1 00:00:20,787 --> 00:00:22,522 LETS LOOK AT LYRA! 2 00:00:22,622 --> 00:00:23,590 DEAN: WELCOME TO 3 00:00:23,690 --> 00:00:24,958 STAR GAZERS. 4 00:00:25,058 --> 00:00:27,293 I'M DEAN REGAS, ASTRONOMER FROM THE CINCINNATI OBSERVATORY. 5 00:00:27,394 --> 00:00:29,562 JAMES: AND I'M JAMES ALBURY, DIRECTOR OF THE KIKA 6 00:00:29,662 --> 00:00:32,198 SILVA PLA PLANETAR-IUM IN GAINESVILLE FLORIDA. 7 00:00:32,298 --> 00:00:35,301 THE SUMMER TRIANGLE IS RIDING HIGH AT SUNSET THIS WEEK, 8 00:00:35,402 --> 00:00:37,904 SO WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT ONE OF THE CONSTELLATIONS THAT 9 00:00:38,004 --> 00:00:40,306 MAKES UP THIS VERY POPULAR GROUPING OF STARS. 10 00:00:40,407 --> 00:00:41,708 DEAN: THAT'S RIGHT, JAMES. 11 00:00:41,808 --> 00:00:44,577 WE'RE GOING TO GIVE YOU A GUIDED TOUR OF THE CONSTELLATION LYRA 12 00:00:44,677 --> 00:00:46,012 THE HARP. 13 00:00:46,112 --> 00:00:49,783 IT'S TINY AND CUTE, BUT REALLY FUN TO FIND IN THE SUMMER SKY. 14 00:00:49,883 --> 00:00:50,917 LET'S SHOW YOU! 15 00:00:51,017 --> 00:00:53,520 DEAN: OK, WE'VE SET UP OUR SKIES FOR ANY NIGHT 16 00:00:53,620 --> 00:00:55,688 THIS WEEK, ABOUT AN HOUR AFTER SUNSET. 17 00:00:55,789 --> 00:00:59,726 IF YOU LOOK DIRECTLY OVERHEAD, YOU WILL SEE A GROUPING OF STARS WE CALL THE 18 00:00:59,826 --> 00:01:01,661 SUMMER TRIANGLE. 19 00:01:01,761 --> 00:01:05,465 THE BRIGHTEST STAR IN THE TRIANGLE IS ACTUALLY THE FIFTH BRIGHTEST STAR WE CAN SEE FROM EARTH 20 00:01:05,565 --> 00:01:07,167 AND ITS NAME IS VEGA. 21 00:01:07,267 --> 00:01:09,736 JAMES: ONCE YOU HAVE FOUND VEGA, YOU'VE FOUND LYRA 22 00:01:09,836 --> 00:01:11,638 THE HARP. 23 00:01:11,738 --> 00:01:14,874 THE NEXT BRIGHTEST STAR IN THE SUMMER TRIANGLE IS ALTAIR IN AQUILA THE EAGLE AND THE THIRD 24 00:01:14,974 --> 00:01:16,476 BRIGHTEST IS DENEB IN CYGNUS 25 00:01:16,576 --> 00:01:17,710 THE SWAN. 26 00:01:17,811 --> 00:01:21,081 DEAN: LYRA IS OFTEN SAID TO BE THE SMALL HARP THAT 27 00:01:21,181 --> 00:01:25,385 BELONGED TO APOLLO AND WAS SUBSEQUENTLY GIVEN TO ORPHEUS. 28 00:01:25,485 --> 00:01:30,290 ORPHEUS WAS SO SKILLED AT PLAYING THE HARP, THAT THE MUSIC WAS SAID TO CHARM ANY-ONE WHO 29 00:01:30,390 --> 00:01:31,891 HEARD IT; EVEN ANIMALS. 30 00:01:31,991 --> 00:01:34,494 JAMES: INDEED, WHEN ORPHEUS PLAYED THE HARP, 31 00:01:34,594 --> 00:01:38,765 HE COULD EVEN CHARM INANIMATE OBJECTS LIKE TREES AND ROCKS. 