1 00:00:20,887 --> 00:00:21,821 BRIGHTEST OF THE BRIGHT 2 00:00:21,921 --> 00:00:24,257 DEAN: HEY THERE STAR GAZERS. 3 00:00:24,357 --> 00:00:27,260 I'M DEAN REGAS, ASTRONOMER FOR THE CINCINNATI OBSERVATORY. 4 00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:29,863 JAMES: AND I'M JAMES ALBURY, DIRECTOR OF THE KIKA 5 00:00:29,963 --> 00:00:32,665 SILVA PLA PLANETARIUM IN GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA. 6 00:00:32,766 --> 00:00:35,668 WE'RE HERE TO HELP YOU FIND YOUR WAY AROUND THE SKY. 7 00:00:35,769 --> 00:00:39,639 WITH SO MANY PLANETS, STARS, AND CONSTELLATIONS, WHERE DO YOU BEGIN? 8 00:00:39,739 --> 00:00:42,642 DEAN: OUR TIP - START WITH THE REALLY BRIGHT STUFF. 9 00:00:42,742 --> 00:00:45,879 WE'VE PICKED FOR YOU THE FIVE BRIGHTEST NIGHTTIME OBJECTS 10 00:00:45,979 --> 00:00:47,147 THIS WINTER. 11 00:00:47,247 --> 00:00:50,050 JAMES: VISIBLE EVEN FROM URBAN LOCATIONS, THESE FIVE 12 00:00:50,150 --> 00:00:54,587 CELESTIAL WONDERS ARE SURE TO CAPTURE YOUR IMAGINATION AND JUMPSTART YOUR RELATIONSHIP 13 00:00:54,687 --> 00:00:55,588 WITH THE UNIVERSE. 14 00:00:55,688 --> 00:00:56,856 DEAN: READY TO HEAD TO STARS? 15 00:00:56,956 --> 00:00:57,991 LET S GO! 16 00:00:58,091 --> 00:01:01,327 JAMES: IF WE RE TALKING ABOUT BRIGHT STUFF, OF 17 00:01:01,428 --> 00:01:05,165 COURSE, WE HAVE TO BEGIN WITH THE MOON - #1 BRIGHTEST NIGHTTIME OBJECT. 18 00:01:05,265 --> 00:01:08,301 HOW CAN YOU NOT BE AWED BY THE SIGHT OF A FULL MOON RISING 19 00:01:08,401 --> 00:01:10,136 ABOVE THE EASTERN HORIZON? 20 00:01:10,236 --> 00:01:13,940 OR A THIN, DELICATE CRESCENT CRADLING THE DARKENED ORB AFTER SUNSET? 21 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:17,310 DEAN: NEXT WEEK THE MOON IS BEST SEEN BEFORE SUNRISE. 22 00:01:17,410 --> 00:01:20,914 IT''LL BE IN ITS WANING PHASES AND WILL SLOWLY MOVE TOWARD 23 00:01:21,014 --> 00:01:22,582 NEW MOON. 24 00:01:22,682 --> 00:01:26,886 IF WE AD-VANCE TIME DAY BY DAY WE LL SEE A THIRD QUARTER MOON ON FEBRUARY 25TH. 25 00:01:26,986 --> 00:01:29,823 THAT S WHEN ONLY THE LEFT-HALF OF THE MOON IS LIT. 26 00:01:29,923 --> 00:01:32,358 JAMES: THE MOON WILL CONTINUE ON ITS PATH AROUND 27 00:01:32,459 --> 00:01:34,461 EARTH AND SHIFT EVERY DAY. 28 00:01:34,561 --> 00:01:37,764 HERE IT IS ON THE MORNING OF THE 26TH, AND 27TH. 29 00:01:37,864 --> 00:01:39,065 DEAN: WHOA! 30 00:01:39,165 --> 00:01:41,434 WHAT S THAT BRIGHT THING NEXT TO THE MOON ON THE 27TH? 31 00:01:41,534 --> 00:01:42,435 JAMES: IS IT A BIRD? 32 00:01:42,535 --> 00:01:43,436 DEAN: IS IT A PLANE? 