1 00:00:20,653 --> 00:00:21,921 MEASURING THE COSMOS 2 00:00:22,022 --> 00:00:24,624 DEAN: HEY THERE STAR GAZERS. 3 00:00:24,724 --> 00:00:27,627 I'M DEAN REGAS, ASTRONOMER FOR THE CINCINNATI OBSERVATORY. 4 00:00:27,727 --> 00:00:29,896 JAMES: AND I'M JAMES ALBURY, DIRECTOR OF THE KIKA 5 00:00:29,996 --> 00:00:33,166 SILVA PLA PLANETARIUM IN GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA. 6 00:00:33,266 --> 00:00:36,202 WE'RE HERE TO HELP YOU FIND YOUR WAY AROUND THE SKY TONIGHT. 7 00:00:36,302 --> 00:00:38,371 HEY DEAN, HUMOR ME. 8 00:00:38,471 --> 00:00:41,508 IF YOU WANT TO DESCRIBE YOUR HEIGHT, WHAT UNITS OF MEASURE WOULD YOU USE? 9 00:00:41,608 --> 00:00:42,976 DEAN: FEET AND INCHES. 10 00:00:43,076 --> 00:00:45,111 JAMES: AND IF WE WANT TO MEASURE THE DISTANCE TO 11 00:00:45,211 --> 00:00:46,346 THE MOON, WHAT DO WE USE? 12 00:00:46,446 --> 00:00:49,149 DEAN: I COULD USE FEET AND INCHES BUT MILES MAKES 13 00:00:49,249 --> 00:00:50,150 A LOT MORE SENSE. 14 00:00:50,250 --> 00:00:52,352 JAMES: HOW ABOUT THE DISTANCE TO STARS? 15 00:00:52,452 --> 00:00:55,121 DEAN: AH, WE USE LIGHT YEARS. 16 00:00:55,221 --> 00:00:56,456 DISTANCES IN SPACE ARE SO 17 00:00:56,556 --> 00:00:57,824 WELL 18 00:00:57,924 --> 00:01:00,360 ASTRONOMICAL THAT ITS HARD TO WRAP OUR BRAINS AROUND THEM. 19 00:01:00,460 --> 00:01:06,032 SO WE CREATED NEW UNITS OF MEASURE TO TAKE US AROUND THE SOLAR SYSTEM AND THROUGH INTERSTELLAR 20 00:01:06,132 --> 00:01:07,300 SPACE. 21 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:10,236 JAMES: SO, LET'S TAKE YOU TO THE MOON, JUPITER, SATURN, 22 00:01:10,336 --> 00:01:11,438 AND BEYOND! 23 00:01:11,538 --> 00:01:14,641 JAMES: OKAY, WE HAVE OUR SKY SET UP FOR THE NIGHT 24 00:01:14,741 --> 00:01:19,312 OF THURSDAY JULY 11 AT 10:30 PM FACING SOUTH. 25 00:01:19,412 --> 00:01:22,615 THE MOON IS IN ITS WAXING GIBBOUS PHASE - MEANING IT WILL 26 00:01:22,715 --> 00:01:24,084 SOON BE A FULL MOON. 27 00:01:24,184 --> 00:01:26,119 DEAN: EVERY DAY THE MOON WILL SHIFT FARTHER 28 00:01:26,219 --> 00:01:27,153 TO THE EAST. 29 00:01:27,253 --> 00:01:29,289 HERE IS THE MOON ON JULY 12TH 30 00:01:29,389 --> 00:01:30,590 AND JULY 13TH. 31 00:01:30,690 --> 00:01:34,227 LET'S FLY UP THERE AND TAKE OUR TAPE MEASURES WITH US. 32 00:01:34,327 --> 00:01:38,298 DEAN: ON AVERAGE, THE MOON IS ABOUT 239,000 MILES 33 00:01:38,398 --> 00:01:40,300 FROM THE EARTH. 