1 00:00:20,340 --> 00:00:23,760 Jane: This is But Why: a Podcast for Curious Kids from Vermont 2 00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:26,925 Public. I'm Jane Lindholm. On this show, we take questions 3 00:00:26,925 --> 00:00:31,335 from curious kids just like you, and we find answers. One of my 4 00:00:31,335 --> 00:00:34,905 favorite things to do on a summer night is to go outside 5 00:00:34,905 --> 00:00:39,285 after dark and look up at the night sky. In Vermont, 6 00:00:39,285 --> 00:00:42,735 especially in rural areas like where I live, we don't have a 7 00:00:42,735 --> 00:00:47,760 lot of light pollution, and I can see so many stars. Well, as 8 00:00:47,760 --> 00:00:51,810 long as the moon isn't shining super bright. Right now, for 9 00:00:51,810 --> 00:00:55,680 this episode, we're going to go stargazing, and it doesn't 10 00:00:55,680 --> 00:00:58,470 matter if you're listening on a bright sunny day, sitting in a 11 00:00:58,470 --> 00:01:01,980 car or a classroom, or lying on your bed. It doesn't matter if 12 00:01:01,980 --> 00:01:04,800 you live in a city and you do have a lot of light pollution 13 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:08,370 and you have trouble seeing as many stars, and it doesn't even 14 00:01:08,370 --> 00:01:11,145 matter if you're in the northern hemisphere because we're going 15 00:01:11,145 --> 00:01:15,105 to go to the southern hemisphere too. We're going to stargaze in 16 00:01:15,105 --> 00:01:18,435 this episode with the help of a very special place called a 17 00:01:18,435 --> 00:01:22,695 planetarium. I went to the Museum of Science in Boston to 18 00:01:22,695 --> 00:01:25,575 do some middle of the day stargazing, but if you want to 19 00:01:25,575 --> 00:01:28,245 wait and take this episode outside with you at night, and 20 00:01:28,245 --> 00:01:30,855 maybe take some bug spray too, if you have a mosquito-filled 21 00:01:30,855 --> 00:01:35,940 yard like mine, all the better. Let's meet our celestial guide, 22 00:01:35,940 --> 00:01:37,170 Talia Sepersky. 23 00:01:37,340 --> 00:01:41,800 Talia: So I am somebody who works in a planetarium, which is 24 00:01:41,920 --> 00:01:46,750 a place usually dome-shaped room where we're very good at 25 00:01:47,650 --> 00:01:51,430 simulating the night sky, so we can pretend that we're out on a 26 00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:53,680 clear, dark night looking up at constellations. 27 00:01:53,950 --> 00:01:55,900 Jane: As Talia said, a planetarium is a big 28 00:01:56,200 --> 00:01:59,890 theater-like room. Often the seats lean back, and they make 29 00:01:59,950 --> 00:02:02,880 it nice and dark and cozy. Sometimes it's really cool in 30 00:02:02,940 --> 00:02:07,470 there as well for some reason, and images are then projected up 31 00:02:07,620 --> 00:02:11,700 onto that dome-shaped ceiling. Planetariums have been around 32 00:02:11,790 --> 00:02:15,090 for over 100 years now in some places, and they got really 33 00:02:15,240 --> 00:02:19,830 popular in the 1950s and 60s. Often, what's projected onto the 34 00:02:20,040 --> 00:02:24,230 ceiling is the movement of the planets and stars. Using special 35 00:02:24,290 --> 00:02:27,110 technology, the projector can often be programmed to show you 36 00:02:27,200 --> 00:02:31,640 the sky on any night and at almost any time, past, present, 37 00:02:31,820 --> 00:02:32,540 or even future. 38 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:36,710 Talia: And in our planetarium, we can also pretend to fly 39 00:02:37,190 --> 00:02:40,900 anywhere in the universe. And I am the person who will be there 40 00:02:41,110 --> 00:02:44,620 helping fly and helping to tell everybody what they're seeing 41 00:02:44,710 --> 00:02:45,910 because I love talking about space. 42 00:02:46,389 --> 00:02:48,609 Jane: And you don't even need a pilot's license or to be an 43 00:02:48,669 --> 00:02:49,059 astronaut. 44 00:02:49,810 --> 00:02:51,250 Talia: Not for this spaceship, no. 45 00:02:53,020 --> 00:02:56,050 Jane: So it's like 240-five or three in the afternoon here, 46 00:02:56,290 --> 00:03:00,100 bright sunny day. But here we are inside the planetarium at 47 00:03:00,100 --> 00:03:05,280 the Museum of Science in Boston, and it's very dark. And up above 48 00:03:05,340 --> 00:03:08,850 us, there are some squiggly lines. What are we looking at? 49 00:03:09,540 --> 00:03:13,140 Talia: We are actually looking at a nighttime sky. And what I 50 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:17,820 have done is, those squiggly lines are the constellations. 51 00:03:18,090 --> 00:03:22,790 There are 88 official constellations, and these are 52 00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:26,660 the ones that are up over New England tonight. 53 00:03:27,540 --> 00:03:31,320 Jane: All right. So tonight being August 7, the day this 54 00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:35,550 episode is being released. So this is what the sky would look 55 00:03:35,550 --> 00:03:39,540 like, maybe around bedtime or just after bedtime for a lot of 56 00:03:39,540 --> 00:03:40,560 the kids who are listening. 57 00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:45,120 Talia: Yep, I've got it set for 9:00 right now because August is 58 00:03:45,120 --> 00:03:47,940 the time of the year where the sun is, you know, setting really 59 00:03:47,940 --> 00:03:51,390 late. So if you want to get a nice dark sky to go stargazing, 60 00:03:51,390 --> 00:03:54,045 you do have to stay up a little bit later, at least in the 61 00:03:54,045 --> 00:03:55,065 northern hemisphere. 62 00:03:55,720 --> 00:03:57,520 Jane: That's right. If you're in the southern hemisphere, it's 63 00:03:57,550 --> 00:04:02,220 probably pretty dark, and maybe you'll fly our special vehicle 64 00:04:02,550 --> 00:04:04,230 over to the southern hemisphere a little bit later. 65 00:04:04,679 --> 00:04:06,269 Talia: We can absolutely do that. One of the great things 66 00:04:06,299 --> 00:04:08,429 about being here in the planetarium is not only can I 67 00:04:08,549 --> 00:04:11,879 instantly go anywhere in the universe, I can instantly go 68 00:04:11,969 --> 00:04:12,599 anywhere on Earth. 69 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:17,650 Jane: So this doesn't look much like the sky if I was looking up 70 00:04:17,650 --> 00:04:22,030 at it because of these lines, and these lines are outlining 71 00:04:22,030 --> 00:04:25,540 constellations. One of the questions we've gotten is, "What 72 00:04:25,540 --> 00:04:26,920 is a constellation?" 73 00:04:26,920 --> 00:04:32,170 Skyla: Hi, my name is Skyla, and I am six years old. I live in 74 00:04:32,170 --> 00:04:36,925 San Diego, and where do constellations come from? 75 00:04:37,190 --> 00:04:40,695 Liam: Hi, my name is Liam. I'm 10 years old. I live in 76 00:04:40,768 --> 00:04:45,880 Stuttgrat, Germany, and my question is, why do we have constellations? 77 00:04:45,810 --> 00:04:49,980 Harry: My name is Harry. I live in New York City, and my 78 00:04:49,980 --> 00:04:54,870 question is, how are constellations formed? 79 00:04:54,900 --> 00:04:59,400 Talia: A constellation is really any pattern or shape that you're 80 00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:04,080 making. Out of the stars in the sky, we have, as I said, 88 81 00:05:04,080 --> 00:05:09,480 official ones. But that's just from really one culture's 82 00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:13,110 patterns, sky patterns that they made. There's actually thousands 83 00:05:13,110 --> 00:05:15,510 of different sets of constellations out there because 84 00:05:15,510 --> 00:05:19,635 it was very, very common in ancient times for people to look 85 00:05:19,635 --> 00:05:22,845 up at the sky and make shapes out of the stars, and give those 86 00:05:22,845 --> 00:05:26,325 shapes names and tell stories about them. So a constellation 87 00:05:26,325 --> 00:05:29,775 really is any shape or pattern that you're making out of the 88 00:05:29,775 --> 00:05:34,965 stars. And I always tell kids to go outside with their adults on 89 00:05:34,965 --> 00:05:36,915 the next clear night and make up their own. 90 00:05:37,070 --> 00:05:39,260 Jane: Yeah, I think that's fun. It's like looking at clouds and 91 00:05:39,320 --> 00:05:42,040 seeing shapes. You can make up your own star patterns. 92 00:05:42,570 --> 00:05:45,720 Talia: Oh, absolutely! The human brain loves making shapes and 93 00:05:45,720 --> 00:05:47,040 patterns out of things. 