1 00:00:20,186 --> 00:00:24,691 DEAN: WELCOME TO STAR GAZERS. 2 00:00:24,791 --> 00:00:27,527 I'M DEAN REGAS, ASTRONOMER FROM THE CINCINNATI OBSERVATORY. 3 00:00:27,627 --> 00:00:31,798 JAMES: AND I'M JAMES ALBURY, DIRECTOR OF THE KIKA SILVA PLA PLANETARIUM IN GAINESVILLE 4 00:00:31,898 --> 00:00:33,633 FLORIDA. 5 00:00:33,733 --> 00:00:36,236 NOW THAT AUTUMN HAS BEGUN IN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE, ITS TIME TO SAY FAREWELL TO THE 6 00:00:36,336 --> 00:00:38,905 CONSTELLATIONS THAT KEPT US COMPANY ALL SUMMER LONG. 7 00:00:39,005 --> 00:00:43,176 DEAN: THATS RIGHT, JAMES AND ONE OF THE MOST BELOVED OF THESE CONSTELLATIONS IS CYGNUS 8 00:00:43,276 --> 00:00:44,811 THE SWAN. 9 00:00:44,911 --> 00:00:48,681 EVEN FROM BRIGHTLY LIT CITIES, THIS IS A CONSTELLATION THATS EASY TO FIND. 10 00:00:48,782 --> 00:00:54,087 BUT, DID YOU KNOW THAT CYGNUS HAS BOTH A POETIC AND A SCIENTIFIC HISTORY THAT RIVALS MANY 11 00:00:54,187 --> 00:00:55,822 OF THE CONSTELLATIONS WE CAN SEE? 12 00:00:55,922 --> 00:00:57,457 JAMES: LETS SHOW YOU. 13 00:00:57,557 --> 00:01:01,594 DEAN: OK, WE HAVE OUR SKIES SET FOR JUST AFTER SUNSET ANY NIGHT THIS WEEK. 14 00:01:01,694 --> 00:01:05,865 ALMOST DIRECTLY OVERHEAD, YOU CAN SEE THE FAMILIAR STARS OF THE SUMMER TRIANGLE. 15 00:01:05,965 --> 00:01:11,037 VEGA, THE BRIGHTEST STAR IN LYRA THE HARP, ALTAIR, THE BRIGHTEST STAR IN AQUILA THE EAGLE 16 00:01:11,137 --> 00:01:14,340 AND DENEB THE BRIGHTEST STAR IN CYGNUS THE SWAN. 17 00:01:14,441 --> 00:01:19,612 CYGNUS THE SWAN HAS BEEN AN AREA OF FASCINATION FOR STORY TELLERS AND ASTRONOMERS ALIKE FOR 18 00:01:19,712 --> 00:01:21,448 THOUSANDS OF YEARS. 19 00:01:21,548 --> 00:01:25,819 JAMES: TO FIND THE SWAN, SIMPLY DRAW A LINE FROM DENEB INWARD TOWARD THE CENTER OF THE 20 00:01:25,919 --> 00:01:27,087 SUMMER TRIANGLE. 21 00:01:27,187 --> 00:01:29,389 THE FIRST STAR YOU'LL ENCOUNTER IS SADR. 22 00:01:29,489 --> 00:01:31,558 THIS MARKS THE HEART OF THE SWAN. 23 00:01:31,658 --> 00:01:36,296 THEN IF YOU DRAW LINES TO THE WEST AND EAST OF THIS STAR, YOULL FIND TWO MORE STARS. 24 00:01:36,396 --> 00:01:39,265 THESE MARK THE RIGHT AND LEFT WINGS OF THE SWAN. 25 00:01:39,365 --> 00:01:43,636 GOING BACK TO THE STAR SADR, WE CONTINUE TO DRAW A LINE OUTWARD TO FORM THE NECK OF THE 26 00:01:43,736 --> 00:01:45,638 SWAN, ENDING AT THE STAR ALBIREO. 27 00:01:45,738 --> 00:01:51,511 DEAN: IN ONE LEGEND, CYGNUS THE SWAN IS SAID TO BE THE GREAT MUSICIAN ORPHEUS WHO WAS TRANSFORMED 28 00:01:51,611 --> 00:01:56,549 INTO A SWAN, AND PLACED IN THE SKY NEXT TO HIS HARP, THE CONSTELLATION, LYRA. 29 00:01:56,649 --> 00:02:00,854 JAMES: IN ANOTHER LEGEND, CYGNUS IS SAID TO BE ZEUS, WHEN HE TRANSFORMED HIMSELF INTO 30 00:02:00,954 --> 00:02:05,692 A SWAN TO SEDUCE LEDA, THE QUEEN OF SPARTA, WHO ALSO HAPPENED TO BE THE MOTHER OF HELEN 31 00:02:05,792 --> 00:02:10,029 OF TROY, CLYTEMNESTRA AND THE GEMINI TWINS, CASTOR AND POLLUX. 32 00:02:10,130 --> 00:02:15,201 DEAN: HOWEVER, IN MODERN TIMES, CYGNUS HAS TURNED OUT TO BE A PLACE OF GREAT DISCOVERIES. 33 00:02:15,301 --> 00:02:22,742 JAMES: DURING A ROCKET FLIGHT IN 1964, A GALACTIC X-RAY SOURCE KNOWN AS CYGNUS X-1 WAS DISCOVERED. 