34 00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:44,537 WE CAN FIND OUT THE PRECISE DISTANCE TO THE MOON ANY TIME BY BOUNCING LASERS OFF THE REFLECTORS 35 00:01:44,637 --> 00:01:46,372 SET UP BY THE APOLLO ASTRONAUTS. 36 00:01:46,473 --> 00:01:48,241 JAMES: NEIL ARMSTRONG, 37 00:01:48,341 --> 00:01:54,781 BUZZ ALDRIN AND COMPANY TOOK THREE DAYS TO FLY THE 239,000 MILES TO THE MOON - AND THREE 38 00:01:54,881 --> 00:01:56,182 DAYS TO FLY BACK. 39 00:01:56,282 --> 00:01:59,352 DEAN: BACK ON EARTH, WHATS THAT BRIGHT LIGHT NEXT 40 00:01:59,452 --> 00:02:01,221 TO THE MOON ON JULY 13TH? 41 00:02:01,321 --> 00:02:04,124 JAMES: THAT IS THE GIANT PLANET JUPITER AND IT IS 42 00:02:04,224 --> 00:02:05,558 RELATIVELY CLOSE TO US RIGHT NOW. 43 00:02:05,658 --> 00:02:07,260 DEAN: RELATIVELY CLOSE. 44 00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:10,830 IT MAY LOOK LIKE ITS CLOSE TO THE MOON BUT IT IS MUCH, MUCH FARTHER. 45 00:02:10,930 --> 00:02:14,767 WHILE THE MOON IS ABOUT 239,000 MILES AWAY, JUPITER IS 46 00:02:14,868 --> 00:02:17,871 A WHOPPING 409 MILLION MILES AWAY! 47 00:02:17,971 --> 00:02:22,242 JAMES: AS THE NIGHT GOES ON WE GET CLOSER TO 11:30PM, 48 00:02:22,342 --> 00:02:24,177 EVERYTHING HAS SHIFTED TO THE RIGHT. 49 00:02:24,277 --> 00:02:27,046 AND ANOTHER PLANET IS GETTING HIGHER IN THE SKY. 50 00:02:27,147 --> 00:02:28,648 THIS IS SATURN. 51 00:02:28,748 --> 00:02:31,584 DEAN: SATURN IS JUST THE MOST AMAZING SIGHT TO SEE 52 00:02:31,684 --> 00:02:33,119 IN A TELESCOPE. 53 00:02:33,219 --> 00:02:35,788 YOU CAN SEE THE PLANET, THE RINGS, THE SHADOW OF THE RINGS, THE MOONS 54 00:02:35,889 --> 00:02:37,323 JAMES: CALM DOWN DEAN 55 00:02:37,423 --> 00:02:41,094 I KNOW SATURNS YOUR FAVORITE PLANET BUT LET'S DO SOME MEASURING HERE. 56 00:02:41,194 --> 00:02:45,298 JAMES: THIS WEEK SATURN IS ABOUT 837 MILLION MILES 57 00:02:45,398 --> 00:02:47,133 AWAY. 58 00:02:47,233 --> 00:02:50,336 NOW THAT NUMBER IS HARD TO WRAP OUR BRAINS AROUND, SO WHEN WERE TALKING ABOUT DISTANCES 59 00:02:50,436 --> 00:02:54,174 IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM ASTRONOMERS USE A DIFFERENT UNIT OF MEASUREMENT - 60 00:02:54,274 --> 00:02:57,744 THE ASTRONOMICAL UNIT OR A.U. 61 00:02:57,844 --> 00:03:01,648 ONE A.U. IS THE AVERAGE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE SUN AND EARTH, 62 00:03:01,748 --> 00:03:03,283 SO WERE ABOUT 1 A.U. 63 00:03:03,383 --> 00:03:04,817 FROM THE SUN. 64 00:03:04,918 --> 00:03:07,053 IN MILES THATS ABOUT 93,000,000 MILES. 