94 00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:49,110 Jane: And that's actually what people have done since there 95 00:05:49,110 --> 00:05:51,840 have been people. It's not just us here saying make up some 96 00:05:51,840 --> 00:05:54,570 patterns. Like that's why we have constellations because 97 00:05:54,570 --> 00:05:56,400 people love to do that. 98 00:05:56,400 --> 00:05:59,130 Talia: Absolutely, we think astronomy may be the oldest 99 00:05:59,130 --> 00:06:03,540 science there is because people have been looking up at the sky 100 00:06:03,540 --> 00:06:09,525 and noticing things about it since ever, as far as we know. 101 00:06:09,525 --> 00:06:12,015 Jane: And maybe even some animals too. My dog will look up 102 00:06:12,015 --> 00:06:16,125 and find the moon, so I wonder if some animals look at the sky 103 00:06:16,125 --> 00:06:20,535 and see stars. And we know some animals navigate with celestial 104 00:06:20,535 --> 00:06:24,165 navigation using the magnetic field of the Earth and using 105 00:06:24,165 --> 00:06:27,435 things like weather patterns and sky patterns to actually 106 00:06:27,435 --> 00:06:31,020 migrate. So we're not even the only creatures out there looking 107 00:06:31,020 --> 00:06:31,920 up at the stars. 108 00:06:32,270 --> 00:06:35,270 Talia: No, one of my favorite stories is apparently dung 109 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:39,530 beetles track their movements against the Milky Way, and I 110 00:06:39,620 --> 00:06:42,010 know they've done experiments where they've actually released 111 00:06:42,070 --> 00:06:45,820 birds inside of planetariums and seen the birds orient themselves 112 00:06:46,540 --> 00:06:49,330 based on what star patterns they had projected on the ceiling. 113 00:06:49,810 --> 00:06:50,560 Jane: No way, really. 114 00:06:50,950 --> 00:06:53,980 Talia: Yeah, so there seems to be bird species as well who, at 115 00:06:54,010 --> 00:06:58,840 least at some level, are using sky patterns as a navigational 116 00:06:58,870 --> 00:06:59,050 tool. 117 00:06:59,650 --> 00:07:03,660 Jane: Wow, and even within a planetarium, so not even just 118 00:07:03,900 --> 00:07:06,930 outside, but they're actually looking at the patterns when 119 00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:08,370 they're not even real stars. 120 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:09,720 Talia: They don't know they're not real. 121 00:07:11,400 --> 00:07:15,600 Jane: So I'm looking straight up right now at one constellation 122 00:07:16,170 --> 00:07:19,440 that's kind of you know kind of like shaped like a house, I 123 00:07:19,530 --> 00:07:21,920 guess, a traditional house that you might draw when you're a 124 00:07:22,070 --> 00:07:26,090 little kid, and then coming out from the house is what looks 125 00:07:26,150 --> 00:07:29,570 like a claw, and it looks like a crab. Tell us about that 126 00:07:29,660 --> 00:07:30,290 constellation. 127 00:07:30,690 --> 00:07:33,240 Talia: So that's actually an interesting one because that 128 00:07:33,240 --> 00:07:36,360 historically was one constellation, and it has since 129 00:07:36,360 --> 00:07:40,320 been split up into three because it's so big. So that house shape 130 00:07:40,320 --> 00:07:45,720 in the middle is ophichus, the serpent-bearer, and the lines 131 00:07:45,720 --> 00:07:48,930 that are coming off of either side, that's the snake that the 132 00:07:48,930 --> 00:07:51,870 serpent bearer is holding, and the side that looks like a claw, 133 00:07:51,870 --> 00:07:57,195 that is the the snake's head, so that one is serpens caput, which 134 00:07:57,195 --> 00:08:02,055 means serpent's head, and then the other side is the tail. 135 00:08:02,910 --> 00:08:06,000 Jane: Wow, that's so cool! And next to it, it looks like the 136 00:08:06,060 --> 00:08:11,220 serpent is almost-it's-it's reaching towards a kite, or you 137 00:08:11,250 --> 00:08:12,750 might think of it like a stingray. 138 00:08:13,560 --> 00:08:16,140 Talia: Yes, I love that stingray. That one is actually a 139 00:08:16,140 --> 00:08:20,690 a part of what we call the Summer Triangle. It's three 140 00:08:20,900 --> 00:08:25,010 constellations that you can see, pretty much from anywhere in the 141 00:08:25,100 --> 00:08:27,590 northern hemisphere, and you know there's a chunk of the 142 00:08:27,680 --> 00:08:30,710 southern hemisphere that might be able to see it as well. And 143 00:08:30,860 --> 00:08:36,110 it's really three bright stars in the summertime sky, and each 144 00:08:36,200 --> 00:08:38,930 of those three stars is in a different constellation, and one 145 00:08:38,930 --> 00:08:42,460 of those constellations is that stingray-looking one-that is 146 00:08:42,460 --> 00:08:43,720 Aquila the Eagle. 147 00:08:44,230 --> 00:08:46,840 Jane: Aquila the Eagle. Where do people come up with these names 148 00:08:46,930 --> 00:08:48,820 and the stories that go along with them? Because you said 149 00:08:48,970 --> 00:08:52,000 we're looking at kind of one culture's interpretation of the 150 00:08:52,120 --> 00:08:52,210 sky. 151 00:08:52,880 --> 00:08:55,700 Talia: Yes. So these names I'm giving you and these shapes I've 152 00:08:55,700 --> 00:08:59,030 got up on our planetarium dome, these represent those official 153 00:08:59,030 --> 00:09:03,050 constellations, which are mostly the ones that were made up by 154 00:09:03,050 --> 00:09:06,530 the ancient Greeks and ancient Romans. That is the set that's 155 00:09:06,530 --> 00:09:10,160 been sort of accepted to be the one set that everybody can use 156 00:09:10,160 --> 00:09:13,610 as a reference point. But they're certainly not the only 157 00:09:13,610 --> 00:09:15,545 ones who were doing this. 158 00:09:16,290 --> 00:09:18,660 Jane: Tell us about the one that's very clearly shaped like 159 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:19,080 a W. 160 00:09:20,189 --> 00:09:24,439 Talia: Ah, the W. That one is actually supposed to be a queen 161 00:09:24,529 --> 00:09:28,069 on her throne. That is the constellation Cassiopeia, the 162 00:09:28,309 --> 00:09:32,359 queen. Frankly, right now it looks like a W. At different 163 00:09:32,389 --> 00:09:34,279 times of the night and at different points in the year, it 164 00:09:34,279 --> 00:09:37,729 looks like an M or an E or the number three. 165 00:09:38,840 --> 00:09:42,350 Jane: Right. So, Talia, I mean, it's kind of a stretch to get 166 00:09:42,350 --> 00:09:46,370 some of the animals and images that we're supposed to be 167 00:09:46,370 --> 00:09:49,730 seeing. And I can remember as a kid being told about the 168 00:09:49,730 --> 00:09:54,200 constellations, and one of them, for example, Orion, who I could 169 00:09:54,200 --> 00:09:57,800 always find Orion's belt. That was a series of stars that was 170 00:09:57,800 --> 00:10:01,205 easy for me to find, but then I would look up and be like, you 171 00:10:01,205 --> 00:10:06,695 gotta be kidding me that you see a whole guy hunting in this star 172 00:10:06,695 --> 00:10:09,635 pattern. I couldn't find it. Somebody would need to draw on 173 00:10:09,635 --> 00:10:11,645 the sky for me to see what they're talking about. 174 00:10:12,210 --> 00:10:14,850 Talia: Yeah, there's a lot of constellations that you really 175 00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:16,560 got to scratch your head and wonder what they were thinking. 176 00:10:17,760 --> 00:10:20,480 I always tell people, well, you gotta you know also remember 177 00:10:20,660 --> 00:10:24,020 that back in the day, you know, imagine you're in ancient Greek 178 00:10:24,110 --> 00:10:26,300 or in ancient Rome, and you're looking up. It's the middle of 179 00:10:26,300 --> 00:10:28,610 the night. You don't have anything else to do. There's no 180 00:10:28,700 --> 00:10:33,200 television. You can't, you know, play on your Switch. You're just 181 00:10:33,230 --> 00:10:36,470 looking up at the stars, and sometimes their imaginations 182 00:10:36,500 --> 00:10:38,150 seem to be really far out there. 183 00:10:39,319 --> 00:10:41,559 Jane: I want to ask you more about the constellations, but we 184 00:10:41,709 --> 00:10:45,279 should probably back up because we have other questions that 185 00:10:45,339 --> 00:10:48,099 might help us understand a little bit more about the night 186 00:10:48,189 --> 00:10:51,189 sky and what we're looking at when we look up at the stars. 187 00:10:51,570 --> 00:10:57,210 Johannes: My name is Johannes. I'm four years old. I live in 188 00:10:57,210 --> 00:11:01,020 San Francisco. How many stars are now? 189 00:11:01,500 --> 00:11:05,700 Bobby: My name's Bobby. I live in Houston, Texas. I'm five and 190 00:11:05,730 --> 00:11:10,500 a half years old, and I wanna know how many stars are there. 191 00:11:10,500 --> 00:11:17,085 Oscar: Hi, my name is Oscar, and I am five, and I live in Hong 192 00:11:17,265 --> 00:11:21,495 Kong. How many stars are there in the whole universe? 193 00:11:21,495 --> 00:11:26,895 Luke: My name is Luke. I live in Chester, Connecticut, and I'm 194 00:11:26,895 --> 00:11:31,575 five years old. My question is: How many stars are there in the 195 00:11:31,575 --> 00:11:33,015 universe? 196 00:11:33,199 --> 00:11:36,139 Talia: We have no idea, but it is a very, very, very, very, 197 00:11:36,529 --> 00:11:40,899 very big number. So, just to give you an idea, you know, our 198 00:11:41,019 --> 00:11:45,549 sun is a star. It is one of the stars in the Milky Way galaxy. 