WEBVTT

NOTE Episode: The Night Sky Podcast - Episode 74
NOTE Host: Billy Newman
NOTE Support: https://wnp-pay.web.app

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<v Billy Newman>Welcome to The Night Sky Podcast. Astronomy guides, seasonal constellation tracking, planetary observations, and deep sky astrophotography.

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<v Billy Newman>to be talking really just about mars right now it's uh it's at its brightest i think it's for

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<v Billy Newman>the next four days or so it's going to be at its very brightest that uh that we'll be able to see

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<v Billy Newman>it and that's because we're passing a point where mars has been in opposition and now it's at its

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<v Billy Newman>closest point or i think it's brightest point to earth its highest magnitude in the series and

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<v Billy Newman>so we thought that was a good point to uh to bring up and to talk about and to do kind of an

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<v Billy Newman>episode that's all about um the motion of mars that people have been seeing and that we've been

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<v Billy Newman>observing um through the night sky over the past month and then what motion is going to continue

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<v Billy Newman>for the next month it's cool how we can kind of forecast it and how it's so you know lockstep

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<v Billy Newman>and the amount of time that it takes to do these certain types of motions and patterns that have

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<v Billy Newman>been observed for hundreds of years thousands of years now yeah it's really interesting how we're

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<v Billy Newman>able to uh predict it really to the day yeah mark on your calendar yeah it's out it's really it's

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<v Billy Newman>really specific the timing of uh of these progressions and they don't seem to be that

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<v Billy Newman>random um what i understand is um is yeah if you've been looking up in the night sky and if you've been

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<v Billy Newman>listening to uh us um talk on and on about mars's upcoming retrograde motion in the spring i think we

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<v Billy Newman>talked about it even our first episode we have made it to that day in the year and it's pretty

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<v Billy Newman>exciting mars is at its very brightest it was at its brightest last night i think at 2 a.m or

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<v Billy Newman>something might be what it says but but effectively what i understood is that really for for the whole

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<v Billy Newman>week-long period surrounding it it's effectively the same brightness that's what i was reading also

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<v Billy Newman>for the next week or so it's supposed to be in about the same position yeah that's that's a bit of

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<v Billy Newman>what i understood also um and it's really exciting so so on june 20th is when mars passed its point of

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<v Billy Newman>opposition which is when it would rise on the horizon line as the sun is setting did i say june yeah i'm

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<v Billy Newman>sorry i'm thinking in in uh the future already uh yeah may 30th was the date that mars was at its

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<v Billy Newman>brightest may 20th was the date that mars was at opposition to us so it was like a little bit

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<v Billy Newman>different right and i'm not sure quite how that goes i think just because it's in retrograde

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<v Billy Newman>right now that the the brightest the brightest moment might be different than the point that it's

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<v Billy Newman>or the closest that mars will get to us and its path might be different than the point that it's

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<v Billy Newman>an opposition right i don't totally understand that part of its motion it's kind of interesting

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<v Billy Newman>um but it's really exciting though and we had a great time we offer memorial day weekend

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<v Billy Newman>and that's the fortunate thing about this is see a lot of the times maybe one of these retrograde

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<v Billy Newman>motions might happen in the winter you know when it's not uh really something that we can observe

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<v Billy Newman>very well but right now we have the very beginning of summertime really in the northwest um at the start

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<v Billy Newman>of memorial day weekend you can go out and you can look up into scorpio and a technically libra

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<v Billy Newman>when we look up at mars and see you know a really bright object in the sky that really outshines

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<v Billy Newman>most other things around it there's saturn right next to it which is also quite bright but mars is

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<v Billy Newman>definitely magnitudes more bright or more significant in the sky and then jupiter uh you

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<v Billy Newman>know is a few constellations away but it's still really a strong uh element in that part of the sky

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<v Billy Newman>it is it's amazing how bright mars is isn't it it really jumps out yeah you notice it and it really

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<v Billy Newman>lights the sky with all three of these planets these bright planets up in the sky right now

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<v Billy Newman>when we were out in eastern oregon we could really see how lit the sky was and how much

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<v Billy Newman>contrast or silhouetting we could see from the mountains in the distance

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<v Billy Newman>yeah it's really interesting and if you were to imagine a real dark night we wouldn't really be

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<v Billy Newman>able to see that sort of stuff but what we can see is a contrast just from the light cast in the sky

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<v Billy Newman>by the stars which i always think is a really cool part of it yeah i thought it was really cool too

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<v Billy Newman>because we didn't have the moon up for a long time but it was very bright between or the after

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<v Billy Newman>after sunset and it got yeah yeah the moon uh the moon is past its full point it's going back down

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<v Billy Newman>to a new moon i think in the next few days and i think it was coming up in aquarius sometime

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<v Billy Newman>around 2 or 3 a.m and so that means that we had really dark skies for the whole first segment of

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<v Billy Newman>the night and in that location in oregon that dark sky is really great a dark clear sky is is just a

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<v Billy Newman>really interesting um thing out there because you there's so little light pollution that you can

