A FLYING HORSE AND ANOTHER LUNAR LEAPFROG!
JAMES:
WELCOME TO STAR GAZERS.
I'M JAMES ALBURY, DIRECTOR OF THE KIKA SILVA
PLA PLANETARIUM IN GAINESVILLE FLORIDA.
DEAN:
AND I'M DEAN REGAS, ASTRONOMER FROM
THE CINCINNATI OBSERVATORY.
WE'RE HERE TO HELP YOU FIND YOUR WAY AROUND
THE SKY!
IF YOU'RE A FAN OF HORSES AND PECULIAR STAR
NAMES, HAVE WE GOT A SHOW FOR YOU!
JAMES:
PLUS, WE HAVE ANOTHER LEAPFROG BETWEEN
THE MOON JUPITER AND SATURN NEXT WEEK.
WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?
LETS SHOW YOU!
JAMES:
OK, WE HAVE OUR SKIES SET UP FOR AN HOUR AFTER
SUNSET,
FACING EAST.
PEGASUS, THE WINGED HORSE IS EASY TO FIND.
SIMPLY LOOK FOR FOUR BRIGHT STARS THAT FORM
A LARGE SQUARE, JUST ABOVE THE EASTERN HORIZON.
DEAN:
THAT SQUARE IS AN ASTERISM WE CALL
THE GREAT SQUARE
OF PEGASUS.
IF YOU'VE WATCHED OUR SHOW FOR A WHILE,
YOU PROBABLY NOTICED THAT SOME OF THE STARS
IN THE SKY HAVE VERY INTERESTING NAMES.
JAMES:
THATS BECAUSE MANY OF THE STARS WERE
NAMED BY PERSIAN ASTRONOMERS THOUSANDS OF
YEARS AGO.
WHEN ASTRONOMERS OF THAT TIME CHOSE TO NAME
THE STARS,
THEY OFTEN NAMED THEM AFTER THE BODY PART
IT REPRESENTED
IN THE CONSTELLATION.
DEAN:
THE STARS THAT MAKE UP THE GREAT SQUARE OF
PEGASUS, STARTING WITH THE ONE HIGHEST ABOVE
THE HORIZON AND MOVING COUNTER-CLOCKWISE ARE
SCHEAT, ALPHERATZ, ALGENIB
AND MARKAB.
JAMES:
SCHEAT (WHOSE NAME IN ARABIC MEANS THE LEG)
IS A RED GIANT STAR 196 LIGHT YEARS FROM EARTH
AND ITS APPROXIMATELY 1500 TIMES AS BRIGHT
AS OUR SUN.
DEAN:
ALPHERATZ (WHICH MEANS NAVEL OF THE HORSE)
IS 97 LIGHT YEARS AWAY FROM US AND IS ALSO
THE BRIGHTEST STAR IN THE NEIGHBORING CONSTELLATION
ANDROMEDA.
JAMES:
THE NEXT STAR IS ALGENIB.
ITS 390 LIGHT YEARS AWAY AND ITS NAME MEANS
THE FLANK.
DEAN:
THE LAST OF THE FOUR STARS IN THE TRIANGLE
IS MARKAB.
ITS NAME MEANS THE SADDLE OF THE HORSE AND
ITS A WHITE SUBGIANT STAR.
ITS EXHAUSTED THE HYDROGEN IN ITS CORE AND
EXPANDED TO ALMOST FIVE TIMES THE DIAMETER
OF OUR ALMOST MILLION
MILE-WIDE SUN.
JAMES:
THE STARS THAT BRANCH OUT FROM SCHEAT MOVING
UPWARD FORM THE LEGS OF PEGASUS.
THE STAR DIRECTLY ABOVE SCHEAT IS A BINARY
STAR SYSTEM NAMED MATAR.
MATARS NAME IS DERIVED FROM AN ARABIC PHRASE
MEANING LUCKY STAR
OF RAIN.
ITS BAYER DESIGNATION IS ETA PEGASI AND ITS
167 LIGHT YEARS AWAY.
DEAN:
MATAR IS INTERESTING BECAUSE ITS PRIMARY STAR
IS A YELLOW GIANT 18 TIMES THE DIAMETER OF
OUR SUN WITH A ROTATION RATE OF 818 DAYS.
ITS COMPANION STAR IS A YELLOW-WHITE STAR
WHICH ORBITS EVERY 813 DAYS.
JAMES:
AND
BELIEVE IT OR NOT, THE U.S. NAVY CARGO SHIP
U.S.S.
MATAR WAS NAMED AFTER THIS STAR.
IT WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR DELIVERING TROOPS,
GOODS AND EQUIPMENT DURING WORLD WAR TWO AND
WAS BUILT IN JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA.
DEAN:
MOVING TOWARD THE HEAD OF PEGASUS,
WE HAVE THE STAR ENIF, WHICH MARKS HIS NOSE.
ENIF IS 690 LIGHT YEARS AWAY AND IS A SUPERGIANT
STAR 12 TIMES THE MASS AND
185 TIMES THE DIAMETER OF OUR SUN.
JAMES:
THE NEXT STAR IS BIHAM (ALSO KNOWN AS THETA
PEGASI).
I LIKE TO THINK OF IT AS THE EYE OF PEGASUS.
ITS NAME IS DERIVED FROM AN ARABIC PHRASE
MEANING LUCKY STARS OF THE YOUNG BEASTS AND
IS OVER 97 LIGHT YEARS AWAY.
DEAN:
SPEAKING OF LUCKY,
ONE OF THE STARS IN PEGASUS OTHER LEG IS A
STAR JUST TO THE UPPER RIGHT FROM SCHEAT.
ITS NAME IS SADALBARI.
ITS NAME MEANS LUCKY STAR OF THE SPLENDID
ONE AND ITS A YELLOW GIANT STAR 106 LIGHT
YEARS AWAY.
JAMES:
THAT'S THREE LUCKY STARS IN ONE CONSTELLATION.
WOW.
THE LAST STAR WE'LL TALK ABOUT IS THE ONE
JUST ABOVE MARKAB.
ITS TRADITIONAL NAME
IS HOMAM AND ITS APPROXIMATELY 204 LIGHT YEARS
AWAY.
DEAN:
NOW, LETS CHECK OUT OUR THIRD LUNAR LEAPFROG
OF THE YEAR!
JAMES:
OK, WE HAVE OUR SKIES SET UP FOR AN HOUR AFTER
SUNSET ON OCTOBER 3RD FACING SOUTH-WEST.
THE WAXING CRESCENT MOON IS JUST TO A HAIR
TO THE LEFT OF JUPITER, AND THEY ARE SUPER
CLOSE THAT NIGHT.
DEAN:
THATS RIGHT, JAMES!
NOW, CHECK OUT THE MOON ON THE 4TH
AND THEN THE 5TH.
JAMES:
WOW!
THE FIRST QUARTER MOON IS ONLY TWO DEGREES
AWAY FROM SATURN!
I THINK I WANT TO DANCE NOW!
DEAN:
CHECK OUT THE STARS OF PEGASUS TONIGHT AND
JUPITER AND SATURN AS YOU...
BOTH:
KEEP LOOKING UP!