WEBVTT 00:00:07.679 --> 00:00:10.400 Howdy Star Gazers and welcome to this episode 00:00:10.400 --> 00:00:13.800 of Star Trails. Drew here, and I'll be your guide 00:00:13.800 --> 00:00:16.300 to the night sky for the week starting August 00:00:16.300 --> 00:00:20.109 the 10th to the 16th. This week the Perseids 00:00:20.109 --> 00:00:24.489 peak Mercury returns Jupiter and Venus cozy up 00:00:24.489 --> 00:00:28.010 and in the second half of our show We turn our 00:00:28.010 --> 00:00:32.149 noses to the sky and learn what space smells 00:00:32.149 --> 00:00:35.270 like Whether you're tuning in from the backyard 00:00:35.270 --> 00:00:38.429 the balcony or just your imagination. I'm glad 00:00:38.429 --> 00:00:41.810 you're here So find a cozy spot. Let your eyes 00:00:41.810 --> 00:00:44.689 adjust and let's see what the sky holds for us 00:00:44.689 --> 00:00:48.539 this week We're coming off the bright and bold 00:00:48.539 --> 00:00:51.659 sturgeon moon, which peaked just before this 00:00:51.659 --> 00:00:54.880 week began. That means we start with a waning 00:00:54.880 --> 00:00:58.340 gibbous, and as each night passes, the moon shrinks 00:00:58.340 --> 00:01:01.240 and rises later, giving us a little more breathing 00:01:01.240 --> 00:01:05.359 room for darker skies. By week's end, we'll reach 00:01:05.359 --> 00:01:09.140 last quarter. This half -moon phase rises around 00:01:09.140 --> 00:01:11.719 midnight and lingers through the early morning. 00:01:11.840 --> 00:01:14.459 So while the moon's brightness will wash out 00:01:14.459 --> 00:01:17.280 the fainter stars and objects for a few nights, 00:01:17.739 --> 00:01:21.140 conditions improve dramatically midweek for stargazing 00:01:21.140 --> 00:01:25.120 and meteor hunting. Speaking of meteor showers, 00:01:25.379 --> 00:01:28.579 this is the one. The Perseids are peaking this 00:01:28.579 --> 00:01:32.900 week, officially on August 12th and 13th. Normally, 00:01:32.959 --> 00:01:35.560 this would be a real showstopper with upwards 00:01:35.560 --> 00:01:39.379 of 100 meteors per hour under ideal conditions. 00:01:39.900 --> 00:01:43.849 But we've got a problem. The bright waning gibbous 00:01:43.849 --> 00:01:46.689 moon is going to be hanging out near the radiant 00:01:46.689 --> 00:01:50.049 point, Perseus, and flooding the sky with light. 00:01:50.769 --> 00:01:53.090 That doesn't mean you won't see anything, but 00:01:53.090 --> 00:01:56.209 it will cut the number of visible meteors way 00:01:56.209 --> 00:01:59.989 down. Expect perhaps a dozen or so per hour, 00:02:00.269 --> 00:02:03.890 and mostly the brightest ones. Your best bet? 00:02:04.189 --> 00:02:07.129 Get out during the predawn hours of the 13th, 00:02:07.150 --> 00:02:10.120 find a spot with a clear view of the sky, and 00:02:10.120 --> 00:02:12.919 try to block the moon with a building or a tree. 00:02:13.819 --> 00:02:17.520 And here's a wild card, the Kappa signids. They're 00:02:17.520 --> 00:02:20.280 a minor shower that also peaks around August 00:02:20.280 --> 00:02:23.639 the 16th, and while they only deliver a few meteors 00:02:23.639 --> 00:02:26.680 per hour, they're known for occasional fireballs. 00:02:27.360 --> 00:02:29.539 If you're out late anyway, it's worth keeping 00:02:29.539 --> 00:02:33.300 an eye out. Their origins are still a bit mysterious, 00:02:33.620 --> 00:02:37.659 just the way we like it. Now, let's talk planets, 00:02:37.840 --> 00:02:40.180 because this week brings one of the prettiest 00:02:40.180 --> 00:02:43.860 planetary pairings of the year. In the pre -dawn 00:02:43.860 --> 00:02:47.280 eastern sky, look low near the horizon around 00:02:47.280 --> 00:02:50.939 August 11th and 12th, and you'll spot Venus and 00:02:50.939 --> 00:02:54.780 Jupiter just a single degree apart. That's close 00:02:54.780 --> 00:02:57.340 enough to