WEBVTT FILE

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Hey Facebook, we're live from Goddard Space Flight Center.

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I'm Erin Kisliuk with the Hubble Space Telescope.

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Did you know that this weekend is the peak of the

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Orionid meteor shower? So if you go out and look up and happen

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to see a few shooting stars, which you're actually seeing is

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debris from Halley's Comet.

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In the mid 1700's there was an astronomer named Charles Messier

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and he studied comets, but sometimes when he'd go out and look

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up, he'd catch these fuzzy images

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so he decided to categorize them

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and make a list so he would never be

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distracted by them ever again. Thus began

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the Messier Catalog. Hubble just today released it's own

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album full of Messier objects

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taken by the space telescope and

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we're going to talk about them here today with you.

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Make sure to send in questions

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and we'll answer them at the end of the show.

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I'm going to introduce you to some very special guest.

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So today we're joined by Michelle Thaller

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and Kevin Hartnett and thank you both for being here today.

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Hey, it's great to be here.

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All right were are going to jump right on into it.

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Who is Charles Messier and why is catalog so cool?

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Well Erin you just said, Charles Messier was an astronomer who was active

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in the late 1700's and he was really interested in finding

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comets, he actually found many of them over

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the course of his career, but there was some fuzzy

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little blobs in the sky that looked like comets

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but he could tell that they weren't comets

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because the didn't move with respect to the stars.

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Comets appear and disappear

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and they actually move with respect to the background stars

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but these little fuzzy blobs stayed right

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where they were. So he made a catalog

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of basically things to avoid

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that weren't comets and the thing that is a

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wonderful irony is what he actually had

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discovered were some of the dramatic and beautiful

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objects in the entire universe.

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He discovered things like dead

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stars or stars being born

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or we know now are very distant galaxies.

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So in fact Messier found

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some of the most fascinating things in the sky.

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Yep, what's very

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interesting is the first object

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that we'll talk about, the Crab Nebula

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he was looking actually for the

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return of Halley's comet himself

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which was predicted to show up in the

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constellation of Taurus in that period

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and so he was scanning to find

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Halley's Comet and came across this object

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that we're going to talk about.

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So the catalog is

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numbered basically in the order that Messier

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discovered these things so we are going to

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start with M1 and just like Kevin

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said M1 is called the Crab Nebula.

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So we actually have a depiction here

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of where the Crab Nebula is in the sky

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and a little bit of what it looks like

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see it's actually in the constellation

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Taurus, it's going to be honing in on that

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and as this begins to pan in

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look there's a fuzzy little thing there

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and that is what he saw and that

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what he thought might me a comet.

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But as we pan into even more

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you see that there is wonderful dramatic

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structure and what this turns out to be

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is an exploded star.

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It's what we call a super nova ruminant

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so there was a star long ago

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that exploded and actually spread it's

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material over hundreds and hundreds of light years

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and in the middle there is the dead

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core of a star call a neutron star.

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Neutron stars are amazing

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they have the density of Mt. Everest

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pushed into every teaspoon full of

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material and they rotate hundreds

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of times a second and I remember

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you knew what year this star exploded.

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Yes. So historians

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have figured out that this

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is associated with

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the Chinese siting

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of a guest star they called it

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that was visible, so bright

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it could be seen during the day time and

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that was 1054 A.D.

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So we are very sure when this star actually exploded.

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Now Kevin is an amazing

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amateur astronomer, he actually takes pictures

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of these objects with his own telescope

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so should we go to some of the images that you

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taken yourself?

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Sure why not. In this case

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I don't have one of M1

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we'll see others but I wanted to show you

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both this chart and where M1

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can be found. Do you see

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the constellation of

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Taurus here?

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This little cluster of stars

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called the Hyades is V shaped

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and it marks the horns

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of the bull of Taurus.

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He's up and to the right of Orion.

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Very easily spotted in the winter sky

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and you take the

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lower horn and look at it

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with a telescope and your

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sure to find M1

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if you sweep around the field

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of view with that

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star in it because it's very close

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to that star named

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Zata Tauri.

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I want you to

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know that in the Hubble catalog

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that's been released

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we have a star chart like this

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for every Messier that's in the catalog.

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Even if you don't know

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anything about the Messier objects

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you'll know basically where to find them in the sky.

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What season to look for them in

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what constellation they're in and

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we also tell you in the album what

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telescope is a good one to look for this

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object and what time of the month

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or what month of the year you should be looking for it.

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So keeping with the theme of

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dead stars there's another one of my

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Messier objects, it's one of my favorites

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it's called the Ring Nebula. So we talked about M1

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being the first one, this is all the way M57

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Now the Ring Nebula is in the

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constellation Lyra and this is

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actually different, sort of dead star.

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The first on exploded violently

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in a super nova, this star is

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basically, generally unraveling itself

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into space. It was a star that was

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more about the mass the of sun

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it's dying and losing shells of gas

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around it. In the middle there's the

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remnant of this tiny little star,

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which is cooling off and basically dying.

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The Ring Nebula is a beautiful object

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and you can see some of the complexity

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that the Hubble Space Telescope discovered

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when it took many different visuals of

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this Ring Nebula.

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The thing that I really love about the Ring Nebula

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is it's not very easy to see

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in a telescope, you have to use a special technique

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to see it, so tell us a bit about your

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observation and how you see an object

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like this.

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Ok, sure be happy to.

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It's one of my favorites, it's a great

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summer favorite for amateur astronomer

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it's high in the sky and it's

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fairly easy to locate

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in the constellation of Lyra

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but as Michelle said

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it's small and a little bit hard to find

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and when you a

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put in an eye piece that has more

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magnification it dims

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It gets a little

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tricky to see especially the hole that's in

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the center.

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What you have to do and this a trick

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that we amateurs use

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is look to the side of the object

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because the edge of your eye

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is more sensitive to light then

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the center is, oddly enough.

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You have rods and cones in your eye

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and the rods are along

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the edge so at night

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your peripheral

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vision is better then your

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center vision and you can see things

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that move, so as a trick

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we get the object

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in the telescope and then

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look to the side of the object

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and wiggle the telescope a little bit

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and you can see it better when you do that.

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Especially the hole

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in the middle, it looks like a big smoke ring

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in sky when you use

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those tricks. Now you won't see the center

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star because that's pretty faint and

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although I took this

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photo with just a

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general DSLR and

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modest telescope

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the camera is more sensitive then your

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eye and so it can pick up on this star.

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You'd need probably

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a 14" telescope

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to see that star.

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So we are going from the theme of dead stars to something now

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very different and that is the birth of stars.

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Messier discovered things that represent all

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the different fazes of the life cycles of stars.

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So we're going to start talking about young stars.

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Yeah, while we walk over to talk about

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the young stars over here, I wanted to remind

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everybody to continue to send in questions

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we are really great ones.

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Were still here at Goddard Space Flight Center talking about

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Hubble Messier catalog

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and now we're going to be talking about young stars

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so take it away, I'll get out of your way.

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Well that's right, these are stars that are being born.

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The next object we're going to talk about is one of my

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favorites in the sky, it's like an old friend

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returning every time the fall sky rolls around.

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And that's M42, this is the

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Orion Nebula and as you can see in this

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wonderful animation with the Orion Nebula

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really is, is a giant

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cloud of dust and gas

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and inside it there are stars

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forming that are lighting us this cloud.

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There are 4 very bright

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stars at the very heart of the nebula called

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the Trapezium Cluster and these stars

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are larger then the Sun.

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More massive then the Sun and brighter

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and the light from them is lighting up the whole area

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that we know of as the Orion Nebula.

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To me this is one of the most beautiful images ever taken

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by Hubble. It's not only beautiful

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but it's very dramatic when you think about

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this is a cloud of dust and gas

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many, many hundreds of light years across

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and inside it there are

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dozens, if not hundreds of new stars

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forming right now.

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So this is a beautiful object and I have to say the image

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you took of this is spectacular.

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I mean you are an amazing astro-photographer.

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Let's take a look at what you got with this on.

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Well it is one of one of my

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better efforts, but they are all work

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and I want to really communicate

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that taking pictures

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is another aspect of astronomy that is

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enjoyable and has it's technical challenges

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but I've spent most of my life

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observing these things with binoculars or a telescope

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and it's as much fun

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it's probably more fun then

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trying to take pictures of them which is just hard.

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So here you see

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an image

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of Orion Nebula

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and I want to point out the contrast between this one

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and this one. It took Hubble

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about 500

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different pointing's

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mosaics stitched together to form

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this image because Hubble

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zooms in and has such

275
00:09:53.140 --> 00:09:55.210
high magnification, it zooms in to

276
00:09:55.210 --> 00:09:57.320
a smaller part of the

277
00:09:57.320 --> 00:09:59.400
object, this could all fit

278
00:09:59.400 --> 00:10:01.500
in the field of view of my telescope.

