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.
DEAN: AUTUMN IS MY FAVORITE SEASON WHEN IT COMES
TO STAR STORIES BECAUSE WE GET TO SEE A CELESTIAL ROYAL FAMILY, A HERO AND
A FLYING HORSE.
JAMES: WE'VE DEVOTED THIS WEEKS EPISODE TO THE CELESTIAL
PRINCESS ANDROMEDA.
LETS SHOW YOU!
JAMES: THE STORY OF ANDROMEDA BEGINS ABOUT 20 CENTURIES
AGO.
CASSIOPEIA, HE MOTHER OF ANDROMEDA,
WAS NOT ONLY EXTREMELY BEAUTIFUL, BUT EXTREMELY VAIN,
AND ONE DAY SHE MADE THE DREADFUL MISTAKE OF BOASTING THAT
SHE WAS EVEN MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN THE NEREIDS,
THE SEA NYMPHS, WHO WERE CONSIDERED TO BE THE HOTTEST STUFF OF THEIR TIME.
DEAN: WELL, THEY COMPLAINED TO THEIR FATHER, POSEIDON,
THE GOD OF THE SEA, AND IT IS SAID THAT AMONG THE PUNISHMENTS HE RENDERED THE ROYAL FAMILY,
POSEIDON DECIDED TO CREATE A GIANT SEA MONSTER (AFFECTIONATELY CALLED
THE KRAKEN) TO DESTROY CASSIOPEIAS KINGDOM.
JAMES: SADLY, THE ONLY WAY TO GET RID OF THE KRAKEN
WAS TO SACRIFICE CASSIOPEIAS ONLY DAUGHTER, ANDROMEDA TO THE SEA MONSTER.
DEAN: AT THIS TIME OF YEAR, ANDROMEDA IS EASY TO
FIND IN THE SKY JUST AFTER SUNSET.
YOU CAN USE CASSIOPEIA, ANDROMEDAS MOTHER, OR PEGASUS, THE WINGED HORSE BELONGING TO
HER RESCUER, PERSEUS.
DEAN: OK, WE HAVE OUR SKIES SET UP FOR JUST AFTER
SUNSET, ANYTIME THIS WEEK,
FACING EAST.
HIGH IN THE EASTERN SKY YOU'LL SEE THE FOUR BRIGHT STARS THAT FORM THE GREAT SQUARE
OF PEGASUS.
STARTING AT THE UPPER RIGHT AND TRAVELING COUNTER-CLOCKWISE
WE HAVE MARKAB, SHE-OTT, ALPHERATZ
AND ALGENIB.
JAMES: PEGASUS SHARES A COMMON STAR WITH ANDROMEDA.
THAT STAR IS ALPHERATZ.
ALPHERATZ -- (ALSO KNOWN BY ITS BAYER DESIGNATION AS ALPHA
ANDROMEDAE) -- MARKS THE HEAD OF ANDROMEDA, AND IS A BINARY STAR SYSTEM 97 LIGHT YEARS
FROM EARTH.
DEAN: TO FIND ANDROMEDAS FOOT, YOU CAN USE THE STARS
FROM THE CONSTELLATION OF HER MOTHER, CASSIOPEIA.
LOOK TO THE LEFT OF THE GREAT SQUARE OF PEGASUS AND YOU'LL
SEE A W-SHAPED CONSTELLATION OF 5 BRIGHT STARS.
THIS IS CASSIOPEIA.
THE STARS FROM RIGHT TO LEFT ARE: CAPH, SHEDAR, TSIH, RUCHBAH AND SEGIN.
JAMES: BY DRAWING A STRAIGHT LINE FROM CAPH THROUGH
SHEDAR, YOULL RUN SMACK DAB INTO ANDROMEDAS FOOT,
MARKED BY THE STAR ALMACH.
ALMACH IS A QUADRUPLE STAR SYSTEM 350 LIGHT YEARS AWAY FROM EARTH AND IS THE THIRD BRIGHTEST
STAR IN THE CONSTELLATION ANDROMEDA.
JAMES: BETWEEN ANDROMEDAS FOOT AND ANDROMEDAS HEAD,
WE HAVE YET ANOTHER STAR.
THIS ONE IS THE SECOND BRIGHTEST STAR IN ANDROMEDA AND
IS NAMED MIRACH.
DEAN: MIRACH IS A RED GIANT STAR OVER 197 LIGHT
YEARS FROM US, AND ITS OVER 100 TIMES THE RADIUS OF OUR SUN AND ALMOST 2000 TIMES
AS BRIGHT!
JAMES: JUST UP AND TO THE LEFT OF MIRACH, YOU MIGHT
BE ABLE TO SPOT THE FURTHEST OBJECT WE CAN SEE WITH THE
NAKED EYE.
THE EVER POPULAR AND LOVELY ANDROMEDA GALAXY!
IN THE MESSIER CATALOG OF DEEP SKY OBJECTS, ITS CALLED M-31.
DEAN: IT TAKES A LITTLE EFFORT TO FIND THE ANDROMEDA
GALAXY AND YOU HAVE TO BE FAR AWAY FROM CITY LIGHTS ON A CLEAR MOONLESS NIGHT.
HOWEVER TO MAKE IT A BIT EASIER, YOU CAN ALSO USE THE STARS FROM
CASSIOPEIA TO HELP FIND IT.
IF YOU USE CASSIOPEIA AND DRAW A STRAIGHT LINE FROM SEGIN THROUGH RUCHBAH AND STOP WHEN
YOU GET CLOSE TO MIRACH, YOULL BE IN THE NEIGHBOR HOOD OF THE ANDROMEDA
GALAXY.
JAMES: YOU WILL SEE A FAINT CLOUD WHICH, THROUGH
A PAIR OF BINOCULARS, WILL LOOK EVEN MORE CLOUD-LIKE.
HOWEVER, IT ISNT A CLOUD.
ITS A GIGANTIC SPIRAL GALAXY, CONTAINING A TRILLION STARS AND IS VERY SIMILAR IN STRUCTURE
TO OUR OWN MILKY WAY GALAXY, AND BELIEVE IT OR NOT,
ITS HEADING STRAIGHT FOR US!
DEAN: DONT WORRY ABOUT IT COLLIDING WITH US IN OUR
LIFETIME THOUGH.
ALTHOUGH THE ANDROMEDA GALAXY IS TRAVELING AT ALMOST
68 MILES PER SECOND TOWARDS US, ITS INCREDIBLY FAR AWAY AND WILL TAKE ALMOST
5 BILLION YEARS TO GET HERE.
JAMES: THE ANDROMEDA GALAXY IS SO INCREDIBLY FAR
AWAY THAT EVEN THOUGH LIGHT TRAVELS OVER 186,000 MILES PER SECOND, IT STILL TAKES
2 1/2 MILLION YEARS FOR THE LIGHT OF THE ANDROMEDA GALAXY TO REACH US.
WOW!
JAMES: SO THERE YOU HAVE IT; THE CONSTELLATION, ANDROMEDA.
DEAN: A PATTERN OF STARS WITH AN ELABORATE STORY
AND AN EVEN MORE AMAZING GALAXY CONTAINED WITHIN.
JAMES: AND ITS ALL THERE WAITING FOR YOU TO SEE,
WHEN YOU REMEMBER TO…
BOTH: KEEP LOOKING UP!