34 00:02:22,842 --> 00:02:27,747 CYGNUS X-1 IS NOW WIDELY ACCEPTED TO BE A CANDIDATE FOR THE FIRST BLACK HOLE WEVE DISCOVERED 35 00:02:27,847 --> 00:02:32,952 AND ITS ESTIMATED TO HAVE A MASS ALMOST 15 TIMES THE MASS OF OUR SUN, YET AN EVENT HORIZON 36 00:02:33,052 --> 00:02:34,921 RADIUS OF ONLY ABOUT 16 MILES. 37 00:02:35,021 --> 00:02:40,093 DEAN: IN MORE RECENT TIMES, CYGNUS HAS BEEN THE TARGET OF STUDY BY NASAS KEPLER SPACE 38 00:02:40,193 --> 00:02:41,427 TELESCOPE. 39 00:02:41,528 --> 00:02:45,198 THE KEPLER TELESCOPE STUDIED OVER 100,000 STARS IN CYGNUS. 40 00:02:45,298 --> 00:02:51,137 ITS GOAL WAS TO FIND PLANETS ORBITING OTHER STARS, AND SINCE ITS MISSION BEGAN, THOUSANDS 41 00:02:51,237 --> 00:02:54,941 OF THESE EXTRA-SOLAR PLANETS HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED AND CONFIRMED. 42 00:02:55,041 --> 00:03:01,080 THE PLANET KEPLER- 22B WAS ANNOUNCED AS BEING THE FIRST EARTH-LIKE PLANET ORBITING A SUN-LIKE 43 00:03:01,181 --> 00:03:02,916 STAR. 44 00:03:03,016 --> 00:03:06,586 JAMES: KEPLER 22-B IS OVER 600 LIGHT YEARS AWAY AND ORBITS IN THE HABITABLE ZONE WHERE 45 00:03:06,686 --> 00:03:08,488 LIQUID WATER CAN EXIST. 46 00:03:08,588 --> 00:03:13,092 WITH A POSSIBLE SURFACE TEMPERATURE NEAR 73 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT, KEPLER-22B IS QUITE THE 47 00:03:13,193 --> 00:03:15,895 GOLDILOCKS PLANET, IF I DO SAY SO MYSELF. 48 00:03:15,995 --> 00:03:21,367 JAMES: AND SPEAKING OF PLANETS, IF YOU EVER GET LOST ON MARS, DENEB IS THE NORTH STAR 49 00:03:21,467 --> 00:03:23,203 ON MARS. 50 00:03:23,303 --> 00:03:26,206 WE NEVER REALLY THINK ABOUT IT, BUT EACH OF THE PLANETS HAS A DIFFERENT NORTH STAR OR 51 00:03:26,306 --> 00:03:27,941 HAS NO NORTH STAR AT ALL. 52 00:03:28,041 --> 00:03:31,377 DEAN: ALL THE PLANETS IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM ROTATE ON AN AXIS. 53 00:03:31,477 --> 00:03:36,082 THE DIRECTION THE AXIS POINTS WITH RESPECT TO THE PLANE OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM DETERMINES 54 00:03:36,182 --> 00:03:38,351 THE ANGLE OF AXIAL TILT. 55 00:03:38,451 --> 00:03:43,990 OUR EARTH IS TILTED 23.5 DEGREES WITH RESPECT TO THE PLANE OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM. 56 00:03:44,090 --> 00:03:48,795 MARS TILTS AT 25 DEGREES AND SATURN HAS A TILT OF ALMOST 27 DEGREES. 57 00:03:48,895 --> 00:03:53,700 JAMES: HOWEVER, COMPARE THAT WITH MERCURY AND JUPITER, WHICH BARELY TILT AT ALL; BETWEEN 58 00:03:53,800 --> 00:03:55,902 2 AND 3 DEGREES RESPECTIVELY. 59 00:03:56,002 --> 00:04:01,241 YET AT THE OTHER EXTREME YOU HAVE VENUS, WHICH IS PRACTICALLY UPSIDE DOWN AT 177 DEGREES 60 00:04:01,341 --> 00:04:04,143 AND URANUS WHICH LIES ON ITS SIDE AT 98 DEGREES. 61 00:04:04,244 --> 00:04:08,948 DEAN: SO SINCE EVERY PLANET TILTS IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION, EACH PLANET SHOULD HAVE A DIFFERENT 62 00:04:09,048 --> 00:04:12,085 NORTH STAR; OR, NO NORTH STAR AT ALL. 63 00:04:12,185 --> 00:04:17,290 SO THATS WHY OUR NORTH POLE IS POINTING NEAR POLARIS, AND MARS IS POINTING NEAR DENEB. 64 00:04:17,390 --> 00:04:22,195 JAMES: SO, IF YOU EVER GET LOST ON MARS, LOOK FOR CYGNUS THE SWAN AND YOU'LL FIND NORTH. 65 00:04:22,295 --> 00:04:26,399 DEAN: WELL,THERE YOU HAVE IT, THE AMAZING CELESTIAL SWAN CYGNUS. 66 00:04:26,499 --> 00:04:29,269 AND ITS ALL UP THERE FOR YOU TO SEE IF YOU REMEMBER TO 67 00:04:29,369 --> 00:04:33,369 BOTH: KEEP LOOKING UP!