cover with your fingertip at arm's 00:02:57.340 --> 00:03:00.639 length. Venus is the brighter of the two, but 00:03:00.639 --> 00:03:03.300 both will be striking, especially if you're up 00:03:03.300 --> 00:03:08.310 early. And there's more. Mercury ends its retrograde 00:03:08.310 --> 00:03:11.449 on August the 11th, and while it's still tricky 00:03:11.449 --> 00:03:14.150 to see, it's starting to climb back into the 00:03:14.150 --> 00:03:17.870 dawn. Meanwhile, Saturn rises in the southeast 00:03:17.870 --> 00:03:20.729 just after midnight and is beautifully placed 00:03:20.729 --> 00:03:24.569 for telescope viewing by the wee hours. Neptune 00:03:24.569 --> 00:03:27.590 is hanging around nearby too, but at magnitude 00:03:27.590 --> 00:03:31.949 7 .8, you'll need binoculars or a scope. Still, 00:03:32.150 --> 00:03:34.650 it's fun to know you're staring at a planet nearly 00:03:34.650 --> 00:03:39.030 3 billion miles away. It's August, so you'll 00:03:39.030 --> 00:03:42.050 still see the summer triangle this week. Vega, 00:03:42.389 --> 00:03:46.030 Deneb, and Altair holding court high overhead. 00:03:46.629 --> 00:03:50.550 But let's talk about some underdogs. First up, 00:03:50.830 --> 00:03:54.370 Sagitta, the arrow. This one's tiny, just four 00:03:54.370 --> 00:03:58.110 stars forming a narrow spear below Volpecula, 00:03:58.289 --> 00:04:02.009 but it punches above its weight in charm. Its 00:04:02.009 --> 00:04:05.150 brightest star, Gamma Sagittae, is an orange 00:04:05.150 --> 00:04:08.169 giant that's quietly burning out in the background 00:04:08.169 --> 00:04:11.030 of the Milky Way. Another one worth your time 00:04:11.030 --> 00:04:14.729 is Draco, the dragon. It winds its way around 00:04:14.729 --> 00:04:17.509 the Little Dipper and never really sets for those 00:04:17.509 --> 00:04:20.370 of us in the Northern Hemisphere. Hidden within 00:04:20.370 --> 00:04:23.670 its coils is the Cat's Eye Nebula, one of the 00:04:23.670 --> 00:04:27.449 most complex planetary nebula we know of. If 00:04:27.449 --> 00:04:30.370 you've got a scope and good skies, go check it 00:04:30.370 --> 00:04:33.610 out. We've talked about the Ring Nebula before, 00:04:33.750 --> 00:04:36.949 but what about its louder cousin? Check out the 00:04:36.949 --> 00:04:41.189 Dumbbell Nebula, also known as Messier 27, hanging 00:04:41.189 --> 00:04:45.069 out in Volpecula. It's a planetary nebula about 00:04:45.069 --> 00:04:48.600 1200 light years away. formed when a dying star 00:04:48.600 --> 00:04:52.160 blew off its outer layers. You'll find it nestled 00:04:52.160 --> 00:04:54.600 within the summer triangle, and it's bright enough 00:04:54.600 --> 00:04:58.680 to spot with binoculars under dark skies. If 00:04:58.680 --> 00:05:01.920 you want a challenge, go after the cocoon nebula 00:05:01.920 --> 00:05:05.459 in Cygnus. It's a beautiful combination of reflection 00:05:05.459 --> 00:05:08.860 and emission nebula with a dark tail of dust 00:05:08.860 --> 00:05:13.439 called Bernard 168. That makes it look like a 00:05:13.439 --> 00:05:17.189 tiny comet with its hair on fire. And, if you 00:05:17.189 --> 00:05:19.949 have a telescope and a dark, southern horizon, 00:05:20.250 --> 00:05:23.089 you might just catch a glimpse of the Helix Nebula 00:05:23.089 --> 00:05:26.870 in Aquarius, sometimes called the Eye of God. 00:05:27.410 --> 00:05:30.209 It's one of the closest planetary nebula to Earth, 00:05:30.709 --> 00:05:34.339 and also one of the most haunting. For an added 00:05:34.339 --> 00:05:38.199 challenge, try finding V Sagittae, a star in 00:05:38.199 --> 00:05:40.639 the Sagittae constellation I mentioned earlier. 