199 00:11:46,059 --> 00:11:52,179 The Milky Way galaxy contains a few 100 billion stars, and it is 200 00:11:52,239 --> 00:11:58,059 only one of about 2 trillion galaxies that we know about. And 201 00:11:58,149 --> 00:11:59,979 some of those are bigger than the Milky Way, and some of them 202 00:12:00,009 --> 00:12:03,419 are smaller. But you start to see that there's there's a lot 203 00:12:03,449 --> 00:12:08,939 of really big numbers out there, and we can't really put a hard 204 00:12:09,059 --> 00:12:13,829 number on how many stars there are. One analogy I've heard used 205 00:12:13,889 --> 00:12:16,409 a lot is that there are more stars in the universe than there 206 00:12:16,529 --> 00:12:19,409 are grains of sand on all the beaches in all the world, but 207 00:12:19,409 --> 00:12:21,799 the answer is very, very large. 208 00:12:22,760 --> 00:12:25,130 Jane: So, if everybody who's listening now started counting 209 00:12:25,370 --> 00:12:28,940 and didn't stop counting for the rest of our lives, we probably 210 00:12:29,180 --> 00:12:33,200 still all together wouldn't have counted the number of stars 211 00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:34,190 there are out there. 212 00:12:34,660 --> 00:12:37,600 Talia: I don't think so. I think it would take one person to do 213 00:12:37,600 --> 00:12:41,380 the Milky Way alone their entire life if they were, if they 214 00:12:41,380 --> 00:12:44,920 devoted their entire life to counting one star per second, in 215 00:12:44,920 --> 00:12:48,820 just the Milky Way, it would take, and they, and they lived a 216 00:12:48,820 --> 00:12:52,780 nice long life. It would take their whole life, and that's one 217 00:12:52,780 --> 00:12:55,570 person. And then you've got the other 2 trillion galaxies to 218 00:12:55,570 --> 00:12:56,200 worry about. 219 00:12:56,620 --> 00:12:58,705 Jane: Yeah, and then we can't even stop for snacks. 220 00:12:58,705 --> 00:13:01,165 Talia: No, you can't stop. You just got to do nothing but count 221 00:13:01,165 --> 00:13:01,975 stars. 222 00:13:02,340 --> 00:13:06,570 Cam: Hi, my name is Cam. I'm six and a half years old. I live in 223 00:13:06,780 --> 00:13:10,590 Ambler, Pennsylvania. What are stars made out of? 224 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:16,130 Talia: So stars are made out of pretty basic gasses, actually. 225 00:13:16,130 --> 00:13:19,130 If you've ever looked at a periodic table, maybe you have 226 00:13:19,130 --> 00:13:22,640 them in your classrooms, or if you've ever heard of things like 227 00:13:22,640 --> 00:13:27,320 hydrogen or helium, it's the same thing that's making up 228 00:13:27,320 --> 00:13:32,360 stars. Stars are mostly made out of hydrogen and helium, and what 229 00:13:32,360 --> 00:13:36,305 happens is there are these enormous clouds of these gasses 230 00:13:36,305 --> 00:13:41,465 out in space, and something, can be many things, will start that 231 00:13:41,465 --> 00:13:45,755 gas cloud to collapsing down on itself, sort of squishing all 232 00:13:45,755 --> 00:13:49,655 the gas together, and it will form a big clump of gas. And 233 00:13:49,655 --> 00:13:52,745 that clump will get bigger and bigger and bigger, and as it 234 00:13:52,745 --> 00:13:56,285 does, it will also get hotter and hotter and hotter in its 235 00:13:56,285 --> 00:13:59,450 insides. And then once it gets hot enough, it's actually going 236 00:13:59,450 --> 00:14:03,500 to start smashing those atoms together, and this is something 237 00:14:03,500 --> 00:14:09,560 we do on Earth. It's called nuclear fusion. It is a way we 238 00:14:09,560 --> 00:14:13,640 can generate energy, or a way we hope to generate energy at least 239 00:14:13,640 --> 00:14:17,360 on Earth efficiently someday. And stars are doing it. And 240 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:19,850 basically, when you smash hydrogen atoms together hard 241 00:14:19,850 --> 00:14:24,695 enough, they release a ton of energy, and that's what makes a 242 00:14:24,695 --> 00:14:31,175 star a star. It is this giant ball of these roiling gasses 243 00:14:31,175 --> 00:14:35,345 that is smashing atoms together and generating a bunch of energy 244 00:14:35,345 --> 00:14:39,425 in the form of heat and in the form of light, and that is why 245 00:14:39,425 --> 00:14:42,935 the sun is so warm, and it's why the stars shine so brightly. 246 00:14:43,470 --> 00:14:48,030 Spencer: Hi But Why? My name is Spencer. I'm 10 years old. I 247 00:14:48,030 --> 00:14:52,740 live in Sioux City, California. My question is: Why are the 248 00:14:52,740 --> 00:14:54,930 stars in the sky? 249 00:14:54,930 --> 00:15:00,960 Ezra: My name is Ezra. I'm five years old. I live in Georgia, 250 00:15:00,960 --> 00:15:05,070 why why are there so many stars in the sky? 251 00:15:05,070 --> 00:15:09,975 Zoe: Hi, my name is Zoe. I'm seven years old, and I'm from 252 00:15:09,975 --> 00:15:17,295 Sydney, Australia. My question is, why is there stars in the 253 00:15:17,295 --> 00:15:18,225 sky? 254 00:15:19,500 --> 00:15:21,890 Talia: Well, a big thing is, you know, the the reason those big 255 00:15:22,010 --> 00:15:24,380 gas clouds start collapsing down in the first place, it's 256 00:15:24,440 --> 00:15:27,890 gravity. Frequently, if you have a question about why something's 257 00:15:27,950 --> 00:15:30,470 happening out in space, the answer is going to be gravity. 258 00:15:31,670 --> 00:15:35,660 It's it plays a huge role in how things operate out in space. So 259 00:15:35,930 --> 00:15:39,770 you have gravity causing these gas clouds to collapse down, and 260 00:15:39,800 --> 00:15:42,310 they would just keep collapsing down further and further and 261 00:15:42,370 --> 00:15:46,630 further, but when they start making heat inside themselves, 262 00:15:46,630 --> 00:15:49,570 when they start to heat up, that starts to push outward. So you 263 00:15:49,570 --> 00:15:53,080 have gas, the gravity pulling everything inward, and this 264 00:15:53,410 --> 00:15:57,250 pressure from heat inside pushing everything outward. And 265 00:15:57,520 --> 00:15:59,950 kind of when it comes to a balance, that's where you're 266 00:15:59,980 --> 00:16:04,500 going to get a star, so our sun you can think of as being a 267 00:16:04,740 --> 00:16:09,570 constant war between these two forces. The gravity of all the 268 00:16:09,600 --> 00:16:12,720 mass, all the stuff that's inside the sun wants to pull 269 00:16:12,900 --> 00:16:16,110 everything in towards its center, but it's also making all 270 00:16:16,140 --> 00:16:20,240 that heat and light that we enjoy here on Earth, and that's 271 00:16:20,270 --> 00:16:22,880 sort of trying to push everything outward. Now these 272 00:16:22,940 --> 00:16:25,430 two forces are in balance, so we have a nice healthy star. 273 00:16:26,450 --> 00:16:30,080 Eventually, stars do reach a point where they start to run 274 00:16:30,170 --> 00:16:34,790 out of fuel, and one of those forces wins. But we've got 275 00:16:34,820 --> 00:16:37,730 another 5 billion years or so before that happens with the 276 00:16:37,880 --> 00:16:39,830 sun. The sun's going to be a healthy star for a very long 277 00:16:39,920 --> 00:16:40,070 time. 278 00:16:40,790 --> 00:16:43,840 Jane: Do we see it happening? Can we see it with our own eyes 279 00:16:43,990 --> 00:16:45,340 when that happens to other stars? 280 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:50,470 Talia: Well, sort of. You can't when it's not something that's 281 00:16:50,470 --> 00:16:55,090 happening all the time. But there are stars you can look out 282 00:16:55,090 --> 00:16:58,030 at, and for instance, one of them is in the constellation 283 00:16:58,030 --> 00:17:01,660 Orion. There is another one in the constellation Scorpius, 284 00:17:01,660 --> 00:17:05,410 which is up in the sky tonight, doesn't matter actually which 285 00:17:05,410 --> 00:17:08,020 hemisphere you're in. You can see it from the northern 286 00:17:08,020 --> 00:17:10,525 hemisphere or the southern hemisphere, and it's the heart 287 00:17:10,525 --> 00:17:15,115 of the Scorpion is a red star named Antares, which is it's so 288 00:17:15,115 --> 00:17:19,885 red that the name Antares roughly means not Mars. Just to 289 00:17:19,885 --> 00:17:20,005 make... 290 00:17:20,005 --> 00:17:21,955 Jane: Because Mars is also called the red planet. 291 00:17:22,160 --> 00:17:24,440 Talia: Yes. So Mars also looks red in the sky, and the star 292 00:17:24,530 --> 00:17:29,510 Antares also looks red because this is a really large star that 293 00:17:29,630 --> 00:17:33,830 is much farther along in its life than the sun is, and it is 294 00:17:33,890 --> 00:17:35,600 approaching the end of its life. 295 00:17:36,320 --> 00:17:39,440 Jane: And we're already sort of seeing into that process. 296 00:17:40,010 --> 00:17:42,880 Talia: Yes. So it's at the the reason it looks red in the sky 297 00:17:43,210 --> 00:17:47,830 is because it is approaching this sort of end stage, this end 298 00:17:47,920 --> 00:17:51,580 game in its life, and it's starting to fuse different types 299 00:17:51,640 --> 00:17:55,300 of gasses in its core, and it's really heating its core up, so 300 00:17:55,360 --> 00:17:59,860 it's actually making the star swell up into a giant, and that 301 00:17:59,920 --> 00:18:04,050 makes it also turn red, and eventually it's not going to be 302 00:18:04,080 --> 00:18:07,230 able to keep that up anymore. And that's when the gravity's 303 00:18:07,320 --> 00:18:10,110 going to kick in, and that's when that star is going to 304 00:18:10,140 --> 00:18:13,950 explode in a supernova, which is something that only the biggest 305 00:18:14,010 --> 00:18:16,710 stars do. But Antares is very large. 