JAMES: GREETINGS 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 AND WE’RE HERE TO HELP YOU FIND YOUR WAY AROUND THE SKY.
HEY JAMES, IT’S ALMOST THE END OF THE YEAR.
DID YOU HAVE AN ASTRONOMICALLY GREAT 2017?
JAMES: I DID!
WE HAD SO MANY PLANETARY CONJUNCTIONS AND OF COURSE THE TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE BACK
IN AUGUST.
DEAN: IT WAS AN AWESOME YEAR!
AND FOR OUR LAST WEEK OF 2017 WE’LL TAKE A LOOK AT THE CONSTELLATION ORION AND A SPECIAL
VISITOR HE WILL BE HAVING ON NEW YEAR’S EVE.
JAMES: OOH, THAT’S RIGHT.
OUR CLOSEST NEIGHBOR IN SPACE, THE MOON, WILL PASS JUST OVER ORION’S HEAD.
HE BETTER DUCK!
DEAN: YOU KNOW IT.
LET’S SHOW YOU!
DEAN: OKAY WE HAVE OUR SKY SET UP FOR FRIDAY DECEMBER
29TH AT 7:30PM FACING EAST--SOUTHEAST.
THERE YOU’LL FIND THE BELTED ONE, ORION THE HUNTER TIPPED OVER JUST ABOVE THE
TREETOPS.
JAMES: YOU CAN ALWAYS RECOGNIZE ORION BY HIS THREE
STARS IN A ROW THAT MAKE HIS BELT.
BUT I ALWAYS LIKE TO FIND THE FOUR STARS AT THE CORNERS OF THIS STAR PATTERN.
THE BRIGHTEST STAR IN ORION IS BLUE RIGEL WHICH STANDS IN FOR
HIS LEFT LEG.
HIS RIGHT LEG-STAR IS FAINTER AND CLOSER TO HORIZON.
ITS NAME IS SAIPH.
DEAN: THEN HIS LEFT SHOULDER-STAR IS A DEEP BLUE
COLOR AND GOES BY THE NAME BELLATRIX.
WHILE THE BIG RED STAR MARKING ORION’S ARMPIT IS THE INFAMOUS BETELGEUSE.
WE’LL TRY NOT TO SAY IT THREE TIMES.
JAMES: WHERE IS MY HEAD?
DEAN: WHAT?
JAMES: I ALMOST FORGOT ABOUT THE STAR MARKING ORION’S
HEAD.
DEAN: OH YEAH.
JAMES: ITS NAME IS MEISSA AND UNLIKE DEAN AND I,
IT IS NOT VERY BRIGHT.
DEAN: YEAH, ORION WAS KNOWN FOR HIS BRAWN - AND
NOT SO MUCH FOR HIS BRAINS.
AND HIS HEAD STAR REALLY SHOWS THAT.
JAMES: ON DECEMBER 29TH, THE MOON IS WAY ABOVE ORION
- AND IS HANGING OUT IN THE CONSTELLATION TAURUS
THE BULL.
BUT BEFORE WE GO FORWARD IN TIME, LET’S FLY UP AND SEE HOW THE MOON MOVES
AROUND THE EARTH.
JAMES: THE MOON REVOLVES AROUND THE EARTH ONCE EVERY
27.3 DAYS.
THAT’S CALLED A SYNODIC MONTH.
DEAN: CAN WE CALL IT A MOONTH?
JAMES: A MOONTH?
WHAT’S THAT?
DEAN: WELL, IT’S LIKE A MONTH, BUT FOR THE MOON.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
IS IT CATCHY?
JAMES: MEH….
DEAN: ANYWAY, OVER THE COURSE OF A MOONTH, THE EARTH
IS ROTATING ONCE EVERY DAY.
THAT MEANS WE SPIN WAY FASTER THAN THE MOON.
SO AFTER EVERY DAY THAT WE SPIN ONCE AND COME BACK TO SEE THE STARS AGAIN,
THE MOON HAS MOVED A LITTLE BIT AROUND US.
SO IT LOOKS LIKE IT HAS SHIFTED IN OUR SKY.
JAMES: SO EACH NIGHT THE MOON WILL BE NEAR A DIFFERENT
GROUP OF STARS, AND CAN EVEN WANDER NEAR ORION’S HEAD - OVER THE COURSE OF A MOONTH...
DEAN: YES!
DEAN: WE’RE BACK DOWN ON EARTH AT 7:30PM ON DECEMBER
29TH.
NOW WE’RE GOING TO ADVANCE OUR TIME, ONE DAY AT A TIME AND SEE HOW THINGS MOVE.
ON THE NIGHT OF THE 30TH, THE MOON HAS CONTINUED ON ITS PATH AROUND THE EARTH AND HAS APPEARED
TO SHIFT QUITE A BIT IN THE SKY.
THE MOON WILL NOW BE RIGHT NEXT TO THE BRIGHT ORANGE STAR CALLED ALDEBARAN THAT MARKS THE
BULL’S EYE.
JAMES: IF YOU LOOK AT THE MOON WITH BINOCULARS THAT
NIGHT YOU’LL SEE ALDEBARAN IS LESS THAN HALF-OF-A-DEGREE FROM THE MOON.
THAT’S SUPER CLOSE.
DEAN: BUT THAT’S NOTHING.
IF WE USE OUR SUPER-STAR-GAZER POWERS TO TURN BACK TIME TO LIKE 6PM.
AND THEN SLOWLY ADVANCE TIME, CHECK OUT WHAT THE MOON WILL DO.
JAMES: IT WILL OCCULT
(OR COVER OVER) ALDEBARAN!
SWEET.
DEAN: NOW THIS WILL BE VISIBLE OVER MOST OF THE
U.S. BUT NOT EVERYWHERE.
SO YOU’LL HAVE TO JUST GET OUTSIDE AND SEE FOR YOURSELF HOW CLOSE THE MOON PASSES ALDEBARAN
WHERE YOU LIVE ON DECEMBER 30TH.
JAMES: LET’S ADVANCE TIME AGAIN TO 7:30PM ON SUNDAY
DECEMBER 31, NEW YEAR’S EVE.
ON THAT NIGHT, THE NEARLY-FULL-MOON WILL HANG JUST ABOVE ORION’S HEAD.
LOOK, HE DID DUCK!
DEAN: NO JAMES, THAT’S HOW HE ALWAYS IS.
THE MOON CAN APPEAR TO COME CLOSE TO ORION’S HEAD BUT CAN NEVER QUITE COVER OVER HIS HEAD-STAR
MEISSA OR BONK HIM ON THE HEAD.
BUT ON NEW YEAR’S EVE, MAYBE YOU CAN IMAGINE ORION HITTING THE MOON WITH HIS CLUB!
JAMES: I COULD SEE THAT.
SO CHECK OUT HOW THE MOON MOVES CLOSER TO ORION ALL WEEK.
DEAN: AND ON DECEMBER 31ST, BE LIKE ORION AND…
BOTH: KEEP LOOKING UP!