STAR HUSTLER
THE INTERNATIONAL EDITION
STAR HUSTLER is seen nationally on most PBS stations. If it is not currently
on your PBS station we suggest you contact your local PBS programming director
and let them know it is available free to all PBS stations. You may take
a months worth of STAR HUSTLER off satellite for personal use, classroom
use, astronomy club use, etc.
1004th Show
To Be Aired : Monday 3/3/97 through Sunday 3/9/97
Horkheimer: Greetings, greetings, fellow star gazers, and in case you think
the title of this episode is a little over-stated, believe me, according
to star gazers all around the world it's actually under-hyped, because this
month is going to be one of the best months you'll ever see for star gazing.
I mean we have what may be the brightest comet in decades all month long,
the red planet Mars at its closest and brightest starting the week of St.
Patrick's day, and an almost but not quite total eclipse of the Moon on
March 23rd...just for starters. I'll give you all the nitty gritty on Mars
next week and the following week pointers on how to observe the lunar eclipse.
But this week let's zero in on Comet Hale-Bopp which has been visible to
the naked eye for over two months and which is getting brighter and brighter
as it races closer and closer to planet Earth. Now the reason Comet Hale-Bopp
may be the best comet in decades is because it was so bright when it was
discovered back in July of '95 by two amateurs named Hale and Bopp. Indeed,
just a few days after its discovery, astronomers realized that it was over
a thousand times brighter than Halley's Comet was at the same distance.
And that we'd be able to track it telescopically until it reached its brightest
and closest almost 2 years later, which is this month, March 1997. In fact,
we've been watching it since long before last year's wonderful Comet Hyakutake
was even discovered. And although Hale-Bopp won't look as big as last year's
Hyakutake , it will indeed be brighter...perhaps the brightest comet in
decades. So if you haven't started your Comet Hale-Bopp watch already, do
so now. The best time to see it this week is to go outside between 5 and
6 a.m. and look east-northeast where you'll see the 3 bright stars of the
Summer Triangle. Then if you look just below Deneb, the bright tail star
of Cygnus the Swan, there you'll see Comet Hale-Bopp. To see it best, and
both of its multi-million mile long tails, you should of course, be as far
away from city lights and any artificial lighting as possible. And to see
detail in its tails use binoculars. Now if you go out every morning this
week you'll notice that Hale-Bopp changes its position from night to night
as it moves towards the "W" shaped constellation Cassiopeia to
the north. You should also be able to notice a subtle change in its brightness
day after day. At the beginning of this week Hale-Bopp is 134 million miles
away from Earth but by the end of this week it will have raced an incredible
6 million miles closer. And if you want daily Hale-Bopp updates please contact
our web site at www.starhustler.com and we'll provide you with the very
best comet links along with all the scripts for this month's "Star
Hustler" episodes. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. I mean a brilliant
comet all month long, Mars at its brightest in over two years, and a fabulous
eclipse of the Moon. It would be almost criminal not to Keep Looking Up!
* This week's Sky At A Glance and Planet
Roundup from Sky & Telescope.
This week's Sky At A Glance displays current week only.
To Be Aired : Monday3/10/97 thru Sunday 3/16/97
Horkheimer: Greetings, greetings, fellow star gazers, and if you haven't
seen it yet, please start looking for it now because Comet Hale-Bopp is
visible in both early evening and early morning skies and just waiting for
you as it races toward its closest approach to Earth which will be next
week, Saturday the 22nd. And is it ever bright! Here's how to find it and
see it at its best: it will be higher up off the horizon and visible for
a longer period of time in early morning rather than evening this week,
with no interference from moonlight so I suggest going outside around 5
A.M. And watching until it gets light out. Look northeast for the "W"
shaped group of stars called Cassiopeia and then off to its right you'll
see Comet Hale-Bopp. Now if you make special note of the bright star above
Comet Hale-Bopp, Deneb, the tail star of Cygnus the Swan, you will be able
to keep track of Hale-Bopp's movement as it silently glides closer and closer
to Cassiopeia all week long. At the beginning of this week it's 128 million
miles away from planet Earth but it will zoom 3 million miles closer by
week's end. And remember, the farther you are away from all city lights
and artificial lighting of any kind, the more of the comet's multi-million
mile long tail you'll be able to see. And use your binoculars please and
also please take your kids and your neighbor's kids out to see this wonderful
sight because we don't know when we'll see another comet as good as this
one. For daily up-dated information on Hale-Bopp contact our web site at
www.starhustler.com where we'll provide you with all the best links. And
now, although next Thursday the 20th, will be the first day of spring for
the Northern hemisphere on planet Earth, 2 days later, Saturday the 22nd
will be the first day of summer for the northern hemisphere of Mars which
means that daytime temperatures will soar to 70 degrees above zero at the
equator, attended by seasonable night time lows of -140. And you should
start looking at Mars now because on Monday, St. Patrick's day, March 17th,
Mars will be as opposition which means that it will be on a straight line
opposite the Earth from the Sun which means that as the Sun sets in the
west, Mars will rise in the east, travel across the sky all night long and
set in the west as the Sun rises in the east. It also means that next week
Mars will be at its closest and brightest in over 2 years. Indeed, only
a year ago in March of '96 Mars was 221 million miles away from us, but
next week it will be 160 million miles closer, only 61 million miles away,
and brighter than any star in the heavens except Sirius. To find it for
the rest of this month go outside about an hour or so after it gets dark
out and look east where you'll find it just below the backward question
mark and right triangle pattern of stars marking Leo the Lion. And if you've
never looked at Mars through a telescope now is the time to contact your
local amateur astronomical society for a free peek. Wow! Comet Hale-Bopp
in the morning and the red planet Mars all night! What a wonderful month
to Keep Looking Up!