00:05:41.120 --> 00:05:44.600 It's a binary system destined to merge and explode 00:05:44.600 --> 00:05:49.180 in a nova sometime around 2083. When it does, 00:05:49.379 --> 00:05:53.019 it'll briefly rival Sirius in brightness. For 00:05:53.019 --> 00:05:55.819 now, it's just another humble spec, but you'll 00:05:55.819 --> 00:06:05.250 be able to say, I saw it before it blew. While 00:06:05.250 --> 00:06:08.029 you're out watching the Perseids this week, consider 00:06:08.029 --> 00:06:13.769 this. Back on August 10th, 1972, something extraordinary 00:06:13.769 --> 00:06:17.670 happened. In broad daylight, a massive fireball 00:06:17.670 --> 00:06:20.329 streaked across the skies of the western United 00:06:20.329 --> 00:06:23.829 States and Canada. Not at night, in daylight. 00:06:24.490 --> 00:06:27.870 It was so bright, it cast shadows. It triggered 00:06:27.870 --> 00:06:31.470 sonic booms, and it scared the hell out of anyone 00:06:31.470 --> 00:06:35.170 who happened to be looking up. Known as the Great 00:06:35.170 --> 00:06:38.449 Daylight Fireball, it entered Earth's atmosphere 00:06:38.449 --> 00:06:42.129 at a shallow angle, about 35 miles above Utah, 00:06:42.730 --> 00:06:46.170 and traveled northward at hypersonic speed, eventually 00:06:46.170 --> 00:06:49.870 exiting back into space somewhere over Alberta. 00:06:50.810 --> 00:06:53.629 That's right, it didn't burn up, it bounced off 00:06:53.629 --> 00:06:56.509 our atmosphere like a cosmic skipping stone. 00:06:57.519 --> 00:07:00.600 Scientists called it an earth -grazing fireball, 00:07:01.079 --> 00:07:03.540 and this one was big, estimated to be the size 00:07:03.540 --> 00:07:07.180 of a small car, and moving at nearly 9 miles 00:07:07.180 --> 00:07:10.180 per second. Had it entered at a steeper angle, 00:07:10.399 --> 00:07:12.560 it could have struck with the force of a small 00:07:12.560 --> 00:07:16.360 nuclear device. Instead, it just gave us a show 00:07:16.360 --> 00:07:19.319 and left behind an eerie contrail that lingered 00:07:19.319 --> 00:07:22.740 in the sky. The entire event was photographed, 00:07:22.860 --> 00:07:26.339 filmed, and even tracked by US military satellites. 00:07:27.079 --> 00:07:29.860 In a time before smartphones, it still managed 00:07:29.860 --> 00:07:34.759 to go viral, at least by 1972 standards. Before 00:07:34.759 --> 00:07:37.860 we head on, I want to pause for a moment to remember 00:07:37.860 --> 00:07:41.399 Commander Jim Lovell, who passed away last week 00:07:41.399 --> 00:07:46.730 at the age of 97. Lovell flew on Gemini 7, Gemini 00:07:46.730 --> 00:07:51.790 12, Apollo 8, and of course, Apollo 13. These 00:07:51.790 --> 00:07:54.670 were missions that carried humanity to new heights 00:07:54.670 --> 00:07:57.769 and, in one case, brought a crew safely home 00:07:57.769 --> 00:08:01.930 against staggering odds. He was there for Earth's 00:08:01.930 --> 00:08:05.089 first journey around the moon, and he was the 00:08:05.089 --> 00:08:08.329 calm center during Apollo 13's long, dangerous 00:08:08.329 --> 00:08:12.379 return. His legacy isn't just written in mission 00:08:12.379 --> 00:08:14.959 logs, it's in the way he showed us that even 00:08:14.959 --> 00:08:17.959 when things go wrong, ingenuity and teamwork 00:08:17.959 --> 00:08:22.939 can carry us through. Coming up, astronauts can't 00:08:22.939 --> 00:08:25.399 take their helmets off to catch a whiff of outer 00:08:25.399 --> 00:08:29.220 space, but we do know what it smells like. That's 00:08:29.220 --> 00:08:44.289 after the break. Stay with us. Today I want to 00:08:44.289 --> 00:08:46.830 talk about something that's just a little out 00:08:46.830 --> 00:08:50.809 of left field or out of the airlock really Something 00:08:50.809 --> 00:08:53.950 that you've probably never associated with astronomy. 00:08:54.049 --> 00:08:58.669 Let's talk about the smell of space and Now I 00:08:58.669 --> 00:09:01.470 know you're thinking space doesn't have an atmosphere. 