WEBVTT 00:00:07.890 --> 00:00:10.669 Howdy Star Gazers and welcome to this episode 00:00:10.669 --> 00:00:14.250 of Star Trails. I'm Drew and I'll be your guide 00:00:14.250 --> 00:00:16.670 to the night sky for the week starting April 00:00:16.670 --> 00:00:20.550 the 6th through the 12th. This week we welcome 00:00:20.550 --> 00:00:23.829 another full moon. Three planets become morning 00:00:23.829 --> 00:00:28.059 risers. Hydra dominates the night sky, and we 00:00:28.059 --> 00:00:30.660 take a moment to celebrate the anniversary of 00:00:30.660 --> 00:00:34.840 the first human in space, Russia's Yuri Gagarin. 00:00:35.439 --> 00:00:38.259 So grab a comfortable spot under the night sky 00:00:38.259 --> 00:00:43.189 and let's get started. We're building up to a 00:00:43.189 --> 00:00:46.929 full moon on Saturday, April the 12th. This one 00:00:46.929 --> 00:00:50.409 is known as the pink moon. Now, despite what 00:00:50.409 --> 00:00:53.630 that name might suggest, this moon won't actually 00:00:53.630 --> 00:00:57.189 turn pink. The name comes from a North American 00:00:57.189 --> 00:01:01.170 wildflower, moss phlox, which blooms around this 00:01:01.170 --> 00:01:05.359 time each spring and has a pink hue. Ancient 00:01:05.359 --> 00:01:08.280 traditions, especially among indigenous peoples 00:01:08.280 --> 00:01:11.819 and early European settlers, gave each month's 00:01:11.819 --> 00:01:15.620 full moon a name tied to seasonal change. And 00:01:15.620 --> 00:01:19.159 April's pink moon is all about new life blossoming 00:01:19.159 --> 00:01:22.840 after winter. But this pink moon has a little 00:01:22.840 --> 00:01:27.239 twist. It's also a micro moon. That means it 00:01:27.239 --> 00:01:30.079 reaches its full phase just a day before the 00:01:30.079 --> 00:01:33.420 moon hits apogee, the farthest point in its orbit 00:01:33.420 --> 00:01:36.780 around Earth. Because it's farther away than 00:01:36.780 --> 00:01:40.120 usual, this full moon will appear slightly smaller 00:01:40.120 --> 00:01:44.680 and dimmer in the sky, about 14 % smaller than 00:01:44.680 --> 00:01:48.019 a so -called supermoon. It's a reminder that 00:01:48.019 --> 00:01:50.920 the moon's orbit isn't a perfect circle, but 00:01:50.920 --> 00:01:56.250 rather an ellipse. Now on to the planets. You'll 00:01:56.250 --> 00:01:59.409 want to grab a cup of coffee for this. In the 00:01:59.409 --> 00:02:02.230 pre -dawn hours, there's a fascinating gathering 00:02:02.230 --> 00:02:06.409 happening low in the eastern sky. Venus, Saturn, 00:02:06.709 --> 00:02:10.069 and Mercury are forming a tight celestial trio. 00:02:10.930 --> 00:02:13.729 Venus is by far the brightest, shining like a 00:02:13.729 --> 00:02:17.710 beacon before sunrise. Just nearby are Saturn 00:02:17.710 --> 00:02:20.930 and Mercury. Now here's the catch, because they're 00:02:20.930 --> 00:02:23.669 so close to the horizon and the sun is coming 00:02:23.669 --> 00:02:27.129 up fast, Mercury and Saturn will be tricky to 00:02:27.129 --> 00:02:30.830 spot. You'll need an unobstructed view of the 00:02:30.830 --> 00:02:34.830 eastern horizon, think open fields or the ocean, 00:02:35.310 --> 00:02:39.330 and a bit of luck with atmospheric clarity. Binoculars 00:02:39.330 --> 00:02:41.969 can help, but be sure the sun is fully below 00:02:41.969 --> 00:02:45.520 the horizon to avoid eye damage. If you catch 00:02:45.520 --> 00:02:48.580 them though, it should be a stunning sight, three 00:02:48.580 --> 00:02:51.460 planets clustered less than 10 degrees apart 00:02:51.460 --> 00:02:55.599 in a small corner of the sky. In the evening, 00:02:55.979 --> 00:02:58.800 Jupiter and Mars are also making appearances. 