279
00:10:01.500 --> 00:10:03.610
When you are looking at this object

280
00:10:03.610 --> 00:10:05.760
just with a telescope

281
00:10:05.760 --> 00:10:07.780
and not worried about taking pictures

282
00:10:07.780 --> 00:10:09.940
you want to look for it beneath the 3

283
00:10:09.940 --> 00:10:11.980
stars that form Orion's belt

284
00:10:11.980 --> 00:10:14.110
the sheath for his sword

285
00:10:14.110 --> 00:10:16.200
if you will, right in that

286
00:10:16.200 --> 00:10:18.330
area from a dark spot

287
00:10:18.330 --> 00:10:20.380
you can see a faint cloud

288
00:10:20.380 --> 00:10:22.400
and put a telescope on it

289
00:10:22.400 --> 00:10:24.440
and you can see, right there

290
00:10:24.440 --> 00:10:26.480
is an image of where

291
00:10:26.480 --> 00:10:28.540
M42 is.

292
00:10:28.540 --> 00:10:30.630
Again, this is on our website

293
00:10:30.630 --> 00:10:32.720
so you can find

294
00:10:32.720 --> 00:10:34.900
these for all the Messier objects there.

295
00:10:34.900 --> 00:10:36.940
But you put a telescope

296
00:10:36.940 --> 00:10:38.980
on it and you can see this trapezium

297
00:10:38.980 --> 00:10:41.060
4 little stars in a

298
00:10:41.060 --> 00:10:43.130
trapezoid shape and

299
00:10:43.130 --> 00:10:45.230
enjoy the dark and light bands

300
00:10:45.230 --> 00:10:47.340
of this nebula.  It's truly spectacular.

301
00:10:47.340 --> 00:10:49.530
Messier found a number of examples

302
00:10:49.530 --> 00:10:51.600
of young stars, in the case of the Orion

303
00:10:51.600 --> 00:10:53.660
Nebula the stars are still forming

304
00:10:53.660 --> 00:10:55.770
in this cloud of dust and gas

305
00:10:55.770 --> 00:10:57.870
but then there are other stars that are a little farther long

306
00:10:57.870 --> 00:11:00.020
that have moved out of the clouds they

307
00:11:00.020 --> 00:11:02.180
were born in. In many cases

308
00:11:02.180 --> 00:11:04.220
just the radiation and also the particle winds

309
00:11:04.220 --> 00:11:06.270
coming off these birth young stars

310
00:11:06.270 --> 00:11:08.340
blows away the cloud and so the next

311
00:11:08.340 --> 00:11:10.450
thing we are going to is an example of a young

312
00:11:10.450 --> 00:11:12.580
cluster of stars, stars that

313
00:11:12.580 --> 00:11:14.750
all formed probably in the least tens of millions of years.

314
00:11:14.750 --> 00:11:16.790
Doesn't sound very you to us but

315
00:11:16.790 --> 00:11:18.850
for stars that they are and this is a

316
00:11:18.850 --> 00:11:20.880
cluster called the Pleiades and the Pleiades

317
00:11:20.880 --> 00:11:22.970
is a wonderful thing to see to see in the

318
00:11:22.970 --> 00:11:25.090
autumn and winter sky it's always

319
00:11:25.090 --> 00:11:27.250
wonderful for me that wonderful, beautiful

320
00:11:27.250 --> 00:11:29.270
autumn sky is rolling around.

321
00:11:29.270 --> 00:11:31.350
These images look very different, so here's

322
00:11:31.350 --> 00:11:33.440
image that you took of this young cluster of stars

323
00:11:33.440 --> 00:11:35.520
and in fact the Hubble image

324
00:11:35.520 --> 00:11:37.630
has so much resolution

325
00:11:37.630 --> 00:11:39.660
and so much focus that it's only a tiny

326
00:11:39.660 --> 00:11:41.810
part of your image here. Right.

327
00:11:41.810 --> 00:11:43.940
So compare the Hubble image that we have here

328
00:11:43.940 --> 00:11:46.030
with what you were able to see with the Pleiades.

329
00:11:46.030 --> 00:11:48.110
So it's a very tiny portion, the Pleiades

330
00:11:48.110 --> 00:11:50.230
is a naked eye object

331
00:11:50.230 --> 00:11:52.360
and it's somewhat

332
00:11:52.360 --> 00:11:54.400
like 3 or 4 times

333
00:11:54.400 --> 00:11:56.470
the size of the full moon.

334
00:11:56.470 --> 00:11:58.520
It's very big on the sky.

335
00:11:58.520 --> 00:12:00.630
This image

336
00:12:00.630 --> 00:12:02.770
taken by Hubble

337
00:12:02.770 --> 00:12:04.830
of part of the gas and dust

338
00:12:04.830 --> 00:12:07.000
surrounding these stars

339
00:12:07.000 --> 00:12:09.130
is right in between this bright star

340
00:12:09.130 --> 00:12:11.220
called Merope and these two little stars

341
00:12:11.220 --> 00:12:13.310
next to it, so it's a very

342
00:12:13.310 --> 00:12:15.370
tiny portion of

343
00:12:15.370 --> 00:12:17.520
the actual Pleiades.

344
00:12:17.520 --> 00:12:19.570
Pleiades is also known as the

345
00:12:19.570 --> 00:12:21.620
Seven Sisters, a lot of people mistake it for

346
00:12:21.620 --> 00:12:23.690
the Little Dipper, cause it has this

347
00:12:23.690 --> 00:12:25.800
dipper shape.

348
00:12:25.800 --> 00:12:27.860
With your eye you really only see six, there's

349
00:12:27.860 --> 00:12:29.920
this legend of the

350
00:12:29.920 --> 00:12:31.970
missing Pleiad because you don't see

351
00:12:31.970 --> 00:12:34.030
seven but this

352
00:12:34.030 --> 00:12:36.100
cluster is also know in Japan

353
00:12:36.100 --> 00:12:38.170
as Subaru so when you look at the

354
00:12:38.170 --> 00:12:40.260
logo on the back of a Subaru

355
00:12:40.260 --> 00:12:42.350
you're looking at this star pattern, most people

356
00:12:42.350 --> 00:12:44.450
don't know that.

357
00:12:44.450 --> 00:12:46.610
It's a very, very beautiful cluster

358
00:12:46.610 --> 00:12:48.660
and best appreciated

359
00:12:48.660 --> 00:12:50.710
in binoculars or a small telescope

360
00:12:50.710 --> 00:12:52.750
where you can see just

361
00:12:52.750 --> 00:12:54.820
these diamonds

362
00:12:54.820 --> 00:12:56.960
on a black background.

363
00:12:56.960 --> 00:12:59.110
So we're talking about families of stars

364
00:12:59.110 --> 00:13:01.170
and the type of cluster that the Pleiades

365
00:13:01.170 --> 00:13:03.230
is something called an open cluster

366
00:13:03.230 --> 00:13:05.320
these are stars that form relatively close to each other

367
00:13:05.320 --> 00:13:07.410
in one of these big clouds

368
00:13:07.410 --> 00:13:09.510
but the sun was probably in a cluster like this billions

369
00:13:09.510 --> 00:13:11.630
of years ago, but over that time

370
00:13:11.630 --> 00:13:13.790
we've been around the galaxy so many times

371
00:13:13.790 --> 00:13:15.870
that just the gravitational interaction between

372
00:13:15.870 --> 00:13:17.940
the stars have peeled off all the other

373
00:13:17.940 --> 00:13:20.020
members of our star cluster, we don't really know

374
00:13:20.020 --> 00:13:22.180
where in the sky our brother and sister

375
00:13:22.180 --> 00:13:24.300
stars are. So an open cluster

376
00:13:24.300 --> 00:13:26.350
is a family of stars that all formed together

377
00:13:26.350 --> 00:13:28.380
and we're go over and talk a bit more

378
00:13:28.380 --> 00:13:30.490
about some different families of stars now.

379
00:13:30.490 --> 00:13:32.600
Yeah, once again while we're walking

380
00:13:32.600 --> 00:13:34.720
over, I just want to remind everyone to keep

381
00:13:34.720 --> 00:13:36.780
sending in your questions. I'm getting some really

382
00:13:36.780 --> 00:13:38.930
really great ones.

383
00:13:38.930 --> 00:13:40.980
We are here at Goddard Space Flight Center talking about

384
00:13:40.980 --> 00:13:43.070
Hubble's Messier catalog so continue

385
00:13:43.070 --> 00:13:45.150
sending in your question and I'll let you guys talk

386
00:13:45.150 --> 00:13:47.240
about clusters.

387
00:13:47.240 --> 00:13:49.360
Here's another example of an open cluster

388
00:13:49.360 --> 00:13:51.530
this is M11 Wild Duck Cluster.

