STAR GAZER
THE INTERNATIONAL EDITION

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Tuesday 5/20/08 1000 to 1100
Includes episodes 0822, 0823, 0824, 0825, 0826

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STAR GAZER

Episode # 08-25 / 1594th Show

To Be Aired : Monday 6/23/2008 through Sunday 6/29/2008

"A Sky Full Of Wonders For Your 4th of July
Independence Day Week"

Horkheimer: Greetings, greetings fellow star gazers. And have we ever got some sky goodies for you not only for the night of the 4th of July but also all next week: the Moon, two planets and a great star just after sunset before the fireworks begin and shortly after midnight the outrageous beauty of the milky way. Let me show you.

We've got our skies set up for next Tuesday July 1st just after dark around 9:30 p.m. Facing due west where you will see three lovely lights just above the horizon: the blue white star Regulus which marks the heart of Leo the Lion and just above it extremely close visually, rouge gold planet Mars. And up to their left the yellowish ringed planet Saturn. I strongly recommend that if you have a small telescope to look at Saturn because its rings never fail to amaze. 24 hours later on Wednesday July 2nd you will notice that Mars has moved a bit farther away from Regulus. And 24 hours later on July 3rd even farther away. But ta da! 24 hours later on Friday night the 4th of July all three will appear equally spaced from one another and in a straight line. And if you have a really clear flat horizon you may see a two day old crescent Moon making its appearance.

But the best is yet to come because on Saturday July 5th a 3 day old crescent Moon complete with earthshine, which will look like a dark full Moon nestled within the crescent, will have moved into such a position that it, Regulus and Mars will appear all lined up in a row and you could even shoot an imaginary straight line through them. Wow! Once again ­ July 1st, July 2nd, July 3rd, July 4th and July 5th. So Independence Day weekend you've got something to see before the fireworks begin but after the fireworks are over you'll also be able to see something absolutely spectacular because there'll be no moonlight out to wipe this wondrous phenomenon from view.

Simply go out between midnight and 1 a.m. and if you're far from city lights you will see a wondrous ribbon of light stretched from the northeast horizon to almost overhead and back down all the way to the southern horizon. It is called the Milky Way and every 4th of July between midnight and 1 a.m. it is stretched across the sky from horizon to horizon. But to see it there can be no moonlight, which is the case this year and you should be as far away from city lights as possible. The Milky Way is the combined light of billions of stars so far away that all their light fuzzes together in a blur. And when we look at it we are actually looking at the plane of our local family of two hundred billion stars, which we call our Milky Way Galaxy. Wow again! So there you have it! Four fabulous objects just after sunset next week and just after midnight the incredible wonder of the Milky Way. Keep looking up!

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"Jack Horkheimer : Star Gazer" is underwritten by a grant from
Noven Pharmaceuticals
Committed to expanding the universe of transdermal drug delivery for the benefit of patients and partners.

"Star Gazer" is available for downloading
with Quicktime as well as RealPlayer streaming video.

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"A Sky Full Of Wonders For Your 4th of July
Independence Day Week"

Horkheimer: This 4th of July weekend you can see two planets and a great star plus the wonderful Milky Way. On Friday night July 4th just after dark face west and you'll see four objects in a row: a crescent Moon, Leo's bright star Regulus, rouge gold Mars and yellowish Saturn. On Saturday the 5th an even bigger crescent Moon will make for a straight four-in-a-row lineup. Wow! Then after midnight because there'll be no Moon out, if you're far from city lights you'll see a wondrous ribbon of light stretched across the sky from north to south. It is called the Milky Way and is the combined light of the billions of stars, which make up our Milky Way galaxy. Have a fabulous 4th and keep looking up!

How did you like this episode?
Please give us your comments. (Click Here)

For GRAPHICS for this script (Click) Here

"Jack Horkheimer : Star Gazer" is underwritten by a grant from
Noven Pharmaceuticals
Committed to expanding the universe of transdermal drug delivery for the benefit of patients and partners.

* This week's Sky At A Glance and Planet Roundup from Sky & Telescope.

Starry Night Deluxe was used to produce this episode of Star Gazer

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