00:02:59.460 --> 00:03:02.460 Jupiter sets before midnight and shines brightly 00:03:02.460 --> 00:03:05.280 in the west, hanging out in the constellation 00:03:05.280 --> 00:03:09.740 Taurus. Mars is further east in Gemini, fading 00:03:09.740 --> 00:03:12.259 a bit now that it's slipping away from Earth, 00:03:12.699 --> 00:03:15.400 but still visible with its signature reddish 00:03:15.400 --> 00:03:24.780 glow. This week, let's take a look into the cosmic 00:03:24.780 --> 00:03:28.840 coils of Hydra, the largest constellation in 00:03:28.840 --> 00:03:33.120 the night sky. Hydra slithers across the southern 00:03:33.120 --> 00:03:36.639 sky in April, stretching more than 100 degrees 00:03:36.860 --> 00:03:40.879 from just below Cancer in the west to Libra in 00:03:40.879 --> 00:03:45.180 the southeast. It's a massive, winding constellation 00:03:45.180 --> 00:03:49.800 that can take some effort to trace. In mythology, 00:03:50.240 --> 00:03:53.620 Hydra was the serpent slain by Hercules as one 00:03:53.620 --> 00:03:57.080 of his twelve labors. The creature had multiple 00:03:57.080 --> 00:04:00.300 heads, and when one was cut off, two more would 00:04:00.300 --> 00:04:04.280 grow in its place. Hercules had to burn each 00:04:04.280 --> 00:04:07.500 neck after decapitation to stop the heads from 00:04:07.500 --> 00:04:11.199 regenerating. The constellation captures that 00:04:11.199 --> 00:04:14.319 serpentine nature with a long meandering line 00:04:14.319 --> 00:04:18.939 of stars that slinks across the sky. Hydra's 00:04:18.939 --> 00:04:22.540 brightest star is Al Fard, which means the solitary 00:04:22.540 --> 00:04:27.019 one in Arabic. Al Fard sits alone in a relatively 00:04:27.019 --> 00:04:30.800 dark patch of sky, glowing with an orange hue. 00:04:31.069 --> 00:04:34.529 It's a giant star more than 50 times the size 00:04:34.529 --> 00:04:40.769 of our Sun and about 177 light years away. Within 00:04:40.769 --> 00:04:43.709 Hydra's boundaries, you'll also find a few deep 00:04:43.709 --> 00:04:47.649 sky gems if you have binoculars or a small telescope. 00:04:48.329 --> 00:04:51.829 Look for the Ghost of Jupiter Nebula, also known 00:04:51.829 --> 00:04:57.149 as NGC 3242, a planetary nebula that looks like 00:04:57.149 --> 00:05:00.839 a small pale disk. sort of like a tiny version 00:05:00.839 --> 00:05:04.279 of Jupiter, hence the name. There's also the 00:05:04.279 --> 00:05:07.420 Hydra cluster of galaxies, though that one's 00:05:07.420 --> 00:05:10.819 best left to larger telescopes under dark skies. 00:05:12.339 --> 00:05:15.360 Despite its size, Hydra doesn't have many bright 00:05:15.360 --> 00:05:18.540 stars, which makes it a bit of a challenge. Once 00:05:18.540 --> 00:05:22.040 you find Alphard, start tracing eastward and 00:05:22.040 --> 00:05:25.379 let your imagination wind along the serpent's 00:05:25.379 --> 00:05:35.180 spine. Before we wrap things up, let's shift 00:05:35.180 --> 00:05:38.720 our gaze from the stars we see to the people 00:05:38.720 --> 00:05:42.800 who have dared to go there. April