306 00:18:17,520 --> 00:18:18,690 Jane: Are we going to be alive to see that? 307 00:18:19,650 --> 00:18:21,890 Talia: Probably not. This is going to happen sometime in like 308 00:18:21,890 --> 00:18:24,530 the next 100,000 years or so, which is a very short time in 309 00:18:24,530 --> 00:18:27,590 the period of a star, like in the lifetime of a star, but not 310 00:18:27,620 --> 00:18:29,030 so much the lifetime of a person. 311 00:18:29,810 --> 00:18:31,790 Jane: All right, fine. Well, I won't get hopeful then that I'm 312 00:18:31,850 --> 00:18:35,270 going to see it. So you mentioned that Antares looks 313 00:18:35,630 --> 00:18:38,510 red, and some of the questions we've gotten are about the 314 00:18:38,660 --> 00:18:39,830 colors of stars. 315 00:18:40,450 --> 00:18:47,410 Eliza: I'm Eliza. I'm from Missouri, and I'm seven years 316 00:18:47,440 --> 00:18:53,080 old. And my question is, why are stars white? 317 00:18:53,260 --> 00:18:56,890 Willow: My name is Willow, and I'm four and a half years old, 318 00:18:57,220 --> 00:19:02,080 and I live from British Columbia, Coldstream. And my 319 00:19:02,080 --> 00:19:04,240 question is why are stars white? 320 00:19:05,459 --> 00:19:11,639 Reed: My name is Reed. I'm six years old. I live in Exeter, 321 00:19:11,819 --> 00:19:18,089 California, and my question is why are some stars blue and some 322 00:19:18,269 --> 00:19:19,169 stars red? 323 00:19:19,450 --> 00:19:22,810 Talia: Excellent question. It's all about the temperature of the 324 00:19:22,810 --> 00:19:27,520 surface of the star. So, you know, here on Earth we usually 325 00:19:27,520 --> 00:19:31,540 use red to mean hot and blue to mean cold. But it's kind of the 326 00:19:31,540 --> 00:19:34,990 opposite when you're talking about stars. The redder stars 327 00:19:34,990 --> 00:19:40,480 have cooler surfaces. Now, you know, I say cooler. You can go 328 00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:43,645 up and give it a hug. We're still talking several 1000 329 00:19:43,645 --> 00:19:48,325 degrees, but the reason Antares is red is because those outer 330 00:19:48,325 --> 00:19:52,315 layers have puffed up so far away from its super hot core 331 00:19:52,315 --> 00:19:56,035 that they've cooled off and they've turned red. The blue 332 00:19:56,035 --> 00:20:00,775 stars; those are the in blue and white. We tend to say stars are 333 00:20:00,775 --> 00:20:03,325 blue or white when they're at this stage. They're the biggest 334 00:20:03,325 --> 00:20:06,490 and the hottest. They're they're big stars right in the prime of 335 00:20:06,490 --> 00:20:11,650 life. Antares was probably a blue star before it began to 336 00:20:11,650 --> 00:20:15,820 enter this end stage of its life. So we do have several of 337 00:20:15,820 --> 00:20:20,320 these blue stars visible in the summertime sky. In fact, if 338 00:20:20,320 --> 00:20:22,600 you're looking up at your summertime sky from the northern 339 00:20:22,600 --> 00:20:25,450 hemisphere, one of the brightest stars you can see is the star 340 00:20:25,450 --> 00:20:30,685 Vega, and Vega is a sort of a bluish white color because it's 341 00:20:30,685 --> 00:20:32,515 a young hot star. 342 00:20:33,350 --> 00:20:35,510 Jane: If we're looking up right now here in the planetarium, can 343 00:20:35,510 --> 00:20:38,900 you orient me and show me where it would be and what 344 00:20:38,900 --> 00:20:40,940 constellation it might be a part of. 345 00:20:40,940 --> 00:20:44,330 Talia: Absolutely. It's part of the constellation Lyra the lyre, 346 00:20:44,330 --> 00:20:47,420 which means it's a it's like a harp. Although I gotta say this 347 00:20:47,420 --> 00:20:49,520 is one of the constellations that really doesn't look very 348 00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:53,210 much like what it is supposed to be. And right now we're looking 349 00:20:53,210 --> 00:20:59,195 at about 9:00 on August 7, and it's almost straight up. It's 350 00:20:59,195 --> 00:21:03,395 very close to. It's part of the summer triangle. It's what that 351 00:21:03,395 --> 00:21:05,795 I was talking about before, those three bright stars that 352 00:21:05,795 --> 00:21:09,185 appear in the summertime sky. Vega is the brightest of the 353 00:21:09,185 --> 00:21:14,735 three, and at 9:00 on August 7, it is almost straight up. 354 00:21:14,760 --> 00:21:16,440 Jane: Is it the one that looks like it's part of a fish? 355 00:21:16,710 --> 00:21:18,960 Talia: It does look like it's part of a fish. Yep, that's it. 356 00:21:19,349 --> 00:21:21,289 Jane: Yeah, it looks like a fish to me. I'm not seeing a harp. 357 00:21:21,500 --> 00:21:21,560 Talia: No. 358 00:21:22,780 --> 00:21:26,320 Jane: After the break, more secrets of the night sky, like 359 00:21:26,320 --> 00:21:31,120 why do stars twinkle and how do you navigate using the stars if 360 00:21:31,120 --> 00:21:34,060 you're lost? Stay with us. 361 00:21:34,060 --> 00:21:37,060 This is But Why. I'm Jane Lindholm. Today, I'm with 362 00:21:37,060 --> 00:21:40,390 planetarium educator Talia Sepersky at the Museum of 363 00:21:40,390 --> 00:21:43,630 Science in Boston. We're learning all about stars and how 364 00:21:43,630 --> 00:21:47,545 they make up these imagined shapes called constellations, as 365 00:21:47,545 --> 00:21:51,145 well as how stars form. And to do it, we're looking at a 366 00:21:51,145 --> 00:21:55,135 projection of the night sky in Boston, Massachusetts, which is 367 00:21:55,135 --> 00:21:59,365 in the northeastern part of the United States, on August 7, 368 00:21:59,365 --> 00:22:01,255 which is the day this episode comes out. 369 00:22:01,320 --> 00:22:06,420 Triti: Hi, my name is Triti, and I'm seven years old, and I'm 370 00:22:06,600 --> 00:22:11,340 from India. My question is, why do stars twinkle? 371 00:22:11,660 --> 00:22:15,680 Amelia: Hi, my name is Amelia, and I'm eight years old, and I 372 00:22:15,680 --> 00:22:19,550 live in New Jersey. Why do stars twinkle? 373 00:22:19,550 --> 00:22:24,620 Oddaya: This is Oddaya from Israel. I have a question. Why 374 00:22:24,620 --> 00:22:26,660 do the stars twinkle? 375 00:22:26,660 --> 00:22:31,250 Josie: Hi, my name is Josie. I'm six years old. I'm from Shingle 376 00:22:31,340 --> 00:22:36,755 Springs, California. How do stars sparkle? 377 00:22:36,755 --> 00:22:43,475 Esther: My name is Esther. I'm from Warsaw, Poland. I am five 378 00:22:43,475 --> 00:22:48,005 years old. Why do stars twinkle? 379 00:22:48,005 --> 00:22:51,125 Talia: Ah, the fun part of that is they're not actually 380 00:22:51,125 --> 00:22:54,155 twinkling. You know, twinkle, twinkle, little star, the the 381 00:22:54,155 --> 00:22:58,130 classic song. They're not twinkling. Our atmosphere is 382 00:22:58,130 --> 00:23:02,540 making it look like they are. So when starlight reaches your eye, 383 00:23:02,540 --> 00:23:05,660 so you can see the star when the light from the star gets all the 384 00:23:05,660 --> 00:23:09,770 way through space and reaches your eye. But the last step 385 00:23:09,770 --> 00:23:12,230 before it reaches your eyes, it's got to get through Earth's 386 00:23:12,230 --> 00:23:17,990 atmosphere, the air around us, and that can actually change the 387 00:23:17,990 --> 00:23:22,865 light a little bit. For one thing, especially in the summer 388 00:23:22,865 --> 00:23:27,635 when it's really really hot, air moves a lot when it's really 389 00:23:27,635 --> 00:23:31,175 really hot, and it can make the starlight that's coming through 390 00:23:31,175 --> 00:23:34,385 the atmosphere look like it's wiggling, and we see that as a 391 00:23:34,385 --> 00:23:39,665 twinkle. So when we're actually seeing you know stars twinkle 392 00:23:39,665 --> 00:23:43,715 twinkle little star, the star is not doing that. It's Earth. It's 393 00:23:43,715 --> 00:23:46,430 the air around us playing tricks on our eyes. 394 00:23:47,050 --> 00:23:49,300 Jane: But I can remember as a kid being told, if you see 395 00:23:49,420 --> 00:23:52,600 something that's not twinkling, it's a planet, and if you see 396 00:23:52,690 --> 00:23:55,150 something that is twinkling, it's probably a star. So what's 397 00:23:55,150 --> 00:23:56,620 the deal with that, or is that just wrong? 