMED AFTER THE ROMAN GODDESS OF BEAUTY AND LOVE. 54 00:02:48,134 --> 00:02:50,170 JAMES: THE DIMMER AND REDDER OF THE TWO IS THE RED 55 00:02:50,270 --> 00:02:53,506 PLANET MARS, NAMED AFTER THE ROMAN GOD OF WAR. 56 00:02:53,606 --> 00:02:55,141 EARLY IN THE WEEK, MARS WILL BE UP AND TO 57 00:02:55,241 --> 00:02:56,843 THE RIGHT OF VENUS. 58 00:02:56,943 --> 00:03:00,446 HOWEVER, AS THE WEEK PASSES, YOULL SEE VENUS GETTING CLOSER AND CLOSER TO MARS. 59 00:03:00,547 --> 00:03:03,483 DEAN: THEN, ON OCTOBER 5TH , MARS AND VENUS REACH 60 00:03:03,583 --> 00:03:07,987 THEIR CLOSEST APPEARANCE TO EACH OTHER IN THE SKY AND THIS IS THE DAY WHEN MARTIANS 61 00:03:08,087 --> 00:03:12,258 WILL BE ABLE TO SEE AN EQUALLY CLOSE CONJUNCTION OF VENUS AND EARTH. 62 00:03:12,358 --> 00:03:13,593 JAMES: SINCE THERE ARE 63 00:03:13,693 --> 00:03:16,462 NO MARTIANS, AND NO HUMANS ON MARS YET, WE HAVE TO USE 64 00:03:16,563 --> 00:03:17,664 OUR IMAGINATION. 65 00:03:17,764 --> 00:03:19,999 DEAN: SO, GET YOUR SKYBOARDS READY AS WE TAKE A 66 00:03:20,099 --> 00:03:24,938 TRIP TO MARS AND CHECK OUT THIS SAME CONJUNCTION FROM A MARTIANS PERSPECTIVE! 67 00:03:25,038 --> 00:03:28,875 JAMES: OK, WE'VE GOT OUR SKIES SET UP FOR JUST AFTER 68 00:03:28,975 --> 00:03:31,110 SUNSET, NEAR GALE CRATER ON MARS. 69 00:03:31,211 --> 00:03:36,249 SPECIFICALLY, WE'RE ABOUT 4 AND A HALF DEGREES SOUTH OF THE MARTIAN EQUATOR AND ABOUT 137 70 00:03:36,349 --> 00:03:37,984 DEGREES EAST LONGITUDE. 71 00:03:38,084 --> 00:03:42,622 WE ALSO HAVE OUR TIME SET TO JUST AFTER THE MARTIAN SUNSET AT 18:38 72 00:03:42,722 --> 00:03:44,924 UNIVERSAL TIME. 73 00:03:45,024 --> 00:03:49,529 DEAN: THAT'S JUST IN TIME FOR MARTIAN DINNER! 74 00:03:49,629 --> 00:03:52,832 IF WE AIMED OUR TELESCOPE TO THE NORTHWEST, LOW ON THE HORIZON, 75 00:03:52,932 --> 00:03:57,370 WE WOULD SEE OUR HOME PLANET EARTH SNUGGLING UP WITH OUR SISTER PLANET VENUS. 76 00:03:57,470 --> 00:03:59,872 JAMES: AND IF YOU HAD A REALLY HIGH POWERED LENS 77 00:03:59,973 --> 00:04:03,309 ON YOUR TELESCOPE, YOUD SEE A GIBBOUS EARTH WITH A TINY GIBBOUS 78 00:04:03,409 --> 00:04:05,111 PINPOINT OF LIGHT NEXT TO IT. 79 00:04:05,211 --> 00:04:07,180 THATS NONE OTHER THAN OUR MOON. 80 00:04:07,280 --> 00:04:08,381 NOW HOW NEAT IS THAT?! 81 00:04:08,481 --> 00:04:11,150 DEAN: SUCH WONDERFUL THINGS TO SEE, ON OUR WORLD 82 00:04:11,251 --> 00:04:12,819 AND THROUGHOUT THE SOLAR SYSTEM. 83 00:04:12,919 --> 00:04:14,354 YOU JUST HAVE TO REMEMBER TO 84 00:04:14,454 --> 00:04:18,454 BOTH: KEEP LOOKING UP!