389
00:13:51.530 --> 00:13:53.600
Open clusters are

390
00:13:53.600 --> 00:13:55.640
stars that form together relatively

391
00:13:55.640 --> 00:13:57.680
recently in the last millions or tens of millions

392
00:13:57.680 --> 00:13:59.800
of years and are slowly peeling apart

393
00:13:59.800 --> 00:14:01.830
over time so this is another one that

394
00:14:01.830 --> 00:14:03.980
you have a very different image

395
00:14:03.980 --> 00:14:06.140
Hubble is taking sort of picture here of the heart

396
00:14:06.140 --> 00:14:08.190
of this cluster and you have picture of the larger

397
00:14:08.190 --> 00:14:10.320
cluster so people can see that.

398
00:14:10.320 --> 00:14:12.450
Right, neither one looks much like a wild duck, do they?

399
00:14:12.450 --> 00:14:14.580
If you had a small

400
00:14:14.580 --> 00:14:16.620
telescope or a pair of binoculars

401
00:14:16.620 --> 00:14:18.630
and looked at this object which is in the summer

402
00:14:18.630 --> 00:14:20.670
sky in the Milky Way

403
00:14:20.670 --> 00:14:22.700
you'll see a V-shaped

404
00:14:22.700 --> 00:14:24.800
grouping of stars

405
00:14:24.800 --> 00:14:26.900
the brighter stars are V-shaped and

406
00:14:26.900 --> 00:14:29.060
reminded the early observers

407
00:14:29.060 --> 00:14:31.120
of a flight of ducks or geese that

408
00:14:31.120 --> 00:14:33.170
are characteristically flying in a V.

409
00:14:33.170 --> 00:14:35.250
When I look at this

410
00:14:35.250 --> 00:14:37.340
and this is one of my favorites too

411
00:14:37.340 --> 00:14:39.430
you notice right away and so did

412
00:14:39.430 --> 00:14:41.460
Messier, he wrote in his catalog

413
00:14:41.460 --> 00:14:43.580
about this that

414
00:14:43.580 --> 00:14:45.590
there is a very bright star

415
00:14:45.590 --> 00:14:47.640
in the center of the cluster.

416
00:14:47.640 --> 00:14:49.710
Hard to make out here because

417
00:14:49.710 --> 00:14:51.790
it just gets lost with all the others.

418
00:14:51.790 --> 00:14:53.920
It's very, very noticeable.

419
00:14:53.920 --> 00:14:55.960
When you look at it in a telescope

420
00:14:55.960 --> 00:14:57.980
this amazing

421
00:14:57.980 --> 00:15:00.020
grouping of stars

422
00:15:00.020 --> 00:15:02.040
and this one bright one

423
00:15:02.040 --> 00:15:04.090
in the middle. Now I found this

424
00:15:04.090 --> 00:15:06.160
cluster is particularly

425
00:15:06.160 --> 00:15:08.240
fun to look at

426
00:15:08.240 --> 00:15:10.340
in higher magnification

427
00:15:10.340 --> 00:15:12.350
and I like to use a zoom eye piece

428
00:15:12.350 --> 00:15:14.490
so I look at it

429
00:15:14.490 --> 00:15:16.650
at low magnification

430
00:15:16.650 --> 00:15:18.710
and the stars are really tight

431
00:15:18.710 --> 00:15:20.780
and then as you twist the eye

432
00:15:20.780 --> 00:15:22.820
piece it zooms in

433
00:15:22.820 --> 00:15:24.930
and you see hundreds more.

434
00:15:24.930 --> 00:15:27.050
It's a remarkable beautiful

435
00:15:27.050 --> 00:15:29.180
open cluster

436
00:15:29.180 --> 00:15:31.260
and there is

437
00:15:31.260 --> 00:15:33.310
something like, oh gee

438
00:15:33.310 --> 00:15:35.390
hundred of stars in the cluster.

439
00:15:35.390 --> 00:15:37.540
That's right an open cluster can have

440
00:15:37.540 --> 00:15:39.680
dozens or hundreds of stars but

441
00:15:39.680 --> 00:15:41.740
there are much larger star cluster as well.

442
00:15:41.740 --> 00:15:43.800
Certainly the largest ones that are in our own

443
00:15:43.800 --> 00:15:45.880
galaxy, the Milky Way, are called the globular clusters.

444
00:15:45.880 --> 00:15:48.050
We have an absolutely spectacular

445
00:15:48.050 --> 00:15:50.160
picture of a globular cluster here.

446
00:15:50.160 --> 00:15:52.190
This is the globular cluster M15

447
00:15:52.190 --> 00:15:54.230
the 15th thing on the list of things that where not comets.

448
00:15:54.230 --> 00:15:56.280
This is actually a cluster of

449
00:15:56.280 --> 00:15:58.340
stars that contains millions of stars.

450
00:15:58.340 --> 00:16:00.400
Now, astronomers believe

451
00:16:00.400 --> 00:16:02.490
that globular clusters are ancient clusters

452
00:16:02.490 --> 00:16:04.550
they probably formed very early on

453
00:16:04.550 --> 00:16:06.670
in the lifetime of our galaxy

454
00:16:06.670 --> 00:16:08.810
and if you think about the Milky Way galaxy

455
00:16:08.810 --> 00:16:10.850
we live in a spiral galaxy that is kind of shaped like a Frisbee.

456
00:16:10.850 --> 00:16:12.900
It's a disk of stars and gas

457
00:16:12.900 --> 00:16:14.950
and dust, but the globular clusters

458
00:16:14.950 --> 00:16:17.050
orbit around the entire

459
00:16:17.050 --> 00:16:19.150
galaxy almost like a swarm

460
00:16:19.150 --> 00:16:21.220
of angry bees. They are going all

461
00:16:21.220 --> 00:16:23.410
different directions around the Milky Way.

462
00:16:23.410 --> 00:16:25.460
In fact globular clusters were one of the

463
00:16:25.460 --> 00:16:27.550
first ways that we discovered our

464
00:16:27.550 --> 00:16:29.560
own place in the Milky Way.

465
00:16:29.560 --> 00:16:31.620
It turns out we are nowhere near the center

466
00:16:31.620 --> 00:16:33.730
of the Milky Way, we live out in the suburbs

467
00:16:33.730 --> 00:16:35.880
about three quarters of the way out into the disk

468
00:16:35.880 --> 00:16:37.940
from the center. So that's a long way from

469
00:16:37.940 --> 00:16:39.980
the middle of the galaxy.

470
00:16:39.980 --> 00:16:42.040
And all these globular clusters orbit around the center

471
00:16:42.040 --> 00:16:44.090
of mass of our galaxy.

472
00:16:44.090 --> 00:16:46.170
Astronomer along time ago realized

473
00:16:46.170 --> 00:16:48.290
that most of the globular clusters were

474
00:16:48.290 --> 00:16:50.310
in one half of the sky

475
00:16:50.310 --> 00:16:52.470
fewer on the other half of the sky and that's

476
00:16:52.470 --> 00:16:54.530
cause we were looking from a vantage point of being very

477
00:16:54.530 --> 00:16:56.560
far out from the center of the galaxy.

478
00:16:56.560 --> 00:16:58.650
When ever I see globular clusters

479
00:16:58.650 --> 00:17:00.750
I really aware of the

480
00:17:00.750 --> 00:17:02.880
place, the roll that they had in

481
00:17:02.880 --> 00:17:05.020
giving us a map as to where we are in the galaxy.

482
00:17:05.020 --> 00:17:07.070
As really good

483
00:17:07.070 --> 00:17:09.120
thing that we're not on a planet inside

484
00:17:09.120 --> 00:17:11.210
a globular cluster cause we wouldn't

485
00:17:11.210 --> 00:17:13.460
see much of the sky at all right?

486
00:17:13.460 --> 00:17:15.600
It would be like daytime all the time.

487
00:17:15.600 --> 00:17:17.660
Just look at all of those stars packed into

488
00:17:17.660 --> 00:17:19.730
that little area.

489
00:17:19.730 --> 00:17:21.820
Yes so it's very good for observing that we are

490
00:17:21.820 --> 00:17:23.940
where are.

491
00:17:23.940 --> 00:17:26.070
See you have another great image here.

492
00:17:26.070 --> 00:17:28.100
Yeah, this image is fun

493
00:17:28.100 --> 00:17:30.150
because I took it two nights ago, right?

494
00:17:30.150 --> 00:17:32.220


495
00:17:32.220 --> 00:17:34.290
I took it with a very small telescope.

496
00:17:34.290 --> 00:17:36.410


497
00:17:36.410 --> 00:17:38.530
It's in the constellation

498
00:17:38.530 --> 00:17:40.650
of Pegasus.

499
00:17:40.650 --> 00:17:42.820
The flying horse, which if you go out

500
00:17:42.820 --> 00:17:42.860
in tonight

501
00:17:42.860 --> 00:17:44.920
in tonight's sky

502
00:17:44.920 --> 00:17:47.030
it will appear as a square

503
00:17:47.030 --> 00:17:49.120
they call the square

504
00:17:49.120 --> 00:17:51.280
Pegasus, very prominent square

505
00:17:51.280 --> 00:17:53.400
in the sky and I like to

506
00:17:53.400 --> 00:17:55.440
consider it like a baseball diamond.