33 00:01:43,536 --> 00:01:44,704 JAMES: IS IT A UFO? 34 00:01:44,804 --> 00:01:47,373 DEAN: NO, THAT'S THE THIRD BRIGHTEST NIGHTTIME OBJECT. 35 00:01:47,474 --> 00:01:49,275 BUT LET S NOT GET AHEAD OF OURSELVES. 36 00:01:49,375 --> 00:01:51,911 LET S FIND THE SECOND BRIGHTEST THING FIRST. 37 00:01:52,011 --> 00:01:55,048 DEAN: NOW WE VE SHIFTED OUR VIEW TO THE SOUTHEAST 38 00:01:55,148 --> 00:01:57,183 ON THE MORNING OF FEBRUARY 27TH. 39 00:01:57,283 --> 00:02:00,186 THE WANING MOON IS STILL NEXT TO OUR MYSTERY OB-JECT. 40 00:02:00,286 --> 00:02:02,822 JAMES: OOH, THE MYSTERY IS KILLING ME! 41 00:02:02,922 --> 00:02:06,693 BUT I SEE SOMETHING EVEN BRIGHTER LOWER IN THE SOUTHEAST. 42 00:02:06,793 --> 00:02:08,228 THAT IS THE DAZZLING PLANET VENUS. 43 00:02:08,328 --> 00:02:10,930 DEAN: VENUS IS SO INCREDIBLY BRIGHT BECAUSE THE 44 00:02:11,030 --> 00:02:16,302 PLANET IS PERPETU-ALLY COVERED IN CLOUDS - AND THESE CLOUDS REFLECT SUNLIGHT MUCH BETTER 45 00:02:16,402 --> 00:02:18,071 THAN ANY OTHER PLANET. 46 00:02:18,171 --> 00:02:22,942 VENUS IS OVER 100 MILLION MILES AWAY RIGHT NOW, BUT IT S STILL WAY BRIGHTER THAN ANY 47 00:02:23,042 --> 00:02:25,211 STAR OR PLANET VISI-BLE FROM EARTH. 48 00:02:25,311 --> 00:02:27,780 JAMES: THE MOON WILL GET CLOSER TO VENUS ON FEBRUARY 49 00:02:27,881 --> 00:02:29,516 28TH. 50 00:02:29,616 --> 00:02:33,319 AND ON MARCH 1ST THE MOON WILL BE NEXT TO THE RINGED PLANET SATURN (WHICH DOESN T 51 00:02:33,419 --> 00:02:36,089 CRACK THE TOP 5 BRIGHTEST OBJECTS, BUT IS STILL WAY-COOL!) 52 00:02:36,189 --> 00:02:39,993 DEAN: AND THEN JUST BEFORE SUNRISE ON MARCH 2ND, 53 00:02:40,093 --> 00:02:43,730 YOU CAN SEE THE TWO BRIGHTEST NIGHTTIME OBJECTS IN CONJUNCTION! 54 00:02:43,830 --> 00:02:45,565 THE MOON AND VE-NUS. 55 00:02:45,665 --> 00:02:46,833 SWEET! 56 00:02:46,933 --> 00:02:49,502 JAMES: NOW WE'RE GOING BACK TO THE NIGHT OF FEBRUARY 57 00:02:49,602 --> 00:02:52,272 27TH TO RE-VEAL WHAT LARGE, GASEOUS PLANET, WITH A 58 00:02:52,372 --> 00:02:54,674 GREAT RED SPOT WILL BE NEXT TO THE MOON. 59 00:02:54,774 --> 00:02:57,110 OOPS, DID I GIVE AWAY TOO MANY HINTS? 60 00:02:57,210 --> 00:02:59,078 DEAN: I THINK YOU MAY HAVE FIGURED OUT, THIS 61 00:02:59,179 --> 00:03:02,649 THIRD-BRIGHTEST NIGHTTIME OBJECT, IS THE PLANET JUPITER. 62 00:03:02,749 --> 00:03:06,052 THERE IS NO MISTAKING JUPI-TER'S STEADY, CREAM-COLORED GLOW. 63 00:03:06,152 --> 00:03:11,591 WHEN YOU POINT A TELESCOPE AT IT, JUPITER REVEALS A HIDDEN SYSTEM OF FOUR MOONS, IO, 64 00:03:11,691 --> 00:03:14,194 EUROPA, GAN-YMEDE, AND CALLISTO. 