00:09:01.549 --> 00:09:04.830 So how can it have a smell and that is true? 00:09:05.370 --> 00:09:08.629 Space is a vacuum and a vacuum doesn't carry 00:09:08.629 --> 00:09:12.580 scent the way air does But if you talk to astronauts, 00:09:12.919 --> 00:09:15.320 especially those who've done spacewalks outside 00:09:15.320 --> 00:09:17.960 the International Space Station, they'll tell 00:09:17.960 --> 00:09:21.139 you otherwise. In fact, some have remarked that 00:09:21.139 --> 00:09:24.179 when they come back in from the void, their suits, 00:09:24.360 --> 00:09:28.360 even the airlock, carry a distinct smell. One 00:09:28.360 --> 00:09:31.980 they often describe as metallic, burnt, like 00:09:31.980 --> 00:09:36.440 welding fumes, or seared steak, or ozone after 00:09:36.440 --> 00:09:40.830 a lightning storm. So basically, space stinks. 00:09:41.330 --> 00:09:43.590 Well, maybe that's a little harsh, but there's 00:09:43.590 --> 00:09:47.330 definitely a smell. NASA astronauts like Peggy 00:09:47.330 --> 00:09:50.730 Whitson, Thomas Jones, and Chris Hadfield have 00:09:50.730 --> 00:09:53.990 all reported it. When the cabin repressurizes 00:09:53.990 --> 00:09:56.450 and they crack open the hatch, they say there's 00:09:56.450 --> 00:09:59.190 a unique lingering odor that clings to their 00:09:59.190 --> 00:10:03.330 suits. Hadfield described it as a rather pleasant 00:10:03.330 --> 00:10:07.159 metallic sensation. like sweet -smelling welding 00:10:07.159 --> 00:10:09.919 fumes. Others have likened it to the smell of 00:10:09.919 --> 00:10:13.720 gunpowder, burnt metal, or a hot engine. One 00:10:13.720 --> 00:10:16.379 astronaut even said it reminded him of the air 00:10:16.379 --> 00:10:20.220 after a fireworks display. So what causes it? 00:10:20.779 --> 00:10:23.019 Although space doesn't have an atmosphere like 00:10:23.019 --> 00:10:26.340 Earth, it does contain trace elements, free -floating 00:10:26.340 --> 00:10:30.200 atoms, ions, solar particles, and cosmic dust. 00:10:30.600 --> 00:10:33.299 Most of the time, they're too sparse to notice, 00:10:33.440 --> 00:10:36.080 but in certain conditions, especially outside 00:10:36.080 --> 00:10:38.919 a space station where machinery is exposed to 00:10:38.919 --> 00:10:43.419 a vacuum, UV radiation, and the solar wind, interesting 00:10:43.419 --> 00:10:47.320 things happen. One of the main suspects behind 00:10:47.320 --> 00:10:50.840 the so -called space smell is a group of molecules 00:10:50.840 --> 00:10:55.169 known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. These 00:10:55.169 --> 00:10:58.470 are complex carbon -based molecules formed when 00:10:58.470 --> 00:11:02.549 carbon atoms bond together in ring shapes. You'll 00:11:02.549 --> 00:11:04.950 find them here on Earth in things like grilled 00:11:04.950 --> 00:11:08.909 meat, car exhaust, forest fires, and industrial 00:11:08.909 --> 00:11:12.309 fumes. Basically, anything that's been burned 00:11:12.309 --> 00:11:15.789 or scorched probably released these hydrocarbons. 00:11:16.230 --> 00:11:18.809 And, as it turns out, they're pretty common in 00:11:18.809 --> 00:11:22.269 space too, especially in places where stars are 00:11:22.269 --> 00:11:25.929 forming or dying. So when an astronaut goes for 00:11:25.929 --> 00:11:29.070 a spacewalk, their suit gets bombarded by high 00:11:29.070 --> 00:11:32.129 -energy particles. The materials of the suit 00:11:32.129 --> 00:11:35.370 and the station itself interact with oxygen and 00:11:35.370 --> 00:11:38.610 ultraviolet radiation, triggering subtle chemical 00:11:38.610 --> 00:11:41.929 changes. When they return inside, the sudden 00:11:41.929 --> 00:11:45.529 reintroduction of air allows these altered particles 00:11:45.529 --> 00:11:48.509 to react, and that's when the smell kicks in. 00:11:49.070 --> 00:11:52.429 It's not space itself that has a scent. It's 00:11:52.429 --> 00:11:55.929 what space does to the things we send into it. 00:11:56.070 --> 00:11:59.769 Now, let's take a deeper look or smell. These 00:11:59.769 --> 00:12:02.990 aromatic hydrocarbons I mentioned, they are found 00:12:02.990 --> 00:12:06.129 in vast clouds of gas and dust throughout the 00:12:06.129 --> 00:12:09.330 galaxy. In fact, when we peer into the nebula 00:12:09.330 --> 00:12:12.110 with space telescopes like the James Webb or 00:12:12.110 --> 00:12:15.269 the old Spitzer infrared telescope, we often 00:12:15.269 --> 00:12:18.429 detect these hydrocarbons by the light they emit. 00:12:18.809 --> 00:12:22.389 These molecules are ancient. Some scientists 00:12:22.389 --> 00:12:24.590 believe that they could have played a role in 00:12:24.590 --> 00:12:28.149 the origin of life on Earth. They're carbon rich, 00:12:28.649 --> 00:12:32.029 complex, and durable. Three things that life 00:12:32.029 --> 00:12:36.509 tends to like. So when astronauts say space smells 00:12:36.509 --> 00:12:40.309 like burnt steak or welding fumes, they're literally 00:12:40.309 --> 00:12:44.470 catching a whiff of star stuff. Cooked carbon. 00:12:44.679 --> 00:12:48.080 the chemical echoes of dying stars and expanding 00:12:48.080 --> 00:12:52.659 galaxies, its cosmic perfume. And speaking of 00:12:52.659 --> 00:12:55.740 perfume, NASA actually commissioned a chemist 00:12:55.740 --> 00:12:59.139 and a perfumer named Steve Pearce to recreate 00:12:59.139 --> 00:13:02.580 the smell of space back in the early 2000s. They 00:13:02.580 --> 00:13:05.460 wanted to use it in astronaut training simulations, 00:13:05.860 --> 00:13:08.700 so space rookies wouldn't be surprised when that 00:13:08.700 --> 00:13:12.690 burnt metal smell hit them post -EVA. Pierce 00:13:12.690 --> 00:13:15.870 worked with astronaut reports and chemical analysis 00:13:15.870 --> 00:13:18.750 to design a fragrance that mimicked the effect. 00:13:19.309 --> 00:13:22.149 He even worked on a scent profile for the moon. 00:13:22.690 --> 00:13:25.909 It was something like spent gunpowder mixed with 00:13:25.909 --> 00:13:29.629 dust and dry minerals, as described by Apollo 00:13:29.629 --> 00:13:33.789 astronauts. Years later, these scents were released 00:13:33.789 --> 00:13:36.909 commercially in limited fashion under names like 00:13:36.909 --> 00:13:41.399 Ode to Space and Moon Smell. I'd caution against 00:13:41.399 --> 00:13:44.500 trying these as date night fragrances unless 00:13:44.500 --> 00:13:47.440 your date is into planetary science, in which 00:13:47.440 --> 00:13:50.580 case you've probably hit the jackpot. While we 00:13:50.580 --> 00:13:53.340 think of the universe as cold, empty, and silent, 00:13:53.559 --> 00:13:57.240 it's also textured, tangible, and even aromatic. 00:13:57.879 --> 00:14:00.600 We tend to think of smell as something grounded 00:14:00.600 --> 00:14:05.080 and earthly, baking bread, fresh rain. hot asphalt, 00:14:05.679 --> 00:14:08.600 but space has its own language of scent through 00:14:08.600 --> 00:14:11.720 the chemistry of combustion and radiation and 00:14:11.720 --> 00:14:14.279 through the invisible fingerprints of molecules 00:14:14.279 --> 00:14:18.340 drifting across the cosmos. Space may not smell 00:14:18.340 --> 00:14:27.009 like roses, but it smells like creation. If the 00:14:27.009 --> 00:14:29.750 stars spoke to you this week or if a question's 00:14:29.750 --> 00:14:32.250 been on your mind, I'd love to hear it. Visit 00:14:32.250 --> 00:14:35.549 our website, StarTrails .Show, where you can 00:14:35.549 --> 00:14:39.230 contact me and explore past episodes. Be sure 00:14:39.230 --> 00:14:42.710 to follow us on Blue Sky and YouTube. Links are 00:14:42.710 --> 00:14:45.429 in the show notes. Until we meet again beneath 00:14:45.429 --> 00:14:47.629 the stars, clear skies, everyone.