507
00:17:55.440 --> 00:17:57.520
Cause it's oriented that way.

508
00:17:57.520 --> 00:17:59.620
This object is located

509
00:17:59.620 --> 00:18:01.710
off first base

510
00:18:01.710 --> 00:18:03.860
and there is a

511
00:18:03.860 --> 00:18:06.040
L-shaped string of stars

512
00:18:06.040 --> 00:18:08.120
is right at the tip of the L.

513
00:18:08.120 --> 00:18:10.130
It's very easy to find. Right there. There you go.

514
00:18:10.130 --> 00:18:12.250
So we've been talking about families

515
00:18:12.250 --> 00:18:14.360
of stars, the star clusters and in fact

516
00:18:14.360 --> 00:18:16.480
the largest families of stars in the universe

517
00:18:16.480 --> 00:18:18.520
are the galaxies.

518
00:18:18.520 --> 00:18:20.590
These are families of stars that include hundreds

519
00:18:20.590 --> 00:18:22.670
of billions of stars.

520
00:18:22.670 --> 00:18:24.740
So let's talk a bit about some of the galaxies

521
00:18:24.740 --> 00:18:25.860
that we are looking at.

522
00:18:25.860 --> 00:18:27.960
While we walk over to the biggest

523
00:18:27.960 --> 00:18:30.130
screen in the room, we'll talk about the biggest objects, right?

524
00:18:30.130 --> 00:18:32.180
I just want to remind everybody

525
00:18:32.180 --> 00:18:34.350
once again we're here at Goddard.

526
00:18:34.350 --> 00:18:36.440
We're talking about Hubble's Messier objects

527
00:18:36.440 --> 00:18:38.540
and please continue to send in your questions,

528
00:18:38.540 --> 00:18:41.670
we've got a ton of good ones and I'll let you talk about galaxies.

529
00:18:41.670 --> 00:18:44.720
Sounds good, yes, right.

530
00:18:44.720 --> 00:18:46.790
We're going to end with looking at some of these beautiful

531
00:18:46.790 --> 00:18:48.870
spiral galaxies and the first one we are looking at

532
00:18:48.870 --> 00:18:50.970
is something the Whirlpool galaxy which is know

533
00:18:50.970 --> 00:18:53.030
as M51 and the

534
00:18:53.030 --> 00:18:55.150
Whirlpool galaxy is a spiral galaxy

535
00:18:55.150 --> 00:18:57.210
about half the size of our own Milky Way

536
00:18:57.210 --> 00:18:59.280
and is at a distance of about

537
00:18:59.280 --> 00:19:01.360
23 million light years away.

538
00:19:01.360 --> 00:19:03.440
You can see here in this beautiful

539
00:19:03.440 --> 00:19:05.530
Hubble image the detail on the spiral

540
00:19:05.530 --> 00:19:07.650
arms of this galaxy.

541
00:19:07.650 --> 00:19:09.780
The dark areas are actually lanes of gas

542
00:19:09.780 --> 00:19:11.820
and dust where new stars are forming

543
00:19:11.820 --> 00:19:13.920
inside that right now. In fact,

544
00:19:13.920 --> 00:19:16.000
when ever you see red areas along the spiral

545
00:19:16.000 --> 00:19:18.110
arm, that's active star formation.

546
00:19:18.110 --> 00:19:20.260
That's where young stars are still embedded

547
00:19:20.260 --> 00:19:22.260
in the dust and they are lighting up the

548
00:19:22.260 --> 00:19:24.310
dust and making glow red.

549
00:19:24.310 --> 00:19:26.340
It is an absolutely beautiful spiral.

550
00:19:26.340 --> 00:19:28.370
The thing that is amazing about

551
00:19:28.370 --> 00:19:30.490
this, is looks quite different

552
00:19:30.490 --> 00:19:32.530
through a telescope and some people might be

553
00:19:32.530 --> 00:19:34.640
disappointed but I still think it's a wonder thing to look at.

554
00:19:34.640 --> 00:19:36.800
So tell us a bit about what it's like to observe

555
00:19:36.800 --> 00:19:38.840
a beautiful galaxy like this.

556
00:19:38.840 --> 00:19:40.900
I tell you, it's fun

557
00:19:40.900 --> 00:19:42.970
to glimpse these things

558
00:19:42.970 --> 00:19:45.030
even if you're not seeing them particularly

559
00:19:45.030 --> 00:19:47.140
clearly in the night sky.

560
00:19:47.140 --> 00:19:49.270
There's a

561
00:19:49.270 --> 00:19:51.440
connection with the universe

562
00:19:51.440 --> 00:19:53.500
by looking at the light of

563
00:19:53.500 --> 00:19:55.560
these things with your own eye.

564
00:19:55.560 --> 00:19:58.660
Just like Messier would have

565
00:19:58.660 --> 00:20:01.760
seen this, it was a smudge but know you know

566
00:20:01.760 --> 00:20:04.870
what it really is and that's electrifying.

567
00:20:04.870 --> 00:20:08.070
If you're, at night, searching for these

568
00:20:08.070 --> 00:20:11.140
things with your telescope and finding

569
00:20:11.140 --> 00:20:14.220
it and realizing what you're seeing

570
00:20:14.220 --> 00:20:17.360
there is nothing really quite like it.

571
00:20:17.360 --> 00:20:20.420
Messier would not have seen the spiral arms

572
00:20:20.420 --> 00:20:23.480
because you need a large a telescope

573
00:20:23.480 --> 00:20:26.550
to do that and his telescopes where not

574
00:20:26.550 --> 00:20:28.630
very good, they weren't even made of glass.

575
00:20:28.630 --> 00:20:30.730
The ones that we use now

576
00:20:30.730 --> 00:20:32.790
with mirrors, the mirrors were made out of metal

577
00:20:32.790 --> 00:20:34.830
back then and we've

578
00:20:34.830 --> 00:20:36.860
looked at these globular clusters

579
00:20:36.860 --> 00:20:38.920
in M15

580
00:20:38.920 --> 00:20:41.000
Messier noted he didn't see one

581
00:20:41.000 --> 00:20:43.070
star in that globular cluster

582
00:20:43.070 --> 00:20:45.170
that we now know has

583
00:20:45.170 --> 00:20:47.420
millions of stars.

584
00:20:47.420 --> 00:20:50.470
So his view was very very different.

585
00:20:50.470 --> 00:20:53.510
This is an image I took, it took about 4 hours

586
00:20:53.510 --> 00:20:55.570
to layup that image. In a second

587
00:20:55.570 --> 00:20:57.650
I'll show you what one little frame looked like.

588
00:20:57.650 --> 00:20:59.740
But this object was

589
00:20:59.740 --> 00:21:01.860
not seen by Messier

590
00:21:01.860 --> 00:21:03.990
at the time, it's a neighboring galaxy.

591
00:21:03.990 --> 00:21:06.040
He only saw the very

592
00:21:06.040 --> 00:21:08.070
core of this and it looked like a little blob.

593
00:21:08.070 --> 00:21:10.130
So the thing is

594
00:21:10.130 --> 00:21:12.200
even if your telescope image

595
00:21:12.200 --> 00:21:14.310
doesn't look like this, it's still wonderful

596
00:21:14.310 --> 00:21:16.390
to think the lights your looking, even when you see a little

597
00:21:16.390 --> 00:21:18.520
smudge on the sky, in this case it's

598
00:21:18.520 --> 00:21:20.570
23 millions years old.

599
00:21:20.570 --> 00:21:22.630
23 million light years away. means the light

600
00:21:22.630 --> 00:21:24.710
took that long to get to us so when you see

601
00:21:24.710 --> 00:21:26.830
this beautiful as just a smudge

602
00:21:26.830 --> 00:21:28.950
in the sky, that light left long before

603
00:21:28.950 --> 00:21:31.100
there were humans on the earth.

604
00:21:31.100 --> 00:21:33.160
You mention you were going to show us

605
00:21:33.160 --> 00:21:35.250
so this is what you'd see through even a large telescope.

606
00:21:35.250 --> 00:21:37.340
Yeah, this was taken through a 8" diameter

607
00:21:37.340 --> 00:21:39.420
telescope and it took

608
00:21:39.420 --> 00:21:41.460
I'm trying to remember now, about 3 minutes

609
00:21:41.460 --> 00:21:43.480
or 4 minutes to layup this particular

610
00:21:43.480 --> 00:21:45.560
image and you see you get

611
00:21:45.560 --> 00:21:47.600
all the light pollution

612
00:21:47.600 --> 00:21:49.630
right? The sky glow in the back

613
00:21:49.630 --> 00:21:51.670
too. The trick

614
00:21:51.670 --> 00:21:53.760
that amateurs use

615
00:21:53.760 --> 00:21:55.840
is to stack

616
00:21:55.840 --> 00:21:57.930
all these up, line them up

617
00:21:57.930 --> 00:22:00.040
and so I took, what ever, 4 hours

618
00:22:00.040 --> 00:22:02.220
of 3 minute exposures

619
00:22:02.220 --> 00:22:04.290
and you can get software free off the web

620
00:22:04.290 --> 00:22:06.370
now to align them all and stack

621
00:22:06.370 --> 00:22:08.450
them up and you learn some about processing.