398 00:23:57,000 --> 00:24:00,990 Talia: Nope, that is a pretty good rule. The it has to do with 399 00:24:00,990 --> 00:24:05,070 the fact that starlight is coming from something so far 400 00:24:05,070 --> 00:24:10,590 away from us that even though a star is actually a huge, 401 00:24:10,590 --> 00:24:14,370 enormous object, it's so far away from us that it essentially 402 00:24:14,370 --> 00:24:18,720 looks like a dot. We call that a point source, but the point is 403 00:24:18,720 --> 00:24:21,330 that it it looks like it's coming from a single spot, 404 00:24:21,945 --> 00:24:25,905 whereas those things that don't look like they're twinkling look 405 00:24:25,905 --> 00:24:28,605 like stars that aren't twinkling. Those are planets in 406 00:24:28,605 --> 00:24:31,455 our own solar system, and they're not nearly as big as the 407 00:24:31,455 --> 00:24:35,685 stars, but they're so much closer to us that they're more 408 00:24:35,685 --> 00:24:40,095 like little circles than single points, and that actually 409 00:24:40,095 --> 00:24:43,035 affects the way the light comes through Earth's atmosphere, and 410 00:24:43,035 --> 00:24:46,320 it's why planets, unless it's a really hot day and the 411 00:24:46,320 --> 00:24:50,220 atmosphere is really dancing around, planets are not going to 412 00:24:50,220 --> 00:24:51,930 appear to twinkle the way that stars do. 413 00:24:52,290 --> 00:24:56,880 Georgia: Hi, my name is Georgia. I'm four years old. I live in 414 00:24:56,880 --> 00:25:00,180 Toronto, Canada. Why do we see stars at night? 415 00:25:00,180 --> 00:25:02,760 Jane: Why do we only see the stars at night? We can see the 416 00:25:02,760 --> 00:25:04,290 moon during the day sometimes. 417 00:25:04,660 --> 00:25:07,480 Talia: We can, and the reason we can see the moon during the day 418 00:25:07,480 --> 00:25:12,460 is because it's also quite close to us. It is less than 250,000 419 00:25:12,460 --> 00:25:15,670 miles away, which I know sounds like a huge distance, but that 420 00:25:15,670 --> 00:25:20,980 is right next door when it comes to things in space. These stars 421 00:25:20,980 --> 00:25:23,440 that you see at night-they are up during the day. They're all 422 00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:26,980 still shining. They don't switch off during the day, but they are 423 00:25:27,025 --> 00:25:33,055 really, really, really far away from us. And the sun, even 424 00:25:33,055 --> 00:25:35,815 though it's a lot of these stars that you see at night, are 425 00:25:35,815 --> 00:25:40,585 bigger than the sun. But the sun is so close to us; it's only 93 426 00:25:40,585 --> 00:25:43,795 million miles away, which yes is a short distance when you're 427 00:25:43,795 --> 00:25:47,635 talking about distance to a star. It's like a giant 428 00:25:47,635 --> 00:25:52,150 spotlight shining right in your face. Now, if you've got a 429 00:25:52,150 --> 00:25:56,740 humongous spotlight right in your face, you might be able to 430 00:25:56,740 --> 00:26:00,430 see something that's right next to you, like the moon, but 431 00:26:00,430 --> 00:26:03,130 you're not going to be able to see anything else, and so we 432 00:26:03,130 --> 00:26:06,430 really can't see these other stars because our sun is just so 433 00:26:06,430 --> 00:26:09,430 bright in our daytime sky. That's why we only see them when 434 00:26:09,430 --> 00:26:11,320 the sun's not in the sky. 435 00:26:11,369 --> 00:26:13,499 Jane: Will you tell us about another constellation before we 436 00:26:13,589 --> 00:26:15,779 move on to some other questions? Maybe one of your favorites. 437 00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:18,760 Talia: Absolutely, actually, one of my favorites is the third 438 00:26:18,760 --> 00:26:22,360 corner of the summer triangle. So we talked about Aquila the 439 00:26:22,360 --> 00:26:27,910 Eagle, which has the the star Altair in it, and we talked 440 00:26:27,910 --> 00:26:30,820 about Lyra the Lyre, which has the really bright star Vega in 441 00:26:30,820 --> 00:26:34,180 it. The last corner of the triangle is the constellation 442 00:26:34,180 --> 00:26:40,045 Cygnus the Swan, which I like because it is actually one of 443 00:26:40,045 --> 00:26:42,145 the few constellations that looks like what it is supposed 444 00:26:42,145 --> 00:26:48,235 to be. It looks like a swan in flight. It's got a long body and 445 00:26:48,235 --> 00:26:50,575 a long neck, and then it's got the wings spread out to either 446 00:26:50,575 --> 00:26:54,055 side. And then behind the wings is its little tail, and that 447 00:26:54,055 --> 00:27:00,265 tail star is Deneb. And the eye star, the one that's in the 448 00:27:00,265 --> 00:27:03,880 middle of the triangle. The eye of the swan is Alberio, and 449 00:27:03,880 --> 00:27:07,540 those two stars are both really interesting. Alberio, if you 450 00:27:07,540 --> 00:27:09,430 ever get a chance to look at it through binoculars or a 451 00:27:09,430 --> 00:27:12,430 telescope, is actually two stars, and they are very 452 00:27:12,430 --> 00:27:14,710 different colors. They're two stars that are very different 453 00:27:14,710 --> 00:27:17,830 colors. One of them's very very blue, and one of them's much 454 00:27:17,830 --> 00:27:22,990 redder. And then Deneb, the tail of the swan-that is one of the 455 00:27:22,990 --> 00:27:27,925 most distant stars you can see with your eyes. It doesn't look 456 00:27:27,925 --> 00:27:33,355 super big and bright, but it's actually really huge, really, 457 00:27:33,355 --> 00:27:36,265 really, really ridiculously huge, and really, really, really 458 00:27:36,265 --> 00:27:41,545 ridiculously bright. It's just also really, really far away. 459 00:27:42,790 --> 00:27:44,920 Jane: Why do you like that one? Just because it looks like a 460 00:27:45,100 --> 00:27:47,410 swan, or because of some other reason? 461 00:27:47,920 --> 00:27:50,200 Talia: I mean, for that one, it's because I like that it 462 00:27:50,230 --> 00:27:53,860 actually looks like what it is supposed to be. I also always 463 00:27:54,010 --> 00:27:57,400 love if you look at the constellations of the Summer 464 00:27:57,520 --> 00:28:02,250 Triangle, Cygnus and Aquila, the Swan and the eagle-they look 465 00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:05,880 like they're flying at each other-and I always ask guests in 466 00:28:05,910 --> 00:28:08,250 the planetarium who they think is going to win if there's a 467 00:28:08,340 --> 00:28:10,560 fight between the swan and the eagle. And everybody always 468 00:28:10,620 --> 00:28:13,320 picks eagle, and I say that means everybody is severely 469 00:28:13,380 --> 00:28:15,000 underestimating how mean swans are. 470 00:28:16,080 --> 00:28:20,190 Jane: Yes, totally. So, what we're looking at right now-the 471 00:28:20,280 --> 00:28:23,210 whole time we've been talking, all of these stars have been in 472 00:28:23,270 --> 00:28:27,140 the same place. But if we were lying down in a field watching 473 00:28:27,260 --> 00:28:30,710 the stars, we might not notice at first. But over time, we 474 00:28:30,890 --> 00:28:37,130 might see that they have kind of changed position in the sky from 475 00:28:37,220 --> 00:28:38,870 where we were looking at them in the past. 476 00:28:38,990 --> 00:28:43,940 Lucy: My name is Lucy. I live in Oakland, California, and I am 477 00:28:43,940 --> 00:28:48,470 eight years old. My question is: How do stars stay in space, and 478 00:28:48,470 --> 00:28:51,800 do they look like dots, or do they look like the shape of a 479 00:28:51,800 --> 00:28:52,520 star? 480 00:28:52,510 --> 00:28:57,730 Noa: Why do the moon and stars look like if they're following 481 00:28:57,730 --> 00:29:02,365 us, but they're really just staying in one spot? 482 00:29:02,470 --> 00:29:06,360 Jane: Do stars move, or are they staying in one place and we're 483 00:29:06,540 --> 00:29:07,860 moving, or what's happening? 484 00:29:08,570 --> 00:29:10,970 Talia: Well, there's sort of two answers to that question. If 485 00:29:10,970 --> 00:29:13,760 you're talking about over the course of like a night, you do 486 00:29:13,760 --> 00:29:16,940 see the stars appear to move across the sky, and that's not 487 00:29:16,940 --> 00:29:19,970 because the stars are moving. That's because Earth is moving. 488 00:29:19,970 --> 00:29:24,590 Earth is spinning or rotating. It takes about 24 hours for 489 00:29:24,590 --> 00:29:27,320 Earth to rotate completely once. That's why we have a 490 00:29:27,410 --> 00:29:32,645 24-hour-long day, and because of that, that's why the sun appears 491 00:29:32,645 --> 00:29:35,495 to rise in the east and set in the west. It's same with these 492 00:29:35,495 --> 00:29:39,005 stars; they're going to appear to move across the sky, and that 493 00:29:39,005 --> 00:29:45,185 is all down to the way Earth is spinning. Now that said, the 494 00:29:45,185 --> 00:29:48,335 stars do move. They are all moving through space. They're 495 00:29:48,335 --> 00:29:51,635 all moving through the Milky Way galaxy. They're just moving on 496 00:29:51,635 --> 00:29:55,670 really long timescales. It's not something you're going to notice 497 00:29:55,670 --> 00:29:59,450 from night to night, or year to year, or even lifetime to 498 00:29:59,450 --> 00:30:02,090 lifetime. But if you look over the course of a few thousand 499 00:30:02,090 --> 00:30:05,330 years, you definitely see the stars appear, some of the stars 500 00:30:05,330 --> 00:30:07,820 appear to start to change their position compared to the other 501 00:30:07,820 --> 00:30:14,570 stars. So the constellations of say somebody who was living 502 00:30:14,570 --> 00:30:18,185 10,000 years ago aren't going to be exactly the same as the 503 00:30:18,185 --> 00:30:20,315 constellations you're going to see today because the stars will 504 00:30:20,315 --> 00:30:23,795 have moved a little bit, but again, that's not what's 505 00:30:23,795 --> 00:30:27,875 happening on a day-to-day basis. That movement is not actually 506 00:30:27,875 --> 00:30:29,345 the stars. That's us. 507 00:30:29,345 --> 00:30:33,185 Jane: So it didn't. I mean, not they're not moving enough though 508 00:30:33,185 --> 00:30:35,285 that the serpent really looked like a serpent, and now it 509 00:30:35,285 --> 00:30:35,975 doesn't. 510 00:30:36,290 --> 00:30:38,750 Talia: Oh no, that's just down to those ancient Greeks having a 511 00:30:38,840 --> 00:30:40,160 really active imagination. 