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<v Billy Newman>really make out so many more things or so many more um fine details in the constellations that you're

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<v Billy Newman>not not able to see yeah and uh and like the light pollution of city limits as it goes it's really

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<v Billy Newman>very different isn't it actually hard it's hard if you're used to looking at constellations

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<v Billy Newman>from your city there's uh there's a lot less in the sky that you really are able to pick up on

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<v Billy Newman>and then i was really noticing it on our camping trip there are just so many more layers that you

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<v Billy Newman>can see of the stars and there's just a lot more in the constellation that you're yeah than you're

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<v Billy Newman>really used to looking at or than i'm really used to looking at yeah and you kind of have to

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<v Billy Newman>refine yourself i think that's really true and it's interesting how that is i think as your your

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<v Billy Newman>mind kind of creates the the familiarity of the the shape or the landmark that you're looking for

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<v Billy Newman>and you know the the conversation about light pollution is sort of interesting too because

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<v Billy Newman>there are a few factors in it and a few of them aren't really based on light pollution per se but

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<v Billy Newman>really more of atmospheric condition that you're in that keeps you from seeing the the bright crisps part

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<v Billy Newman>of the stars you know i think about um about people living on the coast a lot or at low elevations

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<v Billy Newman>sea level let's say you really get dimmer stars or a dimmer view of things in that area i uh which i'm

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<v Billy Newman>not quite sure of the reason a lot of the time but it isn't always necessarily due to light pollution

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<v Billy Newman>but like what we get out in the mountains when we're really quite far away from a lot of

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<v Billy Newman>highly doubt that you know which one of the time has a vantage point in the phase that's been

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<v Billy Newman>the case and being global and so it must be a little bit more positive but i think i don't think i'm not

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<v Billy Newman>Hercules. The constellation Hercules is the hero. And we kind of know Hercules from Greek

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<v Billy Newman>pathology. Most people get taught that story through time. Hercules is a cool one. It's a

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<v Billy Newman>good constellation. It's sort of an H shape in the sky. It seems to be kind of high up near the

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<v Billy Newman>zenith as one of the summer constellations. It sort of comes up early in the summertime and sort

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<v Billy Newman>of hangs in the sky for a good bit through the season and then falls off pretty late in the fall,

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<v Billy Newman>you know, kind of with its location and stuff. So Hercules is a cool one to get to go out and spot

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<v Billy Newman>pretty easy with a lot of the North American summertime stuff that we got up here. So I

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<v Billy Newman>think it's like, you know, if you're looking at like the summer triangle, like Vega and Deneb

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<v Billy Newman>and Altair, sort of that band of the Milky Way would be west of that. It would have risen before

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<v Billy Newman>then. So it'd be kind of up above there as you're kind of moving up toward the Corona Borealis

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<v Billy Newman>and then over a little further west from there up between like Arcturus and Bootes and then

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<v Billy Newman>the Corona Borealis and like Hercules and then like as you're kind of getting into

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<v Billy Newman>Lyra and Vega and the Milky Way stuff over there. But yeah, Hercules, cool constellation to check out.

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<v Billy Newman>A couple stars in there, a couple star names that we should check out real quick. I think we're

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<v Billy Newman>looking at Sarin, one of the stars kind of near the lower end of Hercules and then Cornophoros.

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<v Billy Newman>Cornophoros, I think is the name of it. And Maseum or Maseum. I'm not really sure exactly the

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<v Billy Newman>pronunciations, but yeah, Sarin kind of near the lower end. That's a brighter one. Cornophoros

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<v Billy Newman>and Maseum. Maseum. It's kind of cool. I like those. But yeah, Hercules has always been a

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<v Billy Newman>pretty cool constellation to get to check out. Hercules is a constellation that is named after

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<v Billy Newman>Hercules, the Roman mythological hero adapted from the Greek hero Heracles. Oh, okay. I'm sure it was

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<v Billy Newman>Roman. Hercules was one of the 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy, and it remains as one of the

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<v Billy Newman>88 modern constellations. It's the fifth largest of the modern constellations. The constellation was

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<v Billy Newman>not always identified as Hercules. In earlier times, for example, an alternative Greek name was

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<v Billy Newman>Ngocian. Ngocian? Ngocian. Ngocian. Ngocian, meaning on his knees or the kneeler. Hercules is no

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<v Billy Newman>first or second magnitude stars. However, it does have several stars above magnitude four. Alpha

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<v Billy Newman>Hercules, traditionally called Rosalgethi. Rosalgethi is a binary star resolvable in a small amateur

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<v Billy Newman>telescope. 400 light years from Earth. Man, that's a long way. The primary is an irregular

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<v Billy Newman>variable star. It is a red giant with a minimum magnitude of four and a maximum magnitude of three.

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<v Billy Newman>That's a big shift. A four to a three is a pretty strong variable magnitude. It has a diameter of 400

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<v Billy Newman>solar diameters. So that's 400 times the solar diameter of our sun. That's huge.

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<v Billy Newman>The secondary, which orbits every 3,600 years, is a blue-green-hued star of a magnitude 5.4.