622
00:22:08.450 --> 00:22:10.550
Honestly,

623
00:22:10.550 --> 00:22:12.660
although I don't want you to think

624
00:22:12.660 --> 00:22:14.660
that your going to see these marvelous images,

625
00:22:14.660 --> 00:22:16.700
the pictures

626
00:22:16.700 --> 00:22:18.760
from Hubble or even my telescope

627
00:22:18.760 --> 00:22:20.810
by looking through the eye piece.

628
00:22:20.810 --> 00:22:22.890
It is encouraging

629
00:22:22.890 --> 00:22:25.000
or it should be encouraging you that, I've only been

630
00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:27.130
at astro-photography for maybe 4 years

631
00:22:27.130 --> 00:22:29.290
with a digital camera

632
00:22:29.290 --> 00:22:31.330
and so you can learn very quickly with a lot of

633
00:22:31.330 --> 00:22:33.390
resources on the web but

634
00:22:33.390 --> 00:22:35.490
start with the Hubble site.

635
00:22:35.490 --> 00:22:37.590
You can find out where the Messier's

636
00:22:37.590 --> 00:22:39.630
are in the sky

637
00:22:39.630 --> 00:22:41.790
and what instrument to use

638
00:22:41.790 --> 00:22:43.840
look at them and once you get more

639
00:22:43.840 --> 00:22:45.900
familiar with the sky, like I've done over many

640
00:22:45.900 --> 00:22:47.980
years then dabble in astro-photography.

641
00:22:47.980 --> 00:22:50.070
So we are going to wrap up our

642
00:22:50.070 --> 00:22:52.140
catalog of the Messier objects

643
00:22:52.140 --> 00:22:54.280
with one of the most beautiful things in the sky called

644
00:22:54.280 --> 00:22:56.380
the Andromeda galaxy, this is M31

645
00:22:56.380 --> 00:22:59.450
and I have to say Kevin this your image.

646
00:22:59.450 --> 00:23:02.530
This is absolutely spectacular. The Andromeda

647
00:23:02.530 --> 00:23:05.740
galaxy is a galaxy very much like the Milky Way

648
00:23:05.740 --> 00:23:07.790
it's a distance of a little bit more then 2 million light years away.

649
00:23:07.790 --> 00:23:09.880
The thing that is amazing about the Andromeda

650
00:23:09.880 --> 00:23:11.910
galaxy is that edge to edge this

651
00:23:11.910 --> 00:23:13.930
is as large on the sky as

652
00:23:13.930 --> 00:23:15.970
three full moons.

653
00:23:15.970 --> 00:23:18.020
Think about lining full moon up

654
00:23:18.020 --> 00:23:20.140
across that galaxy.

655
00:23:20.140 --> 00:23:22.270
At night when this thing is up, there's this

656
00:23:22.270 --> 00:23:24.320
giant galaxy actually covering a fairly large

657
00:23:24.320 --> 00:23:26.380
part of our sky but the reason we don't see

658
00:23:26.380 --> 00:23:28.440
it's very faint and in fact

659
00:23:28.440 --> 00:23:30.490
Messier could only see the very very central

660
00:23:30.490 --> 00:23:32.540
part of the galaxy but this other objects

661
00:23:32.540 --> 00:23:35.710
in here as well that Messier saw

662
00:23:35.710 --> 00:23:38.760
in this gorgeous image that you took.  Tell us about that.

663
00:23:38.760 --> 00:23:41.810
Wouldn't we all had eyes to see this

664
00:23:41.810 --> 00:23:44.880
thing in the sky hanging

665
00:23:44.880 --> 00:23:47.960
there in the autumn sky as big

666
00:23:47.960 --> 00:23:51.060
as 6 full moons across, right?

667
00:23:51.060 --> 00:23:54.100
It's just an amazingly big object.

668
00:23:54.100 --> 00:23:57.250
It's faint because it's a long way away.

669
00:23:57.250 --> 00:24:00.320
So when you look at this in a telescope

670
00:24:00.320 --> 00:24:03.380
or with binoculars, in fact you can see this object

671
00:24:03.380 --> 00:24:06.480
with the naked eye from a dark place.

672
00:24:06.480 --> 00:24:09.620
You're really only seeing the very bright core

673
00:24:09.620 --> 00:24:12.750
but that is what you'll see in a scope

674
00:24:12.750 --> 00:24:15.810
or binoculars. Very fun to see.

675
00:24:15.810 --> 00:24:18.880
I remember dragging my whole family when I was maybe 15

676
00:24:18.880 --> 00:24:21.980
and it was in the winter and

677
00:24:21.980 --> 00:24:25.100
I said, now that I found you have to see it so

678
00:24:25.100 --> 00:24:28.230
it was like 20 degrees out, drag all my sisters out

679
00:24:28.230 --> 00:24:31.290
to see this thing because it's just

680
00:24:31.290 --> 00:24:34.340
it's a classic. It's very spectacular.

681
00:24:34.340 --> 00:24:37.360
This object, Messier also found probably within

682
00:24:37.360 --> 00:24:40.470
the same night that he looked at M31.

683
00:24:40.470 --> 00:24:43.520
This is called M32.

684
00:24:43.520 --> 00:24:46.660
Again, very easy to see because it's so close to N31

685
00:24:46.660 --> 00:24:49.700
and it looks like a slightly out of focus star.

686
00:24:49.700 --> 00:24:52.740
Little harder to see is this on down here

687
00:24:52.740 --> 00:24:55.770
a companion galaxy, now known as

688
00:24:55.770 --> 00:24:58.890
M110 you have to use that

689
00:24:58.890 --> 00:25:01.930
little trick I mention earlier, looking to the

690
00:25:01.930 --> 00:25:05.090
side of M110 to see it more clearly. I like to

691
00:25:05.090 --> 00:25:08.180
take people out and show them Andromeda

692
00:25:08.180 --> 00:25:11.230
through the telescope, it's very easy to see this

693
00:25:11.230 --> 00:25:14.340
little harder to see this and they have to really work to see

694
00:25:14.340 --> 00:25:17.490
M110 so it's a great learning experience.

695
00:25:17.490 --> 00:25:19.550
Going to the Hubble image of Andromeda,

696
00:25:19.550 --> 00:25:21.630
this is something that is kind of mind blowing.

697
00:25:21.630 --> 00:25:23.690
Hubble is so powerful that it can see the individual

698
00:25:23.690 --> 00:25:25.790
stars in this galaxy

699
00:25:25.790 --> 00:25:27.880
2 million light years away.

700
00:25:27.880 --> 00:25:29.950
Now this galaxy contains hundreds of

701
00:25:29.950 --> 00:25:32.100
billions of stars and when you look

702
00:25:32.100 --> 00:25:34.150
this image there is kind of graininess to the image

703
00:25:34.150 --> 00:25:36.230
and that is real. These are all individual

704
00:25:36.230 --> 00:25:38.300
stars that Hubble can pick out.

705
00:25:38.300 --> 00:25:40.410
Now the amazing thing, it Hubble over

706
00:25:40.410 --> 00:25:42.520
400 pointing's to stitch

707
00:25:42.520 --> 00:25:44.670
together this giant mosaic of Andromeda

708
00:25:44.670 --> 00:25:46.680
and in fact Hubble only had the time

709
00:25:46.680 --> 00:25:48.760
to image about 1/3 of the galaxy.

710
00:25:48.760 --> 00:25:50.840
So think about that. More then

711
00:25:50.840 --> 00:25:52.910
400 Hubble images all put together in a

712
00:25:52.910 --> 00:25:55.010
mosaic to cover just about 1/3

713
00:25:55.010 --> 00:25:57.130
of the Andromeda galaxy.

714
00:25:57.130 --> 00:25:59.200
That's amazing thing to see and an

715
00:25:59.200 --> 00:26:01.270
incredible Messier object.

716
00:26:01.270 --> 00:26:03.330
Hopefully in talking about these wonderful

717
00:26:03.330 --> 00:26:05.420
objects you can see in the sky, things like

718
00:26:05.420 --> 00:26:07.460
dead stars, stars being born,

719
00:26:07.460 --> 00:26:09.720
galaxy, star clusters. You might want to

720
00:26:09.720 --> 00:26:11.800
go out and look at them yourself and this is

721
00:26:11.800 --> 00:26:13.860
where Kevin is the expert and he's going to talk to you

722
00:26:13.860 --> 00:26:15.910
a bit about what you can do, to go out

723
00:26:15.910 --> 00:26:18.010
and make your own Messier catalog.