32 00:01:38,865 --> 00:01:42,001 FURTHERMORE, WHEN OR-PHEUS JOINED JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS, 33 00:01:42,102 --> 00:01:47,173 HIS MUSIC WAS ABLE TO MUFFLE THE SONGS OF THE DREADED SIRENS WHO'S VOICES TRIED TO LEAD 34 00:01:47,273 --> 00:01:48,441 THE ARGONAUTS TO THEIR DOOM! 35 00:01:48,541 --> 00:01:50,844 DEAN: QUITE A FEW CULTURES SAW THIS GROUPING OF 36 00:01:50,944 --> 00:01:52,645 STARS AS A HARP. 37 00:01:52,745 --> 00:01:57,484 IN WALES, THEY REFER TO IT AS KING ARTHURS HARP AND IN PERSIA THEY CALLED IT THE LYRE 38 00:01:57,584 --> 00:01:58,685 OF ZURAH. 39 00:01:58,785 --> 00:02:02,122 JAMES: LYRA IS ALSO KNOWN AS PRAESEPE SALVATORIS 40 00:02:02,222 --> 00:02:04,891 (THE MANGER OF THE INFANT SAVIOR) AND TO THE INCAS, 41 00:02:04,991 --> 00:02:09,362 THEY SAW IT AS URCUCHILLAY, A GOD IN THE FORM OF A LLAMA WHO WATCHED OVER 42 00:02:09,462 --> 00:02:10,697 ANIMALS. 43 00:02:10,797 --> 00:02:13,600 JAMES: OF THE 25 STARS THAT ARE WITHIN THE INTERNATIONAL 44 00:02:13,700 --> 00:02:18,538 ASTRONOMICAL UNIONS BOUNDARY FOR THE CONSTELLATION LYRA, FIVE OF THOSE STARS ARE BRIGHT ENOUGH 45 00:02:18,638 --> 00:02:20,940 TO BE VISIBLE WITH THE NAKED EYE FROM MOST CITIES. 46 00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:24,010 DEAN: THE BRIGHTEST ONE IS OF COURSE VEGA. 47 00:02:24,110 --> 00:02:29,315 VEGAS BLUE-WHITE COLOR TELLS US THAT IT IS MUCH HOTTER THAN OUR OWN YELLOW-ORANGE SUN. 48 00:02:29,415 --> 00:02:34,721 IN FACT, COMPARED TO OUR SUN'S TEMPERATURE OF 10 THOUSAND DEGREES FAHRENHEIT, VEGA BLAZES 49 00:02:34,821 --> 00:02:38,158 AWAY AT A FIERCE 17 THOUSAND DEGREES FAHRENHEIT! 50 00:02:38,258 --> 00:02:41,728 JAMES: VEGA IS ALSO CONSIDERABLY LARGER, FOR WHILE 51 00:02:41,828 --> 00:02:44,964 OUR SUN IS A LIT-TLE UNDER A MILLION MILES WIDE, 52 00:02:45,064 --> 00:02:49,435 VEGA IS ALMOST THREE MILLION MILES IN DIAMETER, WHICH MAKES IT EASY TO UNDERSTAND THAT IF 53 00:02:49,536 --> 00:02:55,074 WE COULD PLACE OUR SUN AND VEGA SIDE BY SIDE, VEGA WOULD SHINE 58 TIMES BRIGHTER 54 00:02:55,175 --> 00:02:56,209 THAN THE SUN. 55 00:02:56,309 --> 00:02:57,810 JAMES: NEAR VEGA, 56 00:02:57,911 --> 00:03:00,480 THERE ARE FOUR STARS THAT MAKE A PARALLELOGRAM. 57 00:03:00,580 --> 00:03:02,248 TRAVELING COUNTER- CLOCKWISE FROM VEGA, 58 00:03:02,348 --> 00:03:07,587 WE HAVE ZETA LYRAE, DELTA LYRAE AND THE TWO ON THE FAR END ARE, SULAFAT AND SHELIAK. 