A RAINBOW OF PLANETS
JAMES: WELCOME TO STAR GAZERS.
I'M JAMES ALBURY, DIRECTOR OF THE KIKA SILVA PLA
PLANETARIUM IN GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA.
DEAN: AND I'M DEAN REGAS, ASTRONOMER FOR THE CINCINNATI
OBSERVATORY.
WE'RE HERE TO HELP YOU FIND YOUR WAY AROUND THE SKY.
I THINK THE BEST WAY TO REALLY GET INTO ASTRONOMY IS BY DISCOVERING
THE PLANETS.
JAMES: TOTALLY!
AND THIS MONTH IT IS SUPER-EASY TO FIND FOUR OF THEM:
VENUS, JUPITER, SATURN, AND MARS.
DEAN: THAT MAY SEEM LIKE A WEIRD ORDER TO PUT THE
PLANETS IN, BUT THATS THE ORDER IN WHICH THEY WILL BE
LINED UP NICELY IN AUGUST.
IN FACT, PLANETS LIKE TO LINE UP.
ITS WHAT THEY DO.
AND THE PLANETS CAN OFTEN BE FOUND ON, OR NEAR THIS LINE IN THE SKY WE CALL THE ECLIPTIC.
JAMES: AND THOSE FOUR PLANETS:
VENUS, JUPITER, SATURN, AND MARS ARE SO EVENLY SPACED ACROSS THE ECLIPTIC THAT THEY MAKE
AN ARC FROM THE WESTERN HORIZON, OVER TO THE SOUTHERN SKY, AND THEN DOWN TO
THE EAST.
DEAN: WHEN I CONNECT THE DOTS ON THE PLANETS,
I IMAGINE AN INTER-PLANETARY RAINBOW ARCING ACROSS THE
SKY.
JAMES: LETS CONNECT THE DOTS AND SHOW YOU HOW TO
FIND THE FOUR FABULOUS PLANETS OF SUMMER!
DEAN: OKAY, WERE FACING WEST AT 9:30PM.
THE SUN HAS JUST GONE DOWN AND THE FIRST STARS ARE POPPING OUT.
THAT ONE IS VENUS AND THERE IS NOTHING QUITE LIKE IT IN THE SKY.
JAMES: VENUS IS DAZZLINGLY BRIGHT!
THERES TWO REASONS FOR THIS: 1) VENUS IS RELATIVELY CLOSE TO US - ONLY
ABOUT 68 MILLION MILES AWAY - AND 2) VENUS IS COVERED IN HIGHLY REFLECTIVE CLOUDS
SO IT BOUNCES A WHOLE LOT OF SUNLIGHT TOWARD EARTH.
DEAN: ITS REALLY COOL TO THINK THAT PLANETS ONLY
SHINE BECAUSE OF THE SUN.
THEY DONT GENERATE ANY LIGHT OF THEIR OWN.
INSTEAD, SUN-LIGHT TRAVELS MILLIONS OF MILES, HITS THEIR SURFACES, AND BOUNCES BACK TO OUR
EYES.
JAMES: WE WANT YOU TO LOOK FOR VENUS FIRST BECAUSE
AS WE GET CLOSER TO 10PM, IT WILL BARELY BE ABOVE THE WESTERN HORIZON.
YOU'LL HAVE PLENTY MORE TIME TO SPOT THE OTHER THREE PLANETS.
SO, WE OF-TEN GO PLANET-HUNTING FROM RIGHT TO LEFT - OR WEST
TO EAST.
JAMES: NOW WE'RE FACING THE SOUTHWEST AND THAT BRINGS
US TO PLANET #2.
AND ITS A BIGGIE!
THIS IS THE LARGEST PLANET IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM, HOLDER OF
69 MOONS, AND A GREAT RED SPOT.
THAT IS JUPITER!
DEAN: JUPITER, ALTHOUGH NOT NEARLY AS BRIGHT AS
VENUS, IS BRIGHTER THAN ANY OTHER STAR IN THE SKY.
SO FINDING IT WITH THE NAKED EYE IS SUPER-EASY!
JAMES: REMEMBER HOW WE WERE TALKING ABOUT HOW THE
PLANETS LIKE TO LINE UP ALONG
THE ECLIPTIC?
WELL, LETS ADD THAT IMAGINARY LINE, AND WELL SEE THAT IT ALMOST CONNECTS THE DOTS
BETWEEN VENUS AND JUPITER.
DEAN: AND IF WE KEEP FOLLOWING THE RAINBOW-LIKE
ARC OF THE ECLIP-TIC,
WE'LL REACH THE YELLOW-BRICK ROAD…
NO, WE'LL REACH THE OTHER TWO PLANETS.
DEAN: WE'RE NOW FACING
SOUTH-SOUTHEAST AT 10PM AND FOLLOWING THE ECLIPTIC FROM RIGHT TO LEFT, WE COME TO OUR
NEXT PLANET.
AND IT IS MY FAVORITE!
JAMES: THATS RIGHT DEAN.
THIS UNASSUMING, YELLOW-LOOKING STAR IS ACTUALLY THE PLANET WITH THE BIGGEST
RING-SYSTEM, 62 MOONS, AND LOOKS JUST AWESOME IN A TELESCOPE.
THAT IS SATURN.
DEAN: PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, GET TO KNOW THIS PLANET
THIS SUMMER.
JAMES: AND TRY, TRY TRY TO VIEW SATURN THROUGH A
TELESCOPE THIS SUMMER FOR A VIEW LIKE THIS.
IT IS SO PERFECT THAT IT LOOKS FAKE.
DEAN: BUT THATS THE REAL THING!
JAMES: OUR LAST STOP ON OUR RAINBOW OF PLANETS TAKES
US TO THE ONE THAT IS FARTHEST FROM THE ECLIPTIC.
DEAN: IT JUST HAS TO BE DIFFICULT!
JAMES: INDEED!
AND WARLIKE.
AND REDDISH.
DEAN: IF THOSE CLUES WERENT ENOUGH, THAT MY FRIENDS
IS THE PLANET MARS.
JAMES: WOW, IT IS REALLY BRIGHT.
ALMOST AS BRIGHT AS VENUS.
DEAN: THAT'S RIGHT.
IT WAS AT ITS CLOSEST APPROACH TO EARTH LAST MONTH AND IS STILL INCREDIBLY BRIGHT.
JAMES: WHAT A LINE-UP.
FROM RIGHT TO LEFT, YOULL SEE VENUS, JUPITER, SATURN,
AND MARS.
DEAN: AND, WHEN YOU
PLANET-GAZE ON THE NIGHTS OF AUGUST 13 THROUGH 23 DON'T BE SURPRISED TO SEE THE WAXING MOON
NEAR ONE PLANET OR ANOTHER.
JAMES: NOW, FINDING THE PLANETS FOR YOURSELF IS A
TREAT.
BUT ITS EVEN BETTER IF YOU SHARE THAT KNOWLEDGE WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY.
DEAN: TAKE IT FROM US,
WHEN YOU SHOW SOMEONE A PLANET THEY WILL THINK IT, AND YOU ARE REALLY COOL.
AND COOLNESS AWAITS WHEN YOU…
BOTH: KEEP LOOKING UP!