724
00:26:18.010 --> 00:26:20.110
So you brought some telescopes here so let's go

725
00:26:20.110 --> 00:26:22.270
over here and take a look at this.

726
00:26:22.270 --> 00:26:24.420


727
00:26:24.420 --> 00:26:26.450
So I should probably start here.

728
00:26:26.450 --> 00:26:28.510
Because

729
00:26:28.510 --> 00:26:30.570
from a dark sky

730
00:26:30.570 --> 00:26:32.660
you can see

731
00:26:32.660 --> 00:26:34.760
most of the Messier

732
00:26:34.760 --> 00:26:36.900
objects with a good pair of binoculars.

733
00:26:36.900 --> 00:26:38.940
From the Washington, DC

734
00:26:38.940 --> 00:26:40.970
area maybe a

735
00:26:40.970 --> 00:26:43.050
quarter of them but if you're out

736
00:26:43.050 --> 00:26:45.140
in a dark spot you can see

737
00:26:45.140 --> 00:26:47.250
many of these so get yourself

738
00:26:47.250 --> 00:26:49.380
a star chart like this

739
00:26:49.380 --> 00:26:51.470
and find

740
00:26:51.470 --> 00:26:53.500
them or use the star charts that

741
00:26:53.500 --> 00:26:55.580
are on the Hubble

742
00:26:55.580 --> 00:26:57.740
site and you'll

743
00:26:57.740 --> 00:26:59.850
know where to look.

744
00:26:59.850 --> 00:27:01.890
It's good to use a set of

745
00:27:01.890 --> 00:27:04.060
binoculars at night that's,

746
00:27:04.060 --> 00:27:06.130
one like this.

747
00:27:06.130 --> 00:27:08.190
This is a 10x50

748
00:27:08.190 --> 00:27:10.230
10 is the magnification

749
00:27:10.230 --> 00:27:12.330
50 is the size and milometer

750
00:27:12.330 --> 00:27:14.380
of the glass up front.

751
00:27:14.380 --> 00:27:16.550
Most of us have 7x35 at home they're

752
00:27:16.550 --> 00:27:18.580
great for terrestrial viewing,

753
00:27:18.580 --> 00:27:20.670
looking at things in the yard

754
00:27:20.670 --> 00:27:22.720
or what ever.

755
00:27:22.720 --> 00:27:24.820
But you want a little more power and you want to

756
00:27:24.820 --> 00:27:26.920
gather more light because the stars are faint.

757
00:27:26.920 --> 00:27:29.040
You want this

758
00:27:29.040 --> 00:27:29.200
lens to be as big as you can hold

759
00:27:29.200 --> 00:27:32.270
lens to be as big as you can hold steady.

760
00:27:32.270 --> 00:27:35.340
That's the other caveat, right?

761
00:27:35.340 --> 00:27:37.380
So if you get to heavy of a binocular you can't hold it steady

762
00:27:37.380 --> 00:27:39.490
and you won't get a very good view.

763
00:27:39.490 --> 00:27:41.620
So just 2 other representitives

764
00:27:41.620 --> 00:27:43.660
scopes you might

765
00:27:43.660 --> 00:27:45.710
be fascinated to know that the

766
00:27:45.710 --> 00:27:47.750
beautiful that I took

767
00:27:47.750 --> 00:27:50.830
and the one of the Pleiades was taken with

768
00:27:50.830 --> 00:27:53.890
almost exactly this size, it wasn't this particular one

769
00:27:53.890 --> 00:27:55.990
but I had it mounted on the back

770
00:27:55.990 --> 00:27:58.120
of a larger scope and more

771
00:27:58.120 --> 00:28:00.170
expensive mount that was tracking the star

772
00:28:00.170 --> 00:28:02.220
cause again I had to layup these time

773
00:28:02.220 --> 00:28:04.290
exposures. But you can enjoy

774
00:28:04.290 --> 00:28:06.450
the Pleiades and the Orion

775
00:28:06.450 --> 00:28:09.580
nebula and M31

776
00:28:09.580 --> 00:28:12.710
all as beautiful objects in a scope this size.

777
00:28:12.710 --> 00:28:15.780
Our website says

778
00:28:15.780 --> 00:28:18.860
for each individual object it's best seen or

779
00:28:18.860 --> 00:28:21.940
can be see with a large, medium, or small

780
00:28:21.940 --> 00:28:25.050
telescope. This is what we mean by small.

781
00:28:25.050 --> 00:28:28.190
Up to 3 or 4 inches.

782
00:28:28.190 --> 00:28:30.220
Medium would be more in the class of a 6

783
00:28:30.220 --> 00:28:32.280
to 10 inch diameter telescope.

784
00:28:32.280 --> 00:28:34.360
The size of the

785
00:28:34.360 --> 00:28:36.440
lens again is

786
00:28:36.440 --> 00:28:38.530
the size of the

787
00:28:38.530 --> 00:28:40.650
it's what collecting

788
00:28:40.650 --> 00:28:42.830
the light so think of it as you eyeball.

789
00:28:42.830 --> 00:28:44.920
Imagine your eyeball being 8

790
00:28:44.920 --> 00:28:46.960
inches wide, you'd collect a lot more light.

791
00:28:46.960 --> 00:28:49.000
Then larger scopes,

792
00:28:49.000 --> 00:28:51.120
we didn't have room on set to bring it in here,

793
00:28:51.120 --> 00:28:54.260
can be 10, 12, 16

794
00:28:54.260 --> 00:28:56.330
some amateurs have 20 inch telescopes,

795
00:28:56.330 --> 00:28:58.370
great big things. But the get

796
00:28:58.370 --> 00:29:00.500
obviously difficult to move around.

797
00:29:00.500 --> 00:29:02.610
So

798
00:29:02.610 --> 00:29:04.640
each has their own price range

799
00:29:04.640 --> 00:29:06.760
and pros and cons

800
00:29:06.760 --> 00:29:08.910
read up on a web site that describes

801
00:29:08.910 --> 00:29:10.970
telescopes before buying one and really I

802
00:29:10.970 --> 00:29:13.040
recommend learning your constellations,

803
00:29:13.040 --> 00:29:15.090
finding Messier objects

804
00:29:15.090 --> 00:29:17.150
with a binocular and then

805
00:29:17.150 --> 00:29:19.260
stepping up as your interest continues.

806
00:29:19.260 --> 00:29:21.400
Here's a zoom eye piece

807
00:29:21.400 --> 00:29:23.440
that I was mentioning before

808
00:29:23.440 --> 00:29:25.480
so you just twist it and it

809
00:29:25.480 --> 00:29:27.530
magnifies so you don't have to keep

810
00:29:27.530 --> 00:29:29.630
reaching for different eye pieces.

811
00:29:29.630 --> 00:29:31.720
If you do want to do that

812
00:29:31.720 --> 00:29:33.750
there are many different types

813
00:29:33.750 --> 00:29:35.910
and

814
00:29:35.910 --> 00:29:37.950
it just makes it easier, I find it easier

815
00:29:37.950 --> 00:29:40.000
to just zoom in. Interesting

816
00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:42.060
Charles Messier, he

817
00:29:42.060 --> 00:29:44.170
looked through about every telescope he could get his

818
00:29:44.170 --> 00:29:46.260
hands on and

819
00:29:46.260 --> 00:29:48.390
they were very good

820
00:29:48.390 --> 00:29:50.470
and they didn't have eye pieces

821
00:29:50.470 --> 00:29:52.550
The eye piece they had weren't

822
00:29:52.550 --> 00:29:54.580
replaceable, I should say

823
00:29:54.580 --> 00:29:56.650
they were a fixed magnification.

824
00:29:56.650 --> 00:29:58.770
Interesting different.

825
00:29:58.770 --> 00:30:00.810
Before we go on to some questions from the audience

826
00:30:00.810 --> 00:30:02.940
the question I have for you is how many Messier

827
00:30:02.940 --> 00:30:04.990
objects have you personally seen?

828
00:30:04.990 --> 00:30:07.040
Oh boy! Yeah so.

829
00:30:07.040 --> 00:30:09.120
I've seen just about all of them.

830
00:30:09.120 --> 00:30:11.180
We didn't talk about tonight but there's a

831
00:30:11.180 --> 00:30:13.290
large group of galaxies

832
00:30:13.290 --> 00:30:16.440
in the constellation Coma Berenices

833
00:30:16.440 --> 00:30:19.510
off the tail of Leo and next to Virgo

834
00:30:19.510 --> 00:30:22.570
where there are just

835
00:30:22.570 --> 00:30:24.650
literally scores of galaxies.

836
00:30:24.650 --> 00:30:26.730
Some of them are Messier objects

837
00:30:26.730 --> 00:30:28.770
many of them are not. They didn't make his list.

