STAR HUSTLER
THE INTERNATIONAL EDITION
1039th Show
To Be Aired : Monday 11/3/97 through Sunday 11/9/97
Greetings! Greetings! Fellow stargazers and would
you believe 21 years ago this week "Star Hustler" began. Would
you also believe that after 21 years "Star Hustler" this week
ends. But only in a sense because it's going to be reborn in next week's
episode with a new look and a new name, "Jack Horkheimer : Star Gazer".
The reason for the change is quite simple, you see our show has evolved
over the years and the word 'Hustler' quite frankly doesn't mean exactly
what it did 21 years ago. So for this final episode of "Star Hustler"
I've decided to retell a story I told many years ago which embodies the
very essence of this show and that is: Make the stars your own. Let me show
you: O.K. , we've got our skies set up so that we're facing due North any
night during any November between 8 and 10 P.M. where we can see 5 stars
above the North Star which, if we draw lines between them, look like a squashed-out
letter 'M'. The ancient Greeks pictured a stick figure of a chair here,
the throne of Queen Cassiopeia of ancient Ethiopia. And although we still
use the Greek name of this constellation Cassiopeia, different cultures
have had different names for these stars and all the other stars you see
in the heavens. And in fact if you look at the stars often enough and long
enough you will probably invent some of your own constellations, star patterns
you can call your own. Indeed, Cassiopeia is a star pattern I made my own
a long time ago because she always reminds me that if it hadn't been for
someone special my love for the stars might have passed with my youth. She
ran a weekly newspaper in the small town of Randolph, Wisconsin where I
grew up and she was the most insatiably curious person I've ever known.
One night when I was a young man she looked up and said, "You know,
I've seen those stars since I was a little girl and I've always wondered
if they have names." Well, I knew they did but I couldn't remember
so I later looked them up and for some strange reason my passion for the
stars was rekindled and my life changed forever. My friend's name was Bea
Williams and Cassiopeia always reminds me of her because when this constellation
is upside down beneath the North Star the 'M' turns into a 'W'. 'W' for
Williams. And when it's above the North Star its 'M' reminds me of Beatrice's
only child, Marie. So that night long ago I made a constellation my own.
I thought I'd tell you about this because maybe you have seen a pattern
of stars that reminds you of someone or something special and to tell you
not to feel foolish if you want to make and name a star pattern of your
own. It's a wonderful way to connect with the cosmos. And whatever happened
to my two friends? Well, Bea died at the age of 91 almost a dozen years
ago, just before I wrote the original of this episode. Marie, however, is
still a very good friend of mine and is alive and well and kicking. And
like you and me, thankful for the gift of stars and knowing how wonderful
it is to Keep Looking Up!
For graphics for this script (Click) Here
* This week's Sky At A Glance and Planet Roundup from Sky
& Telescope.
This week's Sky At A Glance displays current week only.
1040th Show
To Be Aired : Monday 11/10/97 through Sunday 11/16/97
Horkheimer: Greetings, Greetings fellow stargazers
and you know one of the things I always like about Autumn skies is that
in early evening the Big Dipper's position high above the North Star is
replaced by that of a most fascinating ancient constellation, Cassiopeia.
Let me show you : O.K., if you go out any night this week and next around
9 p.m. you will see the 5 bright stars of Cassiopeia which, if we connect
with imaginary lines, trace out the letter 'M'. But, you might well ask,
how could anyone imagine seeing a queen in this simple 'M' shape? Well,
two thousand plus years ago the ancient Greeks had no problem identifying
this modern 'M' as the queen named Cassiopeia. And if we speed up time
a few hours to about 6 a.m., you can understand how our ancestors imagined
a queen here. What they saw was a queen on her throne. Indeed, if we use
one extra star in this constellation and draw lines between it and the middle
star of the 'M' we have the seat of a throne. The two stars above it make
up the back of the throne and two additional lines make up the legs of the
throne. And all you have to do is imagine someone like a great queen sitting
in it. But as everyone knows, because our Earth turns on its axis every
24 hours the stars change their positions in the sky, circling endlessly
around the North Star and at 6 a.m. any morning this week, Queen Cassiopeia
sits upright and very nicely on her throne. But as the hours go by she slowly
wheels around the North Star even as the Earth turns during the day, so
that by evening time once again Cassiopeia would have to be wearing an extra
strong seat and shoulder belt to keep her from falling off her queenly throne.
But why, you might ask, would would our ancestors want to see a favorite
queen of theirs, reputed to the most beautiful woman of her time, in such
a precarious position? and it is precisely because of this ever changing
position of Cassiopeia's throne that she was placed in the sky in the first
place. You see Cassiopeia was placed in the heavens as on object lesson
against personal vanity. 20 centuries ago the story was told that Cassiopeia
was not only extremely beautiful, but extremely vain and that 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. Well, they complained to their father, Poseidon, the god
of the Seas, and it is said that among the punishments he rendered the royal
family he condemned Queen Cassiopeia to ride endlessly around the North
Star on her throne, sometimes comfortably right side up and frequently positioned
where she'd have to hang on for dear life, as a punishment and an object
lesson on the perils of human vanity. And ever since mere mortals have known
that physical beauty always comes with a price. But at my time of life I
don't have to worry about that. I just revel in the beauty of the night
sky as I Keep Looking Up!
For graphics for this script (Click) Here
* This week's Sky At A Glance and Planet
Roundup from Sky & Telescope.