512 00:30:40,880 --> 00:30:45,070 Max: Hi, my name is Max, and I'm eight years old. I live in 513 00:30:45,220 --> 00:30:49,540 Flint, Michigan, USA, and my question is: Why is the North 514 00:30:49,690 --> 00:30:50,980 Star always facing north? 515 00:30:51,540 --> 00:30:54,780 Talia: That is an excellent question, and it's a-it's 516 00:30:54,780 --> 00:30:59,220 actually has nothing to do with the star itself. So the North 517 00:30:59,220 --> 00:31:02,940 Star, or what we now call the North Star, Polaris, is its 518 00:31:02,940 --> 00:31:07,470 official name. It has to do with where the star is in space. So, 519 00:31:07,470 --> 00:31:09,630 if you've ever seen maybe a globe of the Earth in your 520 00:31:09,630 --> 00:31:12,570 classroom, and there's a stick that runs right through the 521 00:31:12,570 --> 00:31:17,085 center of the Earth, we call that the axis. If our real Earth 522 00:31:17,085 --> 00:31:19,875 had a stick running through it, and that stick came out of the 523 00:31:19,875 --> 00:31:23,775 North Pole, it would be pointing at Polaris, so Polaris itself 524 00:31:23,775 --> 00:31:28,275 isn't a particularly remarkable star. It's not very bright, it's 525 00:31:28,275 --> 00:31:31,095 not particularly interesting looking. It's just a normal 526 00:31:31,095 --> 00:31:34,485 star, but it sits almost directly over Earth's north 527 00:31:34,485 --> 00:31:38,250 pole, and that means that when Earth is spinning and all of 528 00:31:38,250 --> 00:31:42,330 these other stars are appearing to move, the North Star, 529 00:31:42,330 --> 00:31:45,960 Polaris, really just isn't moving. It's kind of like if you 530 00:31:45,960 --> 00:31:49,320 spun in a circle, everything around you would appear to be 531 00:31:49,320 --> 00:31:52,620 moving. But if you looked straight up, the spot on the 532 00:31:52,620 --> 00:31:56,760 ceiling above you would appear to hold still. So Polaris is 533 00:31:56,760 --> 00:32:01,065 just sitting in a particularly useful spot. And the funny thing 534 00:32:01,065 --> 00:32:05,865 is, if you want to go crazy, if you go wait long enough, the 535 00:32:05,865 --> 00:32:07,905 North Star isn't going to be the North Star. 536 00:32:07,905 --> 00:32:10,185 Jane: Because of that star movement you talked about? 537 00:32:10,185 --> 00:32:13,335 Talia: Nope, this one's down to Earth again. Earth actually 538 00:32:13,335 --> 00:32:18,435 wobbles like a top over the course of about 26,000 years. It 539 00:32:18,435 --> 00:32:21,975 wobbles in a complete circle. So again, this is a very long, slow 540 00:32:21,975 --> 00:32:26,850 process. But remember, I was talking about the star Vega in 541 00:32:26,850 --> 00:32:31,710 the constellation Lyra earlier, 13,000 years ago, Vega was the 542 00:32:31,710 --> 00:32:35,850 North Star, and it will be again in another 13,000 years. So 543 00:32:35,850 --> 00:32:40,320 right now, we have a nice bright star sitting pretty much right 544 00:32:40,320 --> 00:32:43,920 over to the North Pole. That's not going to stay the case. So 545 00:32:43,920 --> 00:32:47,325 it's actually kind of cool that we are living in a point in 546 00:32:47,355 --> 00:32:50,595 Earth's wobble where we have a North Star. 547 00:32:51,159 --> 00:32:54,069 Jane: Well, you talk about where these stars are and and how we 548 00:32:54,459 --> 00:32:57,609 sort of think of them in the night sky. And if you know the 549 00:32:57,639 --> 00:33:01,919 North Star, then you know where North is. But we got a question 550 00:33:02,069 --> 00:33:03,719 from Hannah, who says, 551 00:33:04,000 --> 00:33:07,330 Hannah: How do you navigate the stars when you get lost? 552 00:33:07,330 --> 00:33:09,820 Talia: So a big one is being able to tell which way is north. 553 00:33:09,820 --> 00:33:13,540 So that's always a good thing to be able to find the North Star. 554 00:33:13,540 --> 00:33:17,200 That will at least tell you which direction you're facing. 555 00:33:17,200 --> 00:33:22,630 And then I believe I've never personally had to navigate by 556 00:33:22,630 --> 00:33:28,495 the stars, You can also, if you know what stars are rising when 557 00:33:28,495 --> 00:33:30,865 at different times of the year, and they used to have very, you 558 00:33:30,865 --> 00:33:33,205 know, sailors, for instance, used to have very detailed 559 00:33:33,205 --> 00:33:39,565 charts saying what rose when at different times of the year. 560 00:33:39,565 --> 00:33:44,065 That can actually help you figure out your longitude, how 561 00:33:44,065 --> 00:33:48,505 far east or west you are. If you've got really precise clocks 562 00:33:48,505 --> 00:33:51,700 and really precise charts, knowing say if you're in, you 563 00:33:51,700 --> 00:33:57,790 know exactly when a star appears to rise in the east on this day 564 00:33:57,790 --> 00:34:02,680 in London, and then you know what time of day it appeared to 565 00:34:02,680 --> 00:34:06,040 you wherever you are? If you have a really accurate clock, 566 00:34:06,040 --> 00:34:09,310 you can then use that to figure out how far east or west of 567 00:34:09,310 --> 00:34:12,790 London you are. It's pretty complicated, and I'm really glad 568 00:34:12,790 --> 00:34:13,990 we invented the GPS. 569 00:34:14,830 --> 00:34:18,040 Jane: I guess also if you let's say you took a long nap and you 570 00:34:18,040 --> 00:34:20,830 woke up and you were like, "Have I been asleep for three months 571 00:34:20,830 --> 00:34:24,490 or seven months, if you knew where you were and you saw what 572 00:34:24,490 --> 00:34:27,940 was rising when, you could be able to tell maybe what even 573 00:34:27,940 --> 00:34:29,590 what day or what month it is. 574 00:34:29,690 --> 00:34:33,110 Talia: Yes, for instance, I always know that we're 575 00:34:33,110 --> 00:34:36,440 approaching the beginning of spring because the constellation 576 00:34:36,440 --> 00:34:41,000 Leo starts appearing in the east when the sun sets. Leo is only 577 00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:44,330 in that spot in the sky at that time of day in like late 578 00:34:44,330 --> 00:34:47,390 February when it's starting to be towards springtime, and 579 00:34:47,390 --> 00:34:50,030 that's always exciting for me because I'm always ready for 580 00:34:50,030 --> 00:34:53,045 winter to be over. I should say it's springtime in the northern 581 00:34:53,045 --> 00:34:57,335 hemisphere, not for the southern hemisphere. And similarly, you 582 00:34:57,335 --> 00:35:02,015 know, I can tell how far. We are into summer by how high the 583 00:35:02,015 --> 00:35:05,705 summer triangle is when the sun sets. You know it's not precise. 584 00:35:05,705 --> 00:35:11,195 I can't be like, oh, it's it's 6:03 p.m. but I can tell roughly 585 00:35:11,195 --> 00:35:12,965 what time of year it is from that. 586 00:35:12,965 --> 00:35:14,765 Jane: So, Talia, you don't even have a calendar at home. 587 00:35:14,765 --> 00:35:17,750 Probably, you just navigate by the stars, the stars to see. Oh, 588 00:35:17,750 --> 00:35:20,690 I know what day it is today. I have to go to work early because 589 00:35:20,690 --> 00:35:22,760 I saw when the stars rose last night. 590 00:35:23,750 --> 00:35:27,230 Talia: I can't do that. But there were ancient cultures that 591 00:35:27,260 --> 00:35:29,810 I think could do that. They tracked the stars so precisely, 592 00:35:30,050 --> 00:35:34,340 and there's even you know ancient architecture, ancient 593 00:35:34,430 --> 00:35:39,020 monuments built around these very precise appearances of 594 00:35:39,560 --> 00:35:43,000 specific things in the sky at specific times of the year, they 595 00:35:43,480 --> 00:35:45,460 were truly great astronomers. 