59 00:03:07,687 --> 00:03:10,857 DEAN: AS FAR AS STATISTICS GO, THE STARS IN LYRA 60 00:03:10,957 --> 00:03:12,192 ARE QUITE IMPRESSIVE. 61 00:03:12,292 --> 00:03:16,629 ZETA LYRAE AND DELTA LYRAE ARE BOTH BINARY STAR SYSTEMS. 62 00:03:16,729 --> 00:03:22,569 ZETA LYRAE IS 156 LIGHT YEARS AWAY AND DELTA LYRAE IS A WHOPPING 1,100 LIGHT YEARS 63 00:03:22,669 --> 00:03:23,870 FROM US! 64 00:03:23,970 --> 00:03:25,705 COMPARE THAT TO VEGA WHICH IS ONLY 65 00:03:25,805 --> 00:03:27,307 25 LIGHT YEARS AWAY. 66 00:03:27,407 --> 00:03:29,676 JAMES: MY TWO FAVORITE STARS IN THE PARALLELOGRAM 67 00:03:29,776 --> 00:03:31,945 ARE SULAFAT AND SHELIAK. 68 00:03:32,045 --> 00:03:37,617 SULAFAT IS 2400 TIMES AS BRIGHT AS OUR SUN AND IS ABOUT 620 LIGHT YEARS AWAY. 69 00:03:37,717 --> 00:03:41,221 MEANWHILE, SHELIAK IS OVER 26,000 TIMES AS BRIGHT AS 70 00:03:41,321 --> 00:03:45,825 OUR SUN, HAS A SURFACE TEMPERATURE OF OVER 54,000 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT AND IS 71 00:03:45,925 --> 00:03:48,261 960 LIGHT YEARS AWAY. 72 00:03:48,361 --> 00:03:52,131 SHELIAK WAS ALSO MENTIONED IN AN EPISODE OF STAR TREK THE NEXT GENERATION, 73 00:03:52,232 --> 00:03:53,866 SO I'M REALLY HAPPY ABOUT THAT. 74 00:03:53,967 --> 00:03:56,736 JAMES: ONE LAST THING ABOUT LYRA. 75 00:03:56,836 --> 00:04:00,974 DID YOU KNOW THAT THE SUN AND ALL THE PLANETS IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM ARE HEADING TOWARDS VEGA? 76 00:04:01,074 --> 00:04:02,809 DEAN: THATS RIGHT, JAMES! 77 00:04:02,909 --> 00:04:08,281 OUR SOLAR SYSTEM IS RACING TOWARDS VEGA AT THE INCREDIBLE SPEED OF 12 MILES PER SECOND, 78 00:04:08,381 --> 00:04:10,450 AND EVEN THOUGH VEGA IS ONLY 25 79 00:04:10,550 --> 00:04:13,386 LIGHT YEARS AWAY, AT THIS SPEED IT WOULD STILL TAKE OUR SUN 80 00:04:13,486 --> 00:04:16,556 ALMOST 500 MILLION YEARS TO REACH VEGA. 81 00:04:16,656 --> 00:04:17,824 JAMES: WELL THAT'S GOOD. 82 00:04:17,924 --> 00:04:19,959 I'D HATE FOR US TO GET AN INTERGALACTIC SPEEDING TICKET. 83 00:04:20,059 --> 00:04:21,694 DEAN: RIGHT?! 84 00:04:21,794 --> 00:04:26,132 SO GET OUTSIDE AND CHECK OUT LYRA THE HARP AND SEE IF THE STARS PLAY SWEET MUSIC! 85 00:04:26,232 --> 00:04:27,700 JAMES: IT'S EASY TO DO WHEN YOU 86 00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:31,800 BOTH: KEEP LOOKING UP!.