This week's Sky At A Glance displays current week only.
1041st Show
To Be Aired : Monday 11/17/97 through Sunday 11/23/97
Horkheimer: Greetings, greetings, fellow star gazers,
and once again it's that time of year when in early evening you can see
one of the most famous and beloved star clusters of them all, The Pleiades,
better known as The Seven Sisters. But how many of you know that there are
two additional star clusters, twin clusters so to speak, side by side just
a short visual distance away. Let me show you: O.K., we've got our skies
set up for this week and next around 9 p.m. or so, your local time. And
if you look high up off the eastern horizon you will see what looks like
an exquisite tiny little dipper shaped cluster of stars, the exquisite Seven
Sisters. Now most people can see only 6 stars here with the naked eye, but
really good eyes under ideal conditions can see seven. With a pair of binoculars
you can see several dozen. In reality however, there are 250 stars here,
all much larger than our own Sun, burning much much hotter. And cosmically
speaking, not very distant, only 400 light years away which means that we
see the Pleiades not as they exist now, but as they existed 400 years ago,
before Galileo ever trained a telescope on them and discovered them to be
a family of dozens of suns. Now to find the twin clusters which officially
belong to the constellation Perseus, first look directly above the North
Star where you will see the 5 stars that trace out the 'M'-shaped constellation
of Cassiopeia the Queen. Then just to the right of Cassiopeia you will see
two faint fuzzy Q-Tip like objects and if you are far away from city lights
where it's good and dark out you will notice that they are embedded in the
river of light we call The Milky Way. Now these two dim fuzzy balls are
called The Double Cluster of Perseus and although each has about 100 more
stars than the Pleiades, about 300, the reason they don't present as dramatic
an appearance as the Pleiades is because they are so much farther away.
In fact, unlike the Pleiades' 400 light years distance, they are a grand
7000 light years away which means we see them not as they exist now but
as they existed 7 thousands years ago. However, like the Pleiades, they
too consist of super-hot blue-white stars. Although with a pair of binoculars
you may be able to detect a few much cooler red ones. And speaking of binoculars,
if you have never looked at the Pleiades with a pair of binoculars, please
do so now. And while you're at it also look at the twin clusters of Perseus.
All three clusters are a sight you'll never forget. And imagine, if you
can, what the twin clusters of Perseus would look like if they could be
be magically positioned in our skies as close as The Seven Sisters are.
Wow! What a dazzling sight they'd be! But, they're wonderful just as they
are. So go out and see them sometime this week or next, their 7 thousand
year old light greeting us after a 7 thousand year journey through space.
How wonderful it is to Keep Looking Up!
For graphics for this script (Click) Here
* This week's Sky At A Glance and Planet
Roundup from Sky & Telescope.
This week's Sky At A Glance displays current week only.
1042nd Show
To Be Aired : Monday 11/24/97 through Sunday 11/30/97
Horkheimer: Greetings, greetings, fellow star gazers, and something quite extraordinary is happening this week and next, something which you absolutely don't want to miss. And since a lot of you will undoubtedly be gathered together as families Thanksgiving night you might want to make a point of going outside just after the Sun sets to give thanks for one of the most extraordinary gatherings of the planets you'll ever see. Indeed, this week and next, you will be able to see all of the visible naked-eye planets in the sky at the same time, and all the other planets visible only in binoculars or telescopes will also be in the same area of the heavens. Let me show you : O.K., we've got our skies set up for any clear night the next two weeks and if you go outside just after sunset and look southwest, there lined up almost like celestial pearls on a string you will see, closest to the horizon, the first planet out from the Sun, Mercury. And just above it, up to its left, the fourth planet out from the Sun, Mars; and up to Mars' left, out-dazzling everything in the night sky, the second planet from the Sun, Venus. And up and to its left the king of them all, the fifth planet Jupiter. And way over to the Southeast, the last naked eye planet, Saturn. Now if you have a pair of binoculars, just above Venus you will see bluish-green Neptune and half way between Venus and Jupiter, bluish-green Uranus. And finally the last of the known planets, the one with the wildest and most eccentric orbit of them all, thus not lined up with the rest like pearls on a string, Pluto, far to the right of Mercury, requiring a rather hefty telescope for identification. Now believe me when I say that this kind of gathering of the planets all in the sky at the same time together just doesn't happen very often. And if you want to get a good look at Mercury I suggest you try to find it this week because after this week it will rapidly fall back into the Sun's glare. O.K., once again : just after sunset, looking southwest, 3 thousand mile wide Mercury; 4 thousand mile wide Mars; 8 thousand mile wide Venus; 30 thousand mile wide Neptune; 32 thousand mile wide Uranus and 88 thousand mile wide Jupiter; and in the southeast, 75 thousand mile wide Saturn. And if you still need further help in identifying them, go out Monday night, December 1st just as it starts to get dark out and you will see a slender sliver of a Moon just to the right of Mercury. Tuesday night the 2nd you will see a slightly fatter Moon just to the right of Mars and on Wednesday night the 3rd, an exquisite slender Moon will hover directly above Venus. On Thursday the 4th, the Moon will be just to the right of Jupiter. And four nights later on Monday, December 8th, the Moon will almost slam into Saturn when it will be less than 1 degree away from it. So there you have it, a most extraordinary gathering of all the 9 planets in the heavens at the same time... a sight to be thankful for this Thanksgiving week as you Keep Looking Up!
For graphics for this script (Click) Here
* 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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