* This week's Sky At A Glance and Planet
Roundup from Sky & Telescope.
This week's Sky At A Glance displays current week only.
STAR HUSTLER is seen nationally on most PBS stations. If it is not currently
on your PBS station we suggest you contact your local PBS programming director
and let them know it is available free to all PBS stations. You may take
a months worth of STAR HUSTLER off satellite for personal use, classroom
use, astronomy club use, etc.
To Be Aired : Monday 3/1797 through Sunday 3/23/97
Horkheimer: Greetings, greetings, and welcome to a celestial super week.
To begin with, Comet Hale-Bopp, which is wonderfully bright right now and
will remain so for the next 4 weeks will come closest to Earth this Saturday,
March 22nd, only 122 million miles away and this week you can see it for
a couple of hours after sunset and a couple of hours before sunrise. But
remember, to see it best get as far away from city lights as possible. To
see it in early evening go outside after sunset, look northwest and you'll
find it just below the constellation Cassiopeia which looks like a stretched
out letter "M" or"W" on its side. To see it in the morning
go out a couple of hours before sunrise and look northeast where you will
find Cassiopeia situated so that it looks like a "W" and off to
its right Hale-Bopp. And night after night watch this super comet as it
moves closer and closer to Cassiopeia. For complete daily info contact our
web site for my favorite comet links. And while you're out comet gazing
remember that Mars is at its closest and brightest in over two years this
week and you can find it easily by using the Moon as a finder this upcoming
Palm Sunday night, the 23rd when all of North America will experience a
not quite, but almost, total lunar eclipse. Let me show you: o.k., We're
facing southeast, Palm Sunday evening an hour or so after sunset where you
will see the backward question mark and right triangle-shaped pattern of
stars of Leo the Lion. Just below Leo brilliant dazzling Mars, brighter
than any star in the sky except Sirius. And just below it a beautiful full
Moon. Now at 10 P.M. Eastern Standard Time or your local equivalent is when
you should start to watch the eclipse because at that time the Moon will
slowly start drifting in to the deepest part of our Earth's curved shadow,
the umbra. And for the next hour and 40 minutes you will be able to watch
the Moon as it changes to a rusty red-yellow color. And at 11:40 P.M., Eastern
time or your local equivalent, 92% of the Moon will be covered. Then for
the next hour and 40 minutes the process will reverse as the Moon slowly
slides out of the Earth's curved shadow. Now what I want you all to watch
for is this: #1. The curvature of the Earth's shadow which is what Aristotle
used as his proof that the Earth was indeed round. #2. As the Moon gets
progressively darker watch Mars appear to get brighter. And incredibly,
at deepest eclipse, 11:40 P.M., Eastern time or your local equivalent, the
Moon will actually look the way Mars would look if Mars were only half a
million miles away. I mean the Moon will look like it actually has a polar
ice cap just like Mars. Even the coloration will be similar. Indeed, the
Moon will look like many of the pictures taken of Mars as our spacecraft
approached it. Wow! What a week. Hale-Bopp at its closest, Mars at its brightest
and an exquisite Palm Sunday eclipse of the Moon. This is the week to Keep
Looking Up!
* This week's Sky At A Glance and Planet
Roundup from Sky & Telescope.
This week's Sky At A Glance displays current week only.
STAR HUSTLER is seen nationally on most PBS stations. If it is not currently
on your PBS station we suggest you contact your local PBS programming director
and let them know it is available free to all PBS stations. You may take
a months worth of STAR HUSTLER off satellite for personal use, classroom
use, astronomy club use, etc.
To Be Aired : Monday 3/24/97 through Sunday 3/30/97
Horkheimer: Greetings, greetings, fellow star gazers, and if you haven't
seen Comet Hale-Bopp yet, for pete's sake, do so now, because we have no
idea when a comet this good will appear in Earth's skies again any time
soon. At the beginning of this week it is at its very closest to planet
Earth, only 122 million miles away. But by the end of this week it will
be 3 million miles farther away as it races toward its rendezvous with our
Sun on April 1st, April Fool's day. To find it from now through April 9th,
I suggest going out in early evening after sunset, after it gets dark out
because for the next couple of weeks you will have no moonlight to interfere
with the delicate tail structure stretching out millions of miles behind
this wonderful comet. And if you really want to see it at its very best,
remember, get as far away from city lights as possible. To find it go outside
any clear night until 10 or 11 P.M. and look toward the northwest where
you will see the constellation Cassiopeia looking like a stretched out letter
"M" or "W" on its side and just off to the side of it
... Ta Da! Comet Hale-Bopp. At the beginning of the week it will be here.