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<v Billy Newman>Its common name means the kneeler's head. Beta Hercules, also known as Cornophoros, like we were

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<v Billy Newman>the brightest star in Hercules. It is a yellow giant of a magnitude 2.8, 140 light years from Earth, and its

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<v Billy Newman>traditional name means club bearer. So I guess Hercules is out there running around with a club.

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<v Billy Newman>Cornophoros. Cornophoros is club bearer. Hercules contains two bright globular clusters, M13, and

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<v Billy Newman>the brightest globular cluster in the northern hemisphere. And then it also contains M92.

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<v Billy Newman>It contains nearly spherical... What does it say? It also contains the nearly spherical planetary nebula,

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<v Billy Newman>Abel 39. Oh. Nearly spherical planetary nebula, Abel 39. Wow. M13 lies between the stars

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<v Billy Newman>in Hercules. It's dim, but it also can be detected by the unaided eye on a very clear night.

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<v Billy Newman>Interesting. M13 can be seen with the unaided eye. That's kind of cool. And yeah, there's probably

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<v Billy Newman>some parts of the sky that can get dark enough to kind of view that stuff. A lot of times, well,

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<v Billy Newman>you know, Hercules is in a good spot where it kind of rises up to the position of the zenith. So

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<v Billy Newman>if you do have clear skies and it's dark out, you can probably get a good observation of some of the

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<v Billy Newman>stuff in the constellation of Hercules. So yeah, some of the information about Hercules, the hero,

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<v Billy Newman>the club bearer, the constellation in the summertime, Hercules.

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<v Billy Newman>The constellation Antilla.

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<v Billy Newman>Antilla maybe is what I've seen.

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<v Billy Newman>Maybe it's what I've not.

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<v Billy Newman>I think it's a constellation that's part of the southern sky.

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<v Billy Newman>Look in here.

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<v Billy Newman>It says Antilla from ancient Greek is a constellation in the southern sky.

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<v Billy Newman>Its name means pump.

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<v Billy Newman>Antilla the pump.

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<v Billy Newman>And it specifically represents an air pump.

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<v Billy Newman>I think I know what this is.

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<v Billy Newman>I've seen these.

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<v Billy Newman>It's like all these modern inventions that kind of threw up as constellations.

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<v Billy Newman>But I don't know.

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<v Billy Newman>It's Greek.

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<v Billy Newman>It's probably an old one, right?

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<v Billy Newman>The stars comprising Antilla are faint.

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<v Billy Newman>And the constellation was not created until the 18th century.

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<v Billy Newman>I knew it.

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<v Billy Newman>Beginning at the north, Antilla is bordered by Hydra, the sea snake.

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<v Billy Newman>Pyxis, the compass.

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<v Billy Newman>Vela, the sails.

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<v Billy Newman>And Centaurus, the centaur.

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<v Billy Newman>This group of constellations is prominent in the southern sky in late winter and spring.

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<v Billy Newman>NGC 2997, a spiral galaxy.

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<v Billy Newman>And the Antilla dwarf galaxy lie within Antilla's borders.

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<v Billy Newman>Antilla was created in 1756 by French astronomer Abe Nicolas, Luis de la Ciel, who created 14 constellations for the southern sky to fill some faint regions.

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<v Billy Newman>Through Antilla, though Antilla was technically visible to the ancient Greek astronomers, its stars were too faint to have been included in any constellations.

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<v Billy Newman>Because of this, its main stars have no particular pattern, and it is devoid of bright, deep sky objects.

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<v Billy Newman>It was originally named Antilla pneumatica in French to commemorate the air pump invented by the French physicist Denis Papin.

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<v Billy Newman>Antilla, thanks.

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<v Billy Newman>We have the air pump constellation.

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<v Billy Newman>Antilla.

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<v Billy Newman>Antilla?

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<v Billy Newman>Something like it.

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<v Billy Newman>That's a good one.

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<v Billy Newman>You're excited about that one.

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<v Billy Newman>I've never even looked at it.

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<v Billy Newman>You've never looked at it.

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<v Billy Newman>No one's ever looked at it.

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<v Billy Newman>There's a bunch of these that were made in like the, what, you know, like the mid-18th century, like it was saying.

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<v Billy Newman>I guess that guy made like 14 of them, and he just named them after kind of stupid modern inventions.

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<v Billy Newman>No classical thought at all went into that.

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<v Billy Newman>How'd they do that sort of stuff where just like one guy got to pick 14 stupid inventions, or, you know, cool inventions, but stated stuff.

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<v Billy Newman>Like if someone ended up going there now, they'd just name one of them iPhone.

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<v Billy Newman>That's not that cool.

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<v Billy Newman>Oh, this one's a Tesla.

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<v Billy Newman>Nice.

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<v Billy Newman>Good job, guy.

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<v Billy Newman>Good job, guy.

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<v Billy Newman>Produced and hosted by Billy Newman. Stargazing guides, observation logs, and support the show at wnp-pay.web.app.