838
00:30:28.770 --> 00:30:30.880
So I've looked at that cluster

839
00:30:30.880 --> 00:30:33.030
and when you

840
00:30:33.030 --> 00:30:35.080
look through the field of view

841
00:30:35.080 --> 00:30:37.150
you might see 2 or 3 Messier objects

842
00:30:37.150 --> 00:30:39.240
but 2 or 3 that are almost

843
00:30:39.240 --> 00:30:41.320
as bright that he missed somehow.

844
00:30:41.320 --> 00:30:43.450
I've seen

845
00:30:43.450 --> 00:30:45.490
them all, I haven't cataloged

846
00:30:45.490 --> 00:30:47.550
all but I'm starting to do that

847
00:30:47.550 --> 00:30:49.610
now, it kind of a bucket list thing

848
00:30:49.610 --> 00:30:51.650
for me. If you write

849
00:30:51.650 --> 00:30:53.730
down the day, time, and scope

850
00:30:53.730 --> 00:30:55.820
that you used and details

851
00:30:55.820 --> 00:30:57.930
about the sky

852
00:30:57.930 --> 00:30:59.990
and send that log

853
00:30:59.990 --> 00:31:02.000
to the Astronomical League

854
00:31:02.000 --> 00:31:04.060
you can get a certificate.

855
00:31:04.060 --> 00:31:06.110
Which is really cool. Say you've seen all

856
00:31:06.110 --> 00:31:08.170
the Messier objects. So I'm now

857
00:31:08.170 --> 00:31:10.250
logging them all, I've probably seen them all.

858
00:31:10.250 --> 00:31:12.370
But I didn't log them all.

859
00:31:12.370 --> 00:31:14.430
Excellent! Before we go we have some

860
00:31:14.430 --> 00:31:15.450
time for questions.

861
00:31:15.450 --> 00:31:17.600
Yeah, we do and it seems like we have a couple

862
00:31:17.600 --> 00:31:19.640
Messier collection

863
00:31:19.640 --> 00:31:21.690
hopefuls in here.

864
00:31:21.690 --> 00:31:23.760
We have one question asking,

865
00:31:23.760 --> 00:31:25.860
what is the best kind of telescope for

866
00:31:25.860 --> 00:31:27.990
a beginner? While we are over here we might as well

867
00:31:27.990 --> 00:31:30.110
start with the telescope questions, yeah?

868
00:31:30.110 --> 00:31:32.170
The best answer I've heard to that question is

869
00:31:32.170 --> 00:31:34.250
one that you use. OK?

870
00:31:34.250 --> 00:31:36.340
So it can't be to heavy, it can't be

871
00:31:36.340 --> 00:31:38.460
too complicated,

872
00:31:38.460 --> 00:31:40.570
can't be to expensive.

873
00:31:40.570 --> 00:31:42.700
Right? If you're just a beginner.

874
00:31:42.700 --> 00:31:44.760
Because you want to get your feet wet.

875
00:31:44.760 --> 00:31:46.850
Right?

876
00:31:46.850 --> 00:31:48.920
Realize I really can find things.

877
00:31:48.920 --> 00:31:51.020
Enjoy them and then

878
00:31:51.020 --> 00:31:53.160
move up from there.

879
00:31:53.160 --> 00:31:55.190
I find ones that have this

880
00:31:55.190 --> 00:31:57.230
style of mount helpful.

881
00:31:57.230 --> 00:32:00.290
It's called a azimuth and

882
00:32:00.290 --> 00:32:03.340
elevation and so it's very intuitive to just

883
00:32:03.340 --> 00:32:05.440
swing it around and bring it up

884
00:32:05.440 --> 00:32:07.550
and look for your object in the

885
00:32:07.550 --> 00:32:09.670
one of these types of telescopes.

886
00:32:09.670 --> 00:32:11.740
I think this a good choice

887
00:32:11.740 --> 00:32:13.790
not maybe this big but

888
00:32:13.790 --> 00:32:15.870
an azimuth elevation kind of

889
00:32:15.870 --> 00:32:17.940
mount on the telescope.

890
00:32:17.940 --> 00:32:20.040
Then similar we got a different question

891
00:32:20.040 --> 00:32:22.160
from someone else asking, what are the best

892
00:32:22.160 --> 00:32:24.200
kind of binoculars for back yard astronomy?

893
00:32:24.200 --> 00:32:26.260
Yeah, well again a

894
00:32:26.260 --> 00:32:28.340
I would say shoot for something

895
00:32:28.340 --> 00:32:30.380
like a 10x50

896
00:32:30.380 --> 00:32:32.440
like these

897
00:32:32.440 --> 00:32:34.480
and not to heavy.

898
00:32:34.480 --> 00:32:36.570
If you get much heavier then this they

899
00:32:36.570 --> 00:32:38.700
sell stands you can put them on

900
00:32:38.700 --> 00:32:40.790
but you'll want something to steady them.

901
00:32:40.790 --> 00:32:42.850
I think a 10x50 is a

902
00:32:42.850 --> 00:32:44.900
pretty good size for most places.

903
00:32:44.900 --> 00:32:46.970
That's always my problem but I love using binoculars

904
00:32:46.970 --> 00:32:49.090
but it's hard to keep them steady in your hands.

905
00:32:49.090 --> 00:32:51.140
So people have techniques like resting your

906
00:32:51.140 --> 00:32:53.300
elbows on knees

907
00:32:53.300 --> 00:32:55.350
and steadying that way or actually going up against

908
00:32:55.350 --> 00:32:57.400
a wall. That's one of the harder things, learning to

909
00:32:57.400 --> 00:32:59.410
steady the image. Right.

910
00:32:59.410 --> 00:33:01.590
Speaking of images maybe we'll come out here

911
00:33:01.590 --> 00:33:02.680
so we can see some more of these

912
00:33:02.680 --> 00:33:03.780
images in the background

913
00:33:03.780 --> 00:33:04.910
while we take a few more questions.

914
00:33:04.910 --> 00:33:05.950
Watch your step.

915
00:33:05.950 --> 00:33:08.010
Kelly wants to know, what

916
00:33:08.010 --> 00:33:10.060
causes new stars to move

917
00:33:10.060 --> 00:33:12.240
away from the cloud that they were born in?

918
00:33:12.240 --> 00:33:14.370
Well there are a lot of reasons for this.

919
00:33:14.370 --> 00:33:16.500
There an intrinsic movement of the stars.

920
00:33:16.500 --> 00:33:18.560
That when stars form they pick

921
00:33:18.560 --> 00:33:20.620
up angular momentum, they begin to spin

922
00:33:20.620 --> 00:33:22.680
and the clusters of stars spin in different ways too.

923
00:33:22.680 --> 00:33:24.770
Over time this can actually spin some

924
00:33:24.770 --> 00:33:26.890
of the stars out of the cluster entirely.

925
00:33:26.890 --> 00:33:29.000
The other thing to remember is that star clusters

926
00:33:29.000 --> 00:33:31.180
never live just by themselves.

927
00:33:31.180 --> 00:33:33.250
We go around the galaxy.

928
00:33:33.250 --> 00:33:35.310
Right now we actually flying around the center

929
00:33:35.310 --> 00:33:37.400
of the Milky Way galaxy at about a

930
00:33:37.400 --> 00:33:39.420
half a million miles an hour.

931
00:33:39.420 --> 00:33:41.550
Good thing we don't actually feel that.

932
00:33:41.550 --> 00:33:43.600
As the Sun moves around the galaxy it has

933
00:33:43.600 --> 00:33:45.640
very gentle gravitation encounters

934
00:33:45.640 --> 00:33:47.700
with other stars. Over billions

935
00:33:47.700 --> 00:33:49.860
of years, over many passes around

936
00:33:49.860 --> 00:33:52.950
the galaxy, this spreads the cluster out.

937
00:33:52.950 --> 00:33:54.990
We've left probably some of our sister stars

938
00:33:54.990 --> 00:33:57.130
way on the other side of the galaxy.

939
00:33:57.130 --> 00:33:59.200
The star formed right near us but now

940
00:33:59.200 --> 00:34:01.250
it's 100 thousand light years away.

941
00:34:01.250 --> 00:34:03.300
And that's just the regular gravitational attraction

942
00:34:03.300 --> 00:34:05.380
of the different stars as we move through the galaxy.

943
00:34:05.380 --> 00:34:06.920
Great! It seems like these clusters

944
00:34:06.920 --> 00:34:08.970
kind of resonated with people.

945
00:34:08.970 --> 00:34:11.030
Someone else wanted to know,

946
00:34:11.030 --> 00:34:13.110
how far away are stars

947
00:34:13.110 --> 00:34:15.210
in a cluster?

948
00:34:15.210 --> 00:34:17.340
That's an interesting question. I don't have an exact number

949
00:34:17.340 --> 00:34:19.380
for some of the clusters that we've been showing you.