596 00:35:46,420 --> 00:35:49,870 Jane: Yeah, that's kind of amazing to think about how how 597 00:35:50,050 --> 00:35:53,620 precise they could get it on a certain day to have the sunlight 598 00:35:53,770 --> 00:35:57,700 stream through, you know, kind of a frame of stone or something 599 00:35:57,760 --> 00:35:58,150 like that. 600 00:35:58,720 --> 00:36:01,360 Talia: Absolutely, and there I know there are things that are 601 00:36:01,360 --> 00:36:04,750 built around you know the the time that the Pleiades rise on a 602 00:36:04,750 --> 00:36:09,670 specific day. The Pleiades is a little star cluster that we see 603 00:36:09,670 --> 00:36:13,630 in like the winter time sky here in the north, and there are 604 00:36:13,630 --> 00:36:17,260 things built around when that appears at specific on specific 605 00:36:17,260 --> 00:36:21,250 dates and or the orientation of the Milky Way relative to 606 00:36:21,250 --> 00:36:23,815 different things on different dates, like people tracked this 607 00:36:23,815 --> 00:36:27,445 stuff very, very precisely, considering they didn't have any 608 00:36:27,445 --> 00:36:29,845 telescopes or any tools like that to work with. 609 00:36:29,689 --> 00:36:32,809 Jane: The Pleiades is one of my favorite constellations. I love 610 00:36:32,809 --> 00:36:34,909 going out in the winter and seeing it, and to me, it looks 611 00:36:34,909 --> 00:36:36,529 kind of like a kite. 612 00:36:36,720 --> 00:36:38,520 Talia: I mean, I always see it look like a little, little, 613 00:36:38,520 --> 00:36:40,260 little, little dipper, personally. 614 00:36:40,260 --> 00:36:42,840 Jane: Yeah, I can see that too. Speaking of the dipper: 615 00:36:42,000 --> 00:36:51,060 Dane: My name is Dane and I live in Spokane, Washington. How does 616 00:36:51,150 --> 00:36:53,340 the Big Dipper appear? 617 00:36:53,920 --> 00:36:55,720 Jane: How does the Big Dipper appear? 618 00:36:56,380 --> 00:36:59,380 Talia: Oh, I always think it looks like a pot that has a bent 619 00:36:59,470 --> 00:37:03,330 handle. So there are seven stars in the dipper, and four of them 620 00:37:03,390 --> 00:37:07,260 make up the pot, and then three of them make up the handle. And 621 00:37:07,260 --> 00:37:13,560 the handle has a bend in it; it has kind of an arc in it. So I, 622 00:37:13,980 --> 00:37:16,800 you know, I've heard people call it a big spoon or things like 623 00:37:16,860 --> 00:37:20,070 that. I think it looks like a cooking pot with a bent handle. 624 00:37:20,910 --> 00:37:22,640 Jane: What's the difference between the Big Dipper and the 625 00:37:22,700 --> 00:37:23,120 Little Dipper? 626 00:37:23,630 --> 00:37:26,180 Talia: Oh, many things. The Big Dipper, first of all, is made of 627 00:37:26,270 --> 00:37:29,120 much brighter stars. So if you're looking, you see it, and 628 00:37:29,150 --> 00:37:31,340 you're not sure if it's the Big or the Little Dipper, it's the 629 00:37:31,430 --> 00:37:34,700 Big Dipper. It's much, much brighter than the Little Dipper, 630 00:37:35,360 --> 00:37:40,270 and their handles actually curve in different ways. So the Big 631 00:37:40,360 --> 00:37:43,960 Dipper has a handle that curves up, and the Little Dipper kind 632 00:37:43,960 --> 00:37:45,700 of has a handle that curves down. 633 00:37:46,720 --> 00:37:51,580 Jane: So, here on August 7 in the planetarium, as we are 634 00:37:51,580 --> 00:37:54,310 looking at the sky tonight again, this is the Northern 635 00:37:54,310 --> 00:37:57,880 Hemisphere summertime, and we're looking from the perspective of 636 00:37:57,880 --> 00:38:01,060 New England. But some of the Northern Hemisphere stars are 637 00:38:01,060 --> 00:38:03,970 going to be seen in a lot of different places in the Northern 638 00:38:03,970 --> 00:38:07,480 Hemisphere. This is may look fairly similar if you're in the 639 00:38:07,480 --> 00:38:11,545 Northern Hemisphere. How would you advise us to start 640 00:38:11,545 --> 00:38:15,205 stargazing? Because as you told us, there are so many stars in 641 00:38:15,205 --> 00:38:18,115 the sky; it can feel a little intimidating or overwhelming to 642 00:38:18,115 --> 00:38:22,345 know how to start thinking about stargazing at night. 643 00:38:22,390 --> 00:38:27,850 Talia: I like to find one or two patterns that I can find fairly 644 00:38:27,850 --> 00:38:33,130 reliably, and then use them to sort of learn the sky around 645 00:38:33,130 --> 00:38:37,090 them, and then you can use those the the sky around them as 646 00:38:37,090 --> 00:38:40,810 markers for figuring out you know what's beyond that. So, for 647 00:38:40,810 --> 00:38:45,340 instance, the Big Dipper is a good one because the Big Dipper 648 00:38:45,340 --> 00:38:50,005 you can use to find like if you follow the direction that the 649 00:38:50,005 --> 00:38:54,025 handle arcs and you keep going, you can find the constellation 650 00:38:54,025 --> 00:38:58,585 Bootes directly under the Big, well, the Big Dipper is part of 651 00:38:58,585 --> 00:39:01,765 the constellation Ursa Major. Directly under the bear is Leo 652 00:39:01,765 --> 00:39:04,765 the lion. The bear is standing on the lion's back. 653 00:39:04,765 --> 00:39:07,405 Jane: And Ursa means bear. So Ursa Major is Big Bear. 654 00:39:07,420 --> 00:39:11,380 Talia: Yes. So Ursa Major, Big Bear, and Leo is the lion. So 655 00:39:11,380 --> 00:39:13,450 the way they're positioned in the sky, it looks like Ursa 656 00:39:13,450 --> 00:39:18,430 Major, the bear, is standing on the lion's back. And you know, 657 00:39:18,430 --> 00:39:22,450 for instance, if you can find, if you can use the handle of the 658 00:39:22,450 --> 00:39:27,970 dipper to find Bootes, the herdsman. I use Bootes to find 659 00:39:27,970 --> 00:39:31,765 the Northern Crown, which is right next to it. So I can use 660 00:39:31,765 --> 00:39:35,065 the Dipper to find one thing, and then use that thing to find 661 00:39:35,065 --> 00:39:39,565 another thing. So some good markers to use. Like I said, the 662 00:39:39,565 --> 00:39:43,975 Big Dipper is a good one. If it's summertime, I like to use 663 00:39:43,975 --> 00:39:47,245 the summer triangle. If it's winter time, I like to use the 664 00:39:47,245 --> 00:39:51,445 constellation Orion, especially his belt. His belt is very handy 665 00:39:51,445 --> 00:39:57,100 for pointing at things. So that's my advice. Find one or 666 00:39:57,100 --> 00:40:02,860 two, two or three patterns that you can find pretty reliably, 667 00:40:02,860 --> 00:40:06,970 and then use them to learn the sky immediately around them, and 668 00:40:06,970 --> 00:40:09,670 then you can use the things immediately around them to find 669 00:40:09,670 --> 00:40:13,300 even more things, and you'll gradually learn the whole sky. 670 00:40:13,270 --> 00:40:15,370 Jane: And if you live in a big city where there's a lot of 671 00:40:15,370 --> 00:40:19,750 tall, lit up buildings and car traffic and streetlights, that 672 00:40:19,750 --> 00:40:23,260 doesn't mean you can't see any stars. Talia says when the 673 00:40:23,260 --> 00:40:26,170 planets are in the visible part of the sky, you'll likely be 674 00:40:26,170 --> 00:40:29,440 able to see them because they are very bright. And while you 675 00:40:29,440 --> 00:40:32,890 might not be able to see entire constellations, you could still 676 00:40:32,890 --> 00:40:35,980 spot a few really bright stars within those constellations. 677 00:40:36,835 --> 00:40:40,285 Plus, many cities have museums or universities with either 678 00:40:40,285 --> 00:40:44,005 planetariums or telescopes or both, and you might be able to 679 00:40:44,005 --> 00:40:49,315 visit one. Okay, but what if you live in the southern hemisphere, 680 00:40:49,315 --> 00:40:53,215 in a place like Australia or Chile or Botswana, and you have 681 00:40:53,215 --> 00:40:56,875 been patiently listening to all this talk about the summer sky 682 00:40:56,875 --> 00:41:00,610 in the northern hemisphere? It's true, the sky looks really 683 00:41:00,610 --> 00:41:03,340 different depending on where you are, and the southern and 684 00:41:03,340 --> 00:41:05,500 northern hemispheres have particularly different 685 00:41:05,500 --> 00:41:09,310 constellations and celestial seasons. Well, we haven't 686 00:41:09,310 --> 00:41:12,430 forgotten about you. I asked Talia to take us to see the 687 00:41:12,430 --> 00:41:16,000 night sky in the southern hemisphere on August 7. 688 00:41:16,000 --> 00:41:19,420 Talia: Absolutely. Let me go. Let me bring us to Australia. 689 00:41:19,420 --> 00:41:20,110 Why not? 690 00:41:20,110 --> 00:41:22,030 Jane: Woo! This is a very fast flight. 691 00:41:22,075 --> 00:41:25,465 Talia: Yes, we are now in Australia. We are looking at, 692 00:41:25,465 --> 00:41:28,585 and because the sun is setting earlier, we are now looking at 693 00:41:28,585 --> 00:41:33,445 the sky the way it would look at about 7:00 and we've got a lot 694 00:41:33,445 --> 00:41:36,565 of constellations I'm not that familiar with because I'm not as 695 00:41:36,565 --> 00:41:39,655 familiar with the southern sky. 696 00:41:39,655 --> 00:41:41,725 Jane: But some of them are similar. I'm seeing some of the 697 00:41:41,725 --> 00:41:43,015 same constellations. 698 00:41:43,015 --> 00:41:47,290 Talia: Yep, I can still see Aquila, the eagle. I can see 699 00:41:47,290 --> 00:41:50,770 Lyra the lyre, and I can also see some really cool 700 00:41:50,770 --> 00:41:54,070 constellations like the Southern Cross that I don't ever get to 701 00:41:54,070 --> 00:41:57,670 see in Boston because I live too far north. Oh, and nice and 702 00:41:57,670 --> 00:42:01,150 high. I should point out, right almost directly overhead from 703 00:42:01,150 --> 00:42:06,970 Australia at 7:00 on August 7 is Scorpius, the scorpion with that 704 00:42:06,970 --> 00:42:08,845 bright red star Antares at his heart. 