At the beginning of next week, March 31st, it will have moved several degrees
over into Andromeda; by Monday April 7th, it will be on the outskirts of
the constellation Perseus. And, incredibly, although Comet Hale-Bopp is
now moving away from our Earth, it may nevertheless appear to grow an even
longer tail because the closer a comet comes to the Sun, the more tail it
grows. But just how much more we can't say at the time of the writing of
this show. Now the reason that Comet Hale-Bopp is such a super special comet
is because it was first seen when it was so far away. I mean most new comets
are seen just a few months before they ever visit the regions of our Earth
and Sun. But this comet was discovered over a year and a half ago which
is an extremely rare occurrence. The reason for this is simply because Hale-Bopp
is a monster humongous comet with a 25 mile wide nucleus, much larger than
last year's Comet Hyakutake which was discovered only 2 months before it
made its closest approach to Earth because its nucleus was only 1 and 1/2
miles wide. The reason it looked so wonderful in our skies is because it
came so close to us, less than 10 million miles away. Hale-Bopp's closest
approach, however, is over 122 million miles away. If indeed Hale-Bopp were
to come as close as Comet Hyakutake did, it would stretch from one end of
the horizon to the other and be visible in broad daylight. Ironically Hale-Bopp
will come as close to our Earth's orbit as Hyakutake did, a month from now
on May 6th. Unfortunately, however, our Earth won't be there when it does.
Now once again, for daily Hale-Bopp updates contact our web site at www.starhustler.com
and if you don't have a personal computer you can use one at your local
library. In the meantime, what ever you do, if you've never done it before
go outside and Keep Looking Up!
* This week's Sky At A Glance and Planet
Roundup from Sky & Telescope.
This week's Sky At A Glance displays current week only.
STAR HUSTLER is seen nationally on most PBS stations. If it is not currently
on your PBS station we suggest you contact your local PBS programming director
and let them know it is available free to all PBS stations. You may take
a months worth of STAR HUSTLER off satellite for personal use, classroom
use, astronomy club use, etc.
To Be Aired : Monday 3/31/97 through Sunday 4/6/97
Horkheimer: Greetings, greetings, fellow star gazers, and this week Comet
Hale-Bopp is at its closest point to the Sun. And since it is still at its
peak brightness you'll be able to see it any clear evening the first two
weeks of April just after Sunset. Simply go outside after it gets dark out
and look toward the north-west and you'll be able to watch Hale-Bopp as
it moves from the left of Cassiopeia through Andromeda and into Perseus.
And for daily updates contact our website at www.star hustler.com. Now although
at the time of writing this episode I can't tell you precisely how bright
Comet Hale-Bopp will be, I can nevertheless give you some pretty good insights
into what we do know about Hale-Bopp. Because like all comets, most of Hale-Bopp's
lifetime has been shrouded in total darkness and secrecy. You see, our entire
solar system is surrounded by a family of trillions of comets. And all these
Comets, like Hale-Bopp, are nothing more than frozen celestial icebergs
varying in size from just a few yards across to a few miles across. Only
when one of these comets bumps into another one or other circumstances knock
it out of the great comet iceberg family do we ever have a chance to see
one. Indeed millions of years ago when Comet Hale-Bopp consisted of nothing
more than a coal black 25-mile wide chunk of frozen gas, dust and rock,
it was accidentally knocked out of the comet family and started its long
journey toward our Sun. And like all comets that get knocked out of the
comet cloud, it is only when one of these dark cosmic icebergs gets close
enough to the Sun, that the Sun's forces change it into the beautiful and
wonderful things we call comets. 99.9% of all comets never, ever see the
light of day but remain pitch black frozen chunks stranded forever in the
depths of space. Only a handful like Hale-Bopp, ever get close enough to
the Sun to have the Sun work its metamorphosing magic on it. Indeed, how
many millions of years ago Comet Hale-Bopp was knocked out of the comet
cloud we'll never know. It travelled silently and darkly for millions of
years before it was captured by our Sun and forced into an orbit which brings
it back to our Earth every few thousand years. And, once again, Comet Hale-Bopp
has returned to Earth's skies and for a brief moment, like a butterfly emerging
from a cocoon, this 25-mile wide celestial iceberg will be enveloped by
a brilliant cosmic cloud as big as the Sun itself and will flaunt a spectacular
tail millions of miles long. Then after it rounds the Sun, which is happening
this very week, it will head back out into space and slowly return to its
former tiny dark self until its next visit thousands of years in the future.
Out of the trillions of comets that exist on the fringes of the solar system
Hale-Bopp is one of the lucky ones, one of the few that ever come close
enough to the Sun to present a spectacle to those creatures who inhabit
the third planet - planet Earth. Indeed, the last time human beings saw
Hale-Bopp in all its wonder overhead, the pyramids were still brand new
and what humanity will be like when it returns once again no wise man would
venture to tell. So seize the moment and the comet which is simple if you
Keep Looking Up!
* This week's Sky At A Glance and Planet
Roundup from Sky & Telescope.
This week's Sky At A Glance displays current week only.
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