65 00:03:07,153 --> 00:03:10,690 DEAN: SINCE SATURN IS ABOUT 837 MILLION MILES AWAY 66 00:03:10,790 --> 00:03:13,860 IT IS ALSO ABOUT 9 AU'S FROM US. 67 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:16,296 AU'S WORK GREAT WITHIN THE SOLAR SYSTEM. 68 00:03:16,396 --> 00:03:20,667 FOR EXAMPLE, WE COULD SAY JUPITER IS ABOUT 5 AU'S FROM THE SUN, NEPTUNE IS ABOUT 69 00:03:20,767 --> 00:03:26,839 30 AU'S FROM THE SUN AND VOYAGER 1 - OUR FARTHEST FLUNG SPACECRAFT IS A WHOPPING 70 00:03:26,940 --> 00:03:28,975 120 AU'S FROM THE SUN! 71 00:03:29,075 --> 00:03:32,312 JAMES: NOW WHAT ABOUT THAT OTHER STAR - THE RED ONE 72 00:03:32,412 --> 00:03:33,546 TO THE RIGHT OF JUPITER? 73 00:03:33,646 --> 00:03:36,282 DEAN: THAT'S THE STAR ANTARES IN THE CONSTELLATION 74 00:03:36,382 --> 00:03:38,151 SCORPIUS THE SCORPION. 75 00:03:38,251 --> 00:03:42,755 RED GIANT STARS LIKE ANTARES ARE HUMONGOUS AND UNBELIEVABLY FAR. 76 00:03:42,855 --> 00:03:45,558 JAMES: LET'S CLOSE IN ON ANTARES AND MEASURE ITS 77 00:03:45,658 --> 00:03:47,527 SIZE AND DISTANCE. 78 00:03:47,627 --> 00:03:51,764 DEAN: ANTARES IS ABOUT 3.6 QUADRILLION MILES FROM 79 00:03:51,864 --> 00:03:54,400 EARTH, OR 39 MILLION AU'S. 80 00:03:54,500 --> 00:03:58,805 WE COULD MEASURE THE DISTANCE TO ANTARES IN MILLIMETERS IF WE WANTED TO, BUT THOSE NUMBERS 81 00:03:58,905 --> 00:04:00,740 LOSE ALL MEANING FOR US. 82 00:04:00,840 --> 00:04:03,142 JAMES: ASTRONOMERS USE LIGHT YEARS AS THEIR UNIT 83 00:04:03,243 --> 00:04:06,045 OF CHOICE FOR MEASURING INTERSTELLAR SPACE. 84 00:04:06,145 --> 00:04:11,684 A LIGHT YEAR IS THE DISTANCE LIGHT TRAVELS IN A YEAR - ROUGHLY 5.8 TRILLION MILES. 85 00:04:11,784 --> 00:04:15,655 THEREFORE, ANTARES IS A WHOPPING 620 LIGHT YEARS FROM EARTH. 86 00:04:15,755 --> 00:04:17,857 DEAN: IT'S BY NO MEANS THE FARTHEST STAR YOU CAN 87 00:04:17,957 --> 00:04:19,459 SEE WITH THE NAKED EYE. 88 00:04:19,559 --> 00:04:23,363 THAT HONOR MOST LIKELY GOES TO DENEB - THE TAIL STAR OF CYGNUS THE SWAN. 89 00:04:23,463 --> 00:04:26,633 JAMES: DENEB IS OVER 3000 LIGHT YEARS AWAY. 90 00:04:26,733 --> 00:04:30,837 THAT MEANS THE LIGHT YOU SEE LEFT DENEB AROUND 1000 BC. 91 00:04:30,937 --> 00:04:34,674 DEAN: SO SEE THE MOON AT 239,000 MILES AWAY. 92 00:04:34,774 --> 00:04:36,175 JAMES: SATURN FROM 9 AU'S AWAY. 93 00:04:36,276 --> 00:04:39,178 DEAN: AND ANTARES AT 620 LIGHT YEARS AWAY. 94 00:04:39,279 --> 00:04:43,279 BOTH: KEEP LOOKING UP!