705 00:42:09,175 --> 00:42:12,655 Jane: And that kind of to me looks like a J, like a wonky J. 706 00:42:12,900 --> 00:42:15,810 Talia: Absolutely, a J. It's supposed to be the curl of the 707 00:42:15,810 --> 00:42:19,980 Scorpion's tail, but I know, for instance, if there are any fans 708 00:42:19,980 --> 00:42:24,480 of the film Moana listening to this, there were Pacific Island 709 00:42:24,480 --> 00:42:28,800 cultures that referred to it as Maui's fishhook, for instance. 710 00:42:28,800 --> 00:42:31,230 Jane: And you could see that in New England too, but it was much 711 00:42:31,230 --> 00:42:34,110 much lower in the sky when we were looking in the northern 712 00:42:34,110 --> 00:42:34,740 hemisphere. 713 00:42:34,860 --> 00:42:37,575 Talia: Yes, so you can see all of Scorpius from New England, 714 00:42:37,575 --> 00:42:40,575 but his tail barely the bottom of his tail barely clears the 715 00:42:40,575 --> 00:42:45,255 horizon. Now we're in Australia, and the whole scorpion is right 716 00:42:45,255 --> 00:42:46,515 overhead. 717 00:42:46,515 --> 00:42:49,095 Jane: I want to point out two other constellations before we 718 00:42:49,095 --> 00:42:54,135 go. One is to me what looks like a kid, maybe with no arms, 719 00:42:54,135 --> 00:42:56,145 kicking a soccer ball. 720 00:42:56,145 --> 00:42:59,040 Talia: Is it the one that's right next to Scorpius? Yeah. So 721 00:42:59,040 --> 00:43:01,650 that one, I always see a teapot with that one. 722 00:43:01,650 --> 00:43:03,210 Jane: See, I love that we can see different things. 723 00:43:03,210 --> 00:43:09,210 Talia: That is the constellation Sagittarius, the the Archer, and 724 00:43:09,210 --> 00:43:12,060 that's actually the direction of the center of the Milky Way. And 725 00:43:12,060 --> 00:43:14,460 you can see that from New England as well. Again, it's 726 00:43:14,460 --> 00:43:16,290 going to be quite low, but that's the direction that the 727 00:43:16,290 --> 00:43:18,930 center of our galaxy is in. 728 00:43:18,990 --> 00:43:21,470 Jane: And then there's another constellation. Well, actually, 729 00:43:21,710 --> 00:43:25,430 it's a couple of constellations, and it's above the Southern 730 00:43:25,520 --> 00:43:30,110 Cross, and one of them looks very much like an animal, maybe 731 00:43:30,320 --> 00:43:35,480 a wolf or some kind of animal with four legs and a big tail. 732 00:43:36,080 --> 00:43:39,350 And then there's another animal, maybe a person. I don't know, 733 00:43:39,650 --> 00:43:43,000 but definitely some other kind of animal kind of looks like a 734 00:43:43,060 --> 00:43:46,090 minotaur, and they look like they're in conflict. 735 00:43:46,420 --> 00:43:47,740 Talia: Well, I can tell you that the one that looks like a 736 00:43:47,740 --> 00:43:51,220 minotaur that is Centaurus. So it is it's a centaur. 737 00:43:51,220 --> 00:43:52,480 Jane: That's what I was thinking. Yeah. 738 00:43:52,540 --> 00:43:58,690 Talia: And then the one next to it is a wolf. That is Lupus the 739 00:43:58,870 --> 00:44:04,710 wolf. So very good with your guesses, and Centaurus is 740 00:44:04,890 --> 00:44:08,100 actually the location of the star system that is closest to 741 00:44:08,250 --> 00:44:11,040 Earth. It is one of the two bright stars, sort of marks the 742 00:44:11,250 --> 00:44:15,810 front feet of the Centaur, is Alpha Centaurus, and that system 743 00:44:15,840 --> 00:44:19,470 has three stars in it, one of which is Proxima Centauri, which 744 00:44:19,620 --> 00:44:24,020 is the closest star to Earth at only 4.25 light years away. 745 00:44:24,620 --> 00:44:25,910 Jane: Oh, so you practically next door? 746 00:44:26,450 --> 00:44:27,860 Talia: Yes, it's right in the backyard. 747 00:44:28,610 --> 00:44:30,980 Jane: Talia, is there anything else that you think would be fun 748 00:44:31,100 --> 00:44:33,830 for us to know as we start looking up at the sky and trying 749 00:44:33,860 --> 00:44:35,540 to understand what's going on up there? 750 00:44:36,000 --> 00:44:39,270 Talia: Yes, if you're looking at the sky on August 7, you should 751 00:44:39,270 --> 00:44:42,840 come back out and look on August 12, because the Perseid meteor 752 00:44:42,840 --> 00:44:45,600 shower is going to be peaking that night, and there isn't 753 00:44:45,600 --> 00:44:48,450 going to be any bright moon to get in the way. And the great 754 00:44:48,450 --> 00:44:51,420 thing about a meteor shower is you don't need any special 755 00:44:51,420 --> 00:44:54,510 equipment to enjoy it. You just go find the darkest spot you 756 00:44:54,510 --> 00:44:58,980 can, make yourself comfortable, lay back, let your eyes adjust, 757 00:44:59,235 --> 00:45:03,675 and look for shooting stars that are actually pieces of a comet's 758 00:45:03,675 --> 00:45:06,645 tail that got left in Earth's path, and we're plowing into 759 00:45:06,645 --> 00:45:09,705 them, and they're burning up in Earth's atmosphere, and it's one 760 00:45:09,705 --> 00:45:11,475 of the better meteor showers of the year. 761 00:45:11,475 --> 00:45:14,175 Jane: Since we're talking about shooting stars, here's one last 762 00:45:14,175 --> 00:45:15,045 question. 763 00:45:15,045 --> 00:45:20,385 Jana: My name is Jana. I'm from Long Island, New York. I'm six 764 00:45:20,385 --> 00:45:23,685 years old. Are shooting stars real? 765 00:45:23,900 --> 00:45:27,800 Jane: Yes, shooting stars are real, but it's so magical to 766 00:45:27,920 --> 00:45:31,130 watch them in real time. And if you blink, you might miss one, 767 00:45:31,190 --> 00:45:34,340 or you see one and your friend doesn't, or your sibling sees it 768 00:45:34,370 --> 00:45:39,650 and you don't. So, what is a shooting star if not magic? 769 00:45:40,210 --> 00:45:42,100 Talia: Ah, it's a piece of space debris burning up in Earth's 770 00:45:42,100 --> 00:45:43,390 atmosphere. So. 771 00:45:43,660 --> 00:45:45,070 Jane: I mean, that doesn't sound quite as cool. 772 00:45:46,270 --> 00:45:49,240 Talia: I don't know. Something from space tearing itself to 773 00:45:49,300 --> 00:45:51,010 shreds in Earth's atmosphere sounds pretty cool to me. 774 00:45:52,000 --> 00:45:54,340 Jane: Thank you so much for sharing this with us and helping 775 00:45:54,340 --> 00:45:57,370 us get excited about the night sky. I'm really excited to go 776 00:45:57,640 --> 00:46:00,900 out and start using your technique of just trying to know 777 00:46:00,990 --> 00:46:04,920 a couple of things, and then knowing a couple things more by 778 00:46:05,070 --> 00:46:07,980 using those constellations or those stars as my guide. 779 00:46:08,430 --> 00:46:10,620 Talia: Oh yeah, always start small. I mean, the sky's not 780 00:46:10,650 --> 00:46:14,070 going anywhere. You have plenty of time to learn it, and if you 781 00:46:14,130 --> 00:46:18,510 want to just go out and just look up, and enjoy how beautiful 782 00:46:18,600 --> 00:46:23,270 the night sky is, that is also a great way to be an astronomer. 783 00:46:23,600 --> 00:46:27,170 Jane: And if you have any constellations that you see in 784 00:46:27,170 --> 00:46:30,440 your mind's eye, will you draw us a picture of what 785 00:46:30,440 --> 00:46:33,740 constellation you see? Maybe your adults can help you look up 786 00:46:33,740 --> 00:46:37,010 which stars are in your constellation, and then you can 787 00:46:37,010 --> 00:46:40,250 send the shape that you see, whether it's an animal or an 788 00:46:40,250 --> 00:46:44,510 instrument or a toy, and send us a picture of what you've drawn. 789 00:46:44,510 --> 00:46:48,515 I really want to hear what you would call your constellation 790 00:46:48,515 --> 00:46:51,065 and what you think it looks like. Send it to 791 00:46:51,065 --> 00:46:56,195 questions@butwhykids.org. Thanks to Talia Sepersky, planetarium 792 00:46:56,195 --> 00:46:59,255 educator at the Museum of Science in Boston, for taking us 793 00:46:59,255 --> 00:47:02,915 on a guided tour of the night sky. That's it for today. As 794 00:47:02,915 --> 00:47:05,945 always, if you have a question about anything, have an adult 795 00:47:05,945 --> 00:47:08,885 record you asking it on a smartphone using an app like 796 00:47:08,885 --> 00:47:11,990 Voice Memos. Then have your adult email the file to 797 00:47:11,990 --> 00:47:17,450 questions@butwykids.org. Our show is produced by Sarah Baik, 798 00:47:17,450 --> 00:47:20,660 Melody Bodette, and me, Jane Lindholm, at Vermont Public, and 799 00:47:20,660 --> 00:47:24,740 distributed by PRX. Our video producer is Joey Palumbo, and 800 00:47:24,740 --> 00:47:28,100 our theme music is by Luke Reynolds. If you like our show, 801 00:47:28,100 --> 00:47:31,160 we'd love it if you and your adults would give us a thumbs up 802 00:47:31,160 --> 00:47:35,555 or a review on whatever platform you use to listen to us. It 803 00:47:35,555 --> 00:47:38,705 helps other kids and families find us, and that helps us keep 804 00:47:38,705 --> 00:47:43,085 going. We'll be back in two weeks with an all-new episode. 805 00:47:43,115 --> 00:47:45,635 Until then, stay curious.