DEAN: WELCOME TO STAR GAZERS!
I'M DEAN REGAS, ASTRONOMER FROM THE CINCINNATI OBSERVATORY.
JAMES: AND I'M JAMES ALBURY, DIRECTOR OF THE KIKA SILVA PLA PLANETARIUM IN GAINESVILLE,
FLORIDA.
ITS OCTOBER AND WE HAVE AN INTERESTING LINE UP OF PLANETS FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE!
DEAN: THAT'S RIGHT, JAMES!
WE HAVE VENUS, SATURN AND MARS IN THE EVENING…
JAMES: AND THE REAPPEARANCE OF JUPITER IN THE MORNING SKY.
LETS SHOW YOU!
JAMES: OK, WE HAVE OUR SKIES SET UP FOR THE BEGINNING OF NEXT WEEK, MONDAY, OCTOBER 17TH,
JUST AFTER SUNSET, FACING SOUTHWEST.
NEAR THE HORIZON, YOU CAN EASILY SPOT THE PLANET VENUS AMONG THE STARS OF SCORPIUS THE
SCORPION.
VENUS IS A LITTLE OVER 118 MILLION MILES AWAY FROM US RIGHT NOW, BUT EVEN AT THAT GREAT
DISTANCE, WE CAN SEE ITS DAZZLING BRILLIANCE NEAR THE STAR DSCHUBBA.
DEAN: IT WONT STAY NEAR DSCHUBBA FOR LONG.
AS WE ADVANCE TIME, YOU WILL SEE IT CRUISE RIGHT PAST DSCHUBBA ON ITS WAY TO A RENDEZVOUS
WITH THE STAR ANTARES.
HERE'S WHERE VENUS WILL BE ON OCTOBER 18TH…., 19TH…, AND 20TH…, WHEN IT PASSES CLOSEST
TO DSCHUBBA.
JAMES: AS WE CONTINUE TO ADVANCE TIME PAST THE 21ST…, 22ND…, AND 23RD…, VENUS BEGINS
MOVING BETWEEN ANTARES AND THE RINGED PLANET, SATURN.
SATURN STILL LOOKS GOOD THROUGH A SMALL TELESCOPE, DESPITE BEING OVER A BILLION MILES AWAY FROM
US RIGHT NOW.
AND IT'S GETTING FARTHER EACH DAY!
THEREFORE, WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO GET A PEEK AT SATURN THROUGH A TELESCOPE, SOME
TIME OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS.
DEAN: AND MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR THE EVENING OF THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27TH WHEN SATURN, VENUS
AND ANTARES MEET FOR A RARE EQUIDISTANT LINE UP JUST AFTER SUNSET.
WE'LL TALK MORE ABOUT THAT NEXT WEEK.
JAMES: SATURN IS WHAT WE CALL A GAS GIANT (OR JOVIAN PLANET).
ITS PRIMARILY COMPOSED OF HYDROGEN AND HELIUM AND ITS ROTATION CAUSES IT TO HAVE AN M&M
SHAPE.
DEAN: SATURN ALSO HAS A HOT INTERIOR, REACHING ALMOST 21,000 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT AT ITS CORE
AND IT RADIATES TWO AND A HALF TIMES MORE ENERGY INTO SPACE THAN IT RECEIVES FROM THE
SUN.
WHILE SATURN HAS 95 TIMES THE MASS OF THE EARTH, JUPITER HAS 318 TIMES THE MASS OF THE
EARTH.
TOGETHER, JUPITER AND SATURN MAKE UP 92% OF THE TOTAL PLANETARY MASS IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM.
DEAN: LET'S NOW LOOK A LITTLE FARTHER SOUTH, AN HOUR AFTER SUNSET ON OCTOBER 16TH.
YOULL SEE THE RED PLANET MARS GRADUALLY MOVING AWAY FROM THE TEAPOT SHAPED GROUPING OF STARS
IN SAGITTARIUS THE CENTAUR ARCHER.
THIS WEEK, YOU'LL SEE MARS ZIP PAST THE STAR NUNKI, WHICH MARKS THE TOP OF THE TEAPOT'S
HANDLE.
JAMES: NUNKI IS APPROXIMATELY 225 LIGHT YEARS AWAY FROM US AND IS OVER 3300 TIMES AS LUMINOUS
AS OUR SUN.
BECAUSE OF ITS LOCATION CLOSE TO THE ECLIPTIC, NUNKI CAN BE OCCULTED BY THE MOON AND VERY
RARELY BY PLANETS.
THE LAST TIME MARS OCCULTED NUNKI WAS ON SEPTEMBER 3RD, 423 A.D.!
DEAN: SINCE ANTIQUITY, MARS HAS BEEN UNIVERSALLY ASSOCIATED WITH GODS OF WAR, PESTILENCE AND
DEATH.
THE PLANETS WERE CONSIDERED DIVINE AND THEIR PECULIAR MOVEMENTS WERE INTERPRETED AS MESSAGES
FROM THE GODS, EXPRESSING THEIR PLEASURE, OR DISPLEASURE WITH THE DOINGS OF MANKIND.
JAMES: WE'RE GETTING FARTHER AWAY FROM MARS RIGHT NOW, BUT EVERY 26 MONTHS, WHEN THE EARTH
CATCHES UP TO MARS, MARS BRIGHTENS.
THE BRIGHTENING OF MARS REMINDED PEOPLE OF THIS CELESTIAL CONNECTION TO WAR, AND SO THEY
CAME TO EXPECT THE HEAVENLY UNLEASHING OF WAR, DISASTERS AND DEATH.
EVEN THE MODERN SYMBOL FOR MARS IS STILL THE STYLIZED ROMAN SWORD AND SHIELD.
JAMES: FOR YOU EARLY MORNING PLANET WATCHERS WE HAVE THE REAPPEARANCE OF JUPITER IN THE
MORNING SKY!
WITHIN AN HOUR BEFORE SUNRISE, LOOK LOW IN THE EAST AND YOU'LL SEE A STEADY WHITE LIGHT
AMONG THE STARS OF VIRGO THE MAIDEN.
DEAN: ON THE MORNING OF OCTOBER 28TH, THE WANING CRESCENT MOON APPEARS VERY CLOSE TO
JUPITER IN THE EASTERN SKY.
JAMES: YOULL BE ABLE TO SEE EARTHSHINE; THAT FAINT GLOW OF LIGHT REFLECTING OFF THE EARTH
AND ILLUMINATING THE NIGHTTIME SIDE OF THE MOON.
WITH JUPITER NEAR BY, THE IMAGE OF THE PAIRING WILL BE BREATHTAKING.
DEAN: SO THERE YOU HAVE IT.
A PLANETARY PARADE FOR OCTOBER.
.
BOTH: KEEP LOOKING UP!