the 12th marks 00:05:42.800 --> 00:05:46.379 the 61st anniversary of a moment that changed 00:05:46.379 --> 00:05:50.240 the course of human history. On this day, in 00:05:50.240 --> 00:05:55.439 1961, a 27 -year -old Soviet pilot named Yuri 00:05:55.439 --> 00:05:59.519 Gagarin climbed aboard a tiny, spherical spacecraft 00:05:59.519 --> 00:06:04.199 called Vostok 1. and became the first human being 00:06:04.199 --> 00:06:08.139 to travel into space. It's one of those before 00:06:08.139 --> 00:06:11.279 and after moments, not just for science or space 00:06:11.279 --> 00:06:14.579 exploration, but for how we see ourselves as 00:06:14.579 --> 00:06:19.079 a species. Before Gagarin's flight, space was 00:06:19.079 --> 00:06:22.579 something distant, something untouchable. After 00:06:22.579 --> 00:06:26.139 his single orbit around the Earth, we knew it 00:06:26.139 --> 00:06:29.519 was possible. A human had left the atmosphere 00:06:29.519 --> 00:06:34.139 and come back. Gagarin's fame took off. He became 00:06:34.139 --> 00:06:38.000 an international icon, a symbol of hope, curiosity, 00:06:38.500 --> 00:06:41.019 and the courage it takes to go where no one has 00:06:41.019 --> 00:06:45.480 gone before. Let's set the scene. The Cold War 00:06:45.480 --> 00:06:48.639 was in full swing. The space race between the 00:06:48.639 --> 00:06:51.720 Soviet Union and the United States was accelerating 00:06:51.720 --> 00:06:56.360 after the launch of Sputnik in 1957, and both 00:06:56.360 --> 00:06:59.199 nations were pouring resources into developing 00:06:59.199 --> 00:07:02.879 manned spaceflight. The Soviets had a lead in 00:07:02.879 --> 00:07:07.279 the early stages, and on April 12, 1961, they 00:07:07.279 --> 00:07:11.120 stunned the world again. Gagarin was chosen from 00:07:11.120 --> 00:07:15.779 more than 200 cosmonaut candidates. By all accounts, 00:07:16.019 --> 00:07:19.240 he was calm under pressure, highly skilled, and 00:07:19.240 --> 00:07:22.519 incredibly charismatic, which didn't hurt when 00:07:22.519 --> 00:07:25.519 the mission made him a global celebrity overnight. 00:07:26.029 --> 00:07:30.050 Vostok 1 launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome 00:07:30.050 --> 00:07:35.850 in Kazakhstan at 6 .07 am UTC. The spacecraft 00:07:35.850 --> 00:07:38.949 was fully automated with no manual controls, 00:07:39.449 --> 00:07:43.649 just in case Gagarin became disoriented in microgravity. 00:07:44.170 --> 00:07:47.709 Gagarin's job was to monitor systems, report 00:07:47.709 --> 00:07:51.910 back to ground control, and survive. The flight 00:07:51.910 --> 00:07:56.290 lasted just 108 minutes, completing one full 00:07:56.290 --> 00:07:59.089 orbit of the Earth at a peak altitude of about 00:07:59.089 --> 00:08:03.750 200 miles. Gagarin saw something no human had 00:08:03.750 --> 00:08:07.829 seen before, the curve of the Earth. He conveyed 00:08:07.829 --> 00:08:10.730 the experience to mission control, saying, I 00:08:10.730 --> 00:08:14.029 see the horizon of the Earth, and I see a beautiful 00:08:14.029 --> 00:08:18.069 blue halo along the horizon, along the edge of 00:08:18.069 --> 00:08:27.120 the Earth. For the first time, we had confirmation 00:08:27.120 --> 00:08:30.060 from someone who had been there, looking down. 00:08:31.279 --> 00:08:34.700 The reentry process was just as dramatic. The 00:08:34.700 --> 00:08:38.220 Vostok capsule didn't have a soft landing system 00:08:38.220 --> 00:08:42.080 like modern spacecraft. Gagarin ejected from 00:08:42.080 --> 00:08:46.019 the capsule at about 23 ,000 feet and parachuted 00:08:46.019 --> 00:08:49.559 to the ground separately. The Soviets kept that 00:08:49.559 --> 00:08:52.759 detail secret for years because it didn't technically 00:08:52.759 --> 00:08:56.080 comply with the international definition of a 00:08:56.080 --> 00:08:59.419 complete spaceflight, which required the pilot 00:08:59.419 --> 00:09:03.440 to land with the spacecraft. But he went to space 00:09:03.440 --> 00:09:08.019 and made it back, so he earned his wings. When 00:09:08.019 --> 00:09:11.059 he landed in a rural area of Russia, he surprised 00:09:11.059 --> 00:09:13.899 a farmer and her daughter, who weren't quite 00:09:13.899 --> 00:09:16.240 sure what to make of the man in the orange suit 00:09:16.240 --> 00:09:19.799 and helmet. According to reports, he smiled and 00:09:19.799 --> 00:09:22.860 reassured them, don't be afraid, I am a Soviet 00:09:22.860 --> 00:09:25.940 like you, who has descended from space and I 00:09:25.940 --> 00:09:29.940 must find a telephone to call Moscow. Overnight, 00:09:30.139 --> 00:09:32.919 Yuri Gagarin became the most famous person on 00:09:32.919 --> 00:09:36.139 Earth. He was paraded through Red Square, visited 00:09:36.139 --> 00:09:39.139 by heads of state, and sent on goodwill tours 00:09:39.139 --> 00:09:42.440 across the globe. But even as he became a symbol 00:09:42.440 --> 00:09:45.940 of Soviet success, people everywhere, regardless 00:09:45.940 --> 00:09:49.399 of politics, recognized the deeper significance 00:09:49.399 --> 00:09:53.039 of what he had done. He wasn't just the first 00:09:53.039 --> 00:09:56.429 Soviet in space. He was the first human in space, 00:09:57.090 --> 00:09:59.789 and for one brief moment, the boundaries between 00:09:59.789 --> 00:10:03.330 nations faded away and all of humanity had something 00:10:03.330 --> 00:10:07.549 to cheer for. Tragically, Gagarin's life was 00:10:07.549 --> 00:10:11.159 cut short. He died in a training jet crash in 00:10:11.159 --> 00:10:15.639 1968, just seven years after his historic flight. 00:10:16.159 --> 00:10:20.080 But his legacy endures in statues, in spacecraft 00:10:20.080 --> 00:10:23.159 bearing his name, and in the hearts of everyone 00:10:23.159 --> 00:10:26.879 who dreams of the stars. Every year on April 00:10:26.879 --> 00:10:30.519 12th, space agencies, museums, and fans around 00:10:30.519 --> 00:10:34.519 the world celebrate Yuri's Night, an international 00:10:34.519 --> 00:10:37.759 party for space that honors not just Gagarin's 00:10:37.759 --> 00:10:41.779 flight, but all of human space exploration. It's 00:10:41.779 --> 00:10:50.480 a reminder that space belongs to all of us. If 00:10:50.480 --> 00:10:53.159 you found this episode helpful, let me know and 00:10:53.159 --> 00:10:56.279 feel free to send in your questions and observations. 00:10:57.000 --> 00:10:59.500 The easiest way to do that is by visiting our 00:10:59.500 --> 00:11:03.799 website, StarTrails .Show. This is also a great 00:11:03.799 --> 00:11:06.840 way to share the show with friends. Until next 00:11:06.840 --> 00:11:09.379 time, keep looking up and exploring the night 00:11:09.379 --> 00:11:11.559 sky. Clear skies everyone!