DEAN:
WELCOME TO STAR GAZERS!
I'M DEAN REGAS, ASTRONOMER FROM THE CINCINATTI
OBSERVATORY.
JAMES:
AND I'M JAMES ALBURY, DIRECTOR OF THE KIKA
SILVA PLA PLANETARIUM IN GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA.
WE ALWAYS HEAR ABOUT THE PLANETS ALIGNING,
BUT WE HAVE SOMETHING REALLY SPECIAL HAPPENING
THIS WEEK THAT WE GET TO SHARE WITH THE RED
PLANET MARS.
DEAN:
THATS RIGHT, JAMES.
MARS, VENUS AND EARTH WILL BE IN JUST THE
RIGHT POSITION THAT WE'LL GET TO SEE A
MARS-VENUS SCOOCHIE.
AND IF YOU WERE
ON MARS,
YOU WOULD SEE A VENUS-EARTH SCOOCHIE.
JAMES:
WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?
LETS SHOW YOU!
JAMES:
AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, THE PLANETS ORBIT THE
SUN IN CONCENTRIC ELLIPSES.
MERCURY BEING THE CLOSEST PLANET TO THE SUN;
THEN VENUS, THEN EARTH AND THEN MARS.
DEAN:
AS WE TRAVEL AROUND THE SUN, WERE ALL TRAVELING
AT DIFFERENT SPEEDS.
THE ASTRONOMER JOHANNES KEPLER NOTICED THAT
PLANETS CLOSER TO THE SUN TRAVEL FASTER THAN
THOSE FURTHER AWAY.
IT TAKES MERCURY ONLY 88 EARTH DAYS TO ORBIT
THE SUN, AND VENUS TAKES A LITTLE OVER
7 AND A HALF MONTHS
TO ORBIT THE SUN.
JAMES:
EARTH TAKES APPROXIMATELY 365 DAYS (OR ONE
YEAR) TO ORBIT THE SUN, MEANWHILE MARS TAKES
ALMOST TWO YEARS TO ORBIT THE SUN.
WHEN WE VIEW THE SOLAR SYSTEM FROM ABOVE,
THE PLANETS LOOK LIKE RUNNERS ON
A RACE TRACK,
WITH EACH PLANET IN A DIFFERENT LANE.
JAMES:
VENUS AND MARS ARE THE TWO PLANETS THAT CAN
COME CLOSEST TO THE EARTH, AND THEY HAVE
A LOT IN COMMON.
DEAN:
THEY'RE BOTH ROUND, ROCKY OBJECTS THAT CIRCLE
RELATIVELY CLOSE TO THE SUN.
JAMES:
RELATIVELY - AT LEAST COMPARED TO THE OUTER
PLANETS, JUPITER, SATURN, URANUS,
AND NEPTUNE.
BUT WHEN YOU LOOK CLOSER AT THEM, THEY PRESENT
SOME STARTLING DIFFERENCES.
DEAN:
FOR INSTANCE, MARS MIGHT BE A GOOD PLACE TO
PERSONALLY VISIT SOMEDAY, WHILE VENUS WELL
YOU'D DIE PRETTY MUCH INSTANTLY ON THE SURFACE.
JAMES:
UGH DONT REMIND ME.....
DEAN:
ALL THIS WEEK, VENUS, EARTH AND MARS WILL
BE ARRANGED IN SUCH A WAY THAT WE ON EARTH
WILL SEE A CONJUNCTION BETWEEN VENUS
AND MARS.
BASICALLY, VENUS AND MARS WILL BE NEXT TO
EACH OTHER IN THE SKY JUST BEFORE SUNRISE.
JAMES:
HOWEVER, IF YOU WERE AN OBSERVER ON MARS,
YOU WOULD SEE VENUS AND EARTH NEXT TO
EACH OTHER IN THE SKY JUST AFTER SUNSET.
DEAN:
HEY JAMES!
LETS VIEW THE SKY FROM EARTH, THEN TAKE OUR
VIEWERS TO MARS AND VIEW THE SAME CONJUNCTION
FROM THERE.
JAMES:
SOUNDS LIKE A GREAT IDEA, DEAN!
LETS GO!
DEAN:
OK, WE HAVE OUR SKIES SET UP FOR OCTOBER 2ND,
JUST BEFORE SUNRISE, FACING EAST.
THERE YOU'LL SEE TWO BRIGHT, NON-TWINKLING
LIGHTS.
THE BRIGHTER OF THE TWO IS OUR SISTER PLANET
VENUS,
NAMED AFTER THE ROMAN GODDESS OF BEAUTY
AND LOVE.
JAMES:
THE DIMMER AND REDDER OF THE TWO IS THE RED
PLANET MARS, NAMED AFTER THE ROMAN GOD
OF WAR.
EARLY IN THE WEEK,
MARS WILL BE UP AND TO
THE RIGHT OF VENUS.
HOWEVER, AS THE WEEK PASSES, YOULL SEE VENUS
GETTING CLOSER AND CLOSER TO MARS.
DEAN:
THEN, ON OCTOBER 5TH , MARS AND VENUS REACH
THEIR CLOSEST APPEARANCE TO EACH OTHER IN
THE SKY AND THIS IS THE DAY WHEN MARTIANS
WILL BE ABLE TO SEE AN EQUALLY CLOSE CONJUNCTION
OF VENUS AND EARTH.
JAMES:
SINCE THERE ARE
NO MARTIANS,
AND NO HUMANS ON MARS YET, WE HAVE TO USE
OUR IMAGINATION.
DEAN:
SO, GET YOUR SKYBOARDS READY AS WE TAKE A
TRIP TO MARS AND CHECK OUT THIS SAME CONJUNCTION
FROM A MARTIANS PERSPECTIVE!
JAMES:
OK, WE'VE GOT OUR SKIES SET UP FOR JUST AFTER
SUNSET, NEAR GALE CRATER ON MARS.
SPECIFICALLY, WE'RE ABOUT 4 AND A HALF DEGREES
SOUTH OF THE MARTIAN EQUATOR AND ABOUT 137
DEGREES EAST LONGITUDE.
WE ALSO HAVE OUR TIME SET TO JUST AFTER THE
MARTIAN SUNSET AT 18:38
UNIVERSAL TIME.
DEAN:
THAT'S JUST IN TIME FOR MARTIAN DINNER!
IF WE AIMED OUR TELESCOPE TO THE NORTHWEST,
LOW ON THE HORIZON,
WE WOULD SEE OUR HOME PLANET EARTH SNUGGLING
UP WITH OUR SISTER PLANET VENUS.
JAMES:
AND IF YOU HAD A REALLY HIGH POWERED LENS
ON YOUR TELESCOPE,
YOUD SEE A GIBBOUS EARTH WITH A TINY GIBBOUS
PINPOINT OF LIGHT NEXT TO IT.
THATS NONE OTHER THAN OUR MOON.
NOW HOW NEAT IS THAT?!
DEAN:
SUCH WONDERFUL THINGS TO SEE, ON OUR WORLD
AND THROUGHOUT THE SOLAR SYSTEM.
YOU JUST HAVE TO REMEMBER TO
BOTH:
KEEP LOOKING UP!