65 00:03:14,294 --> 00:03:18,631 THE CLOUD BANDS AND GREAT RED SPOT CAN ALSO BE SEEN WITH A LARGER SCOPE. 66 00:03:18,731 --> 00:03:22,735 DEAN: TO FIND #4 AND #5 ON OUR LIST, WE JUST NEED 67 00:03:22,835 --> 00:03:26,606 TO FACE SOUTH ANY NIGHT THIS WEEK AT AROUND 8PM. 68 00:03:26,706 --> 00:03:31,377 THAT REALLY BRIGHT AND TWINKLING STAR IS SIRIUS, AKA THE DOG STAR. 69 00:03:31,477 --> 00:03:34,180 JAMES: SIRIUS IS SERIOUSLY BRIGHT - MAKING IT THE 70 00:03:34,280 --> 00:03:36,549 FOURTH BRIGHTEST NIGHTTIME OBJECT. 71 00:03:36,649 --> 00:03:40,853 THE NAME SIRIUS COMES FROM A GREEK WORD MEANING SEARING OR SCORCHING. 72 00:03:40,954 --> 00:03:45,858 AND IT LIVES UP TO ITS NAME, SINCE IT'S TWICE AS BRIGHT AS ANY OTHER STAR IN THE SKY. 73 00:03:45,959 --> 00:03:48,294 DEAN: IT S CALLED THE DOG STAR BECAUSE THE STAR 74 00:03:48,394 --> 00:03:52,532 MARKS THE NOSE OF THE CONSTELLATION CANIS MAJOR, THE BIG DOG. 75 00:03:52,632 --> 00:03:54,434 JAMES: NUMBER 5 ON OUR LIST 76 00:03:54,534 --> 00:03:56,102 IS A YELLOW STAR NAMED CAPELLA. 77 00:03:56,202 --> 00:03:57,837 DEAN: AAAH, CAPELLA 78 00:03:57,937 --> 00:04:00,940 JAMES: CAPELLA CAN BE FOUND ALMOST DIRECTLY OVERHEAD 79 00:04:01,040 --> 00:04:02,709 ON WINTER EVENINGS. 80 00:04:02,809 --> 00:04:05,478 IT'S THE PRIMARY STAR IN THE CONSTELLATION AURIGA THE CHARIOTEER. 81 00:04:05,578 --> 00:04:07,680 DEAN: WHEN YOU OBSERVE CAPELLA, YOU RE REALLY 82 00:04:07,780 --> 00:04:12,318 LOOKING AT A COM-PLEX SYSTEM OF AT LEAST FOUR STARS ORBITING EACH OTHER IN TWO 83 00:04:12,418 --> 00:04:14,287 BI-NARY PAIRS. 84 00:04:14,387 --> 00:04:16,889 IMAGINE HAVING FOUR SUNS IN OUR SKY! 85 00:04:16,990 --> 00:04:18,324 JAMES: THERE YOU HAVE IT, 86 00:04:18,424 --> 00:04:20,593 THE TOP FIVE BRIGHTEST NIGHTTIME OBJECTS. 87 00:04:20,693 --> 00:04:23,329 THE MOON, VENUS, JUPITER, SIRIUS, AND CAPELLA. 88 00:04:23,429 --> 00:04:26,132 DEAN: WAKE UP EARLY AND FIND THE MOON, VENUS, JUPITER, 89 00:04:26,232 --> 00:04:27,500 (AND SATURN, WHILE YOU RE AT IT) 90 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:30,003 JAMES: AND THE STARS SIRIUS, AND CAPELLA AFTER SUNSET. 91 00:04:30,103 --> 00:04:32,071 DEAN: AND THEN CHALLENGE YOURSELF TO IDENTIFY 92 00:04:32,171 --> 00:04:34,607 5, 10, OR 100 MORE CELESTIAL OBJECTS. 93 00:04:34,707 --> 00:04:36,709 THE WHOLE UNIVERSE IS THERE WHEN YOU 94 00:04:36,809 --> 00:04:40,809 BOTH: KEEP LOOKING UP!