950
00:34:19.380 --> 00:34:21.480
But as Kevin mentioned, if you were in a globular

951
00:34:21.480 --> 00:34:23.530
cluster. If you were in a planet

952
00:34:23.530 --> 00:34:25.630
around a star in the heart of a globular

953
00:34:25.630 --> 00:34:27.680
cluster, the night sky would be

954
00:34:27.680 --> 00:34:29.780
brilliantly bright. So the closest

955
00:34:29.780 --> 00:34:31.900
star to us is about 4 light years away

956
00:34:31.900 --> 00:34:34.080
and in the heart of a globular cluster

957
00:34:34.080 --> 00:34:36.150
it would be a lot closer then that.

958
00:34:36.150 --> 00:34:38.230
I don't have an exact number but I do know

959
00:34:38.230 --> 00:34:40.330
the night sky would look a lot different.

960
00:34:40.330 --> 00:34:42.430
4 light years is a long way.

961
00:34:42.430 --> 00:34:44.570
Right? And so

962
00:34:44.570 --> 00:34:46.610
I've read if

963
00:34:46.610 --> 00:34:48.670
you considered the volume

964
00:34:48.670 --> 00:34:50.730
of sphere

965
00:34:50.730 --> 00:34:52.830
this 4 light years in

966
00:34:52.830 --> 00:34:54.960
radius some of these globular

967
00:34:54.960 --> 00:34:57.100
cluster there could be as many as

968
00:34:57.100 --> 00:34:59.140
10 thousand stars within that

969
00:34:59.140 --> 00:35:01.200


970
00:35:01.200 --> 00:35:03.280
that sphere and so

971
00:35:03.280 --> 00:35:05.310
imagine being on a planet around one of those

972
00:35:05.310 --> 00:35:07.420


973
00:35:07.420 --> 00:35:09.540
it would be just dazzling.

974
00:35:09.540 --> 00:35:11.700
And then another question.

975
00:35:11.700 --> 00:35:13.740
This one looks it's specifically

976
00:35:13.740 --> 00:35:15.800
for Kevin. How do you deal with light pollution?

977
00:35:15.800 --> 00:35:17.880
Yes... Well

978
00:35:17.880 --> 00:35:19.960
I cry a lot I guess is the answer.

979
00:35:19.960 --> 00:35:22.000
[Laughter]

980
00:35:22.000 --> 00:35:24.240
If you have a

981
00:35:24.240 --> 00:35:27.290
portable telescope which some of my are.

982
00:35:27.290 --> 00:35:29.350
You get to a dark spot. In that way

983
00:35:29.350 --> 00:35:31.430
you can just enjoy the night sky and

984
00:35:31.430 --> 00:35:33.540
find things easier.

985
00:35:33.540 --> 00:35:35.630
Taking pictures, see

986
00:35:35.630 --> 00:35:37.740
is one of the strategies that I have

987
00:35:37.740 --> 00:35:39.780
to fight light pollution because

988
00:35:39.780 --> 00:35:41.840
you can play tricks with a digital camera.

989
00:35:41.840 --> 00:35:43.910
Digital camera is very very

990
00:35:43.910 --> 00:35:45.950
sensitive as you've seen in these

991
00:35:45.950 --> 00:35:48.050
images and so

992
00:35:48.050 --> 00:35:50.160
you can play these tricks

993
00:35:50.160 --> 00:35:52.300
about stacking up photos

994
00:35:52.300 --> 00:35:54.340
and processing them and get these

995
00:35:54.340 --> 00:35:56.400
amazing results. I live north

996
00:35:56.400 --> 00:35:58.480
of Washington, DC where it's very

997
00:35:58.480 --> 00:36:00.590
bright and yet

998
00:36:00.590 --> 00:36:02.690
you can play these tricks

999
00:36:02.690 --> 00:36:04.810
with a digital camera.

1000
00:36:04.810 --> 00:36:06.880
Some of the same tricks Hubble

1001
00:36:06.880 --> 00:36:08.960
plays actually.

1002
00:36:08.960 --> 00:36:11.040
Taking an image

1003
00:36:11.040 --> 00:36:13.070
and then basically covering

1004
00:36:13.070 --> 00:36:15.170
the shutter

1005
00:36:15.170 --> 00:36:17.280
and putting up a black

1006
00:36:17.280 --> 00:36:19.350
cover on the telescope

1007
00:36:19.350 --> 00:36:21.390
and taking another image. You'd say

1008
00:36:21.390 --> 00:36:23.470
why would you do that? You record the

1009
00:36:23.470 --> 00:36:25.540
noise in the camera

1010
00:36:25.540 --> 00:36:27.610
and then there is software

1011
00:36:27.610 --> 00:36:29.710
that you can use to subtract off the noise

1012
00:36:29.710 --> 00:36:31.830
so this is the way to fight light

1013
00:36:31.830 --> 00:36:33.960
pollution. You subtract it off with

1014
00:36:33.960 --> 00:36:36.030
a digital camera. Can't do that with your eye.

1015
00:36:36.030 --> 00:36:38.110
But Hubble plays that same trick.

1016
00:36:38.110 --> 00:36:40.170
Not to fight light pollution so much but

1017
00:36:40.170 --> 00:36:42.290
just to get that noise that is

1018
00:36:42.290 --> 00:36:44.390
inherent in the camera because of it's

1019
00:36:44.390 --> 00:36:46.390
thermal qualities

1020
00:36:46.390 --> 00:36:48.550
and subtract that out.

1021
00:36:48.550 --> 00:36:50.590
It's amazing to me just how much we are missing with

1022
00:36:50.590 --> 00:36:52.670
light pollution. The most beautiful sky I've ever saw

1023
00:36:52.670 --> 00:36:54.750
was when I was in Chile, I was in the

1024
00:36:54.750 --> 00:36:56.850
Atacama desert where there were no lights around at all

1025
00:36:56.850 --> 00:36:59.000
and somebody pointed out that

1026
00:36:59.000 --> 00:37:01.080
the Milky Way was so bright over head

1027
00:37:01.080 --> 00:37:03.110
it was making me cry. It was so beautiful

1028
00:37:03.110 --> 00:37:05.190
I was getting tears in my eyes. I looked down

1029
00:37:05.190 --> 00:37:07.290
at the ground and someone pointed out that I was

1030
00:37:07.290 --> 00:37:09.380
casting a very dim shadow on the ground.

1031
00:37:09.380 --> 00:37:11.520
But there was no moon out that night,

1032
00:37:11.520 --> 00:37:13.680
none of the bright planets were out that night

1033
00:37:13.680 --> 00:37:15.730
I was actually a shadow being cast by the Milk Way.

1034
00:37:15.730 --> 00:37:17.780
That's how bright the Milky Way can get.

1035
00:37:17.780 --> 00:37:19.950
So get yourself

1036
00:37:19.950 --> 00:37:23.080
to a dark sky if you possible can.

1037
00:37:23.080 --> 00:37:25.150
Wow! That's crazy. So we have a question

1038
00:37:25.150 --> 00:37:27.210
about Hubble specifically.

1039
00:37:27.210 --> 00:37:29.290
How does Hubble take so many sharp

1040
00:37:29.290 --> 00:37:31.350
images when it's moving so fast?

1041
00:37:31.350 --> 00:37:33.450
Pointing. I think

1042
00:37:33.450 --> 00:37:35.550
I'll leave this to the Hubble operation manager.

1043
00:37:35.550 --> 00:37:37.690
Absolutely. That's for you Kev. Yes no.

1044
00:37:37.690 --> 00:37:39.700
You don't think about it much

1045
00:37:39.700 --> 00:37:41.760
that would be more of a problem if

1046
00:37:41.760 --> 00:37:43.810
the stars were closer but they're

1047
00:37:43.810 --> 00:37:45.870
so far away that the light

1048
00:37:45.870 --> 00:37:48.080
that's coming anywhere Earth

1049
00:37:48.080 --> 00:37:51.210
is coming in parallel beams.

1050
00:37:51.210 --> 00:37:54.300
And so, yes Hubble is moving around the Earth

1051
00:37:54.300 --> 00:37:57.390
but it's still seeing these

1052
00:37:57.390 --> 00:37:59.410
parallel beams that come from these

1053
00:37:59.410 --> 00:38:01.510
distant stars.

1054
00:38:01.510 --> 00:38:03.540
If an object was closer like

1055
00:38:03.540 --> 00:38:05.660
the moon,

1056
00:38:05.660 --> 00:38:07.720
you don't see many Hubble pictures

1057
00:38:07.720 --> 00:38:09.730
of the moon do you? See,

1058
00:38:09.730 --> 00:38:11.820
Hubble was never designed to look at the moon.

1059
00:38:11.820 --> 00:38:13.890
Now we've

1060
00:38:13.890 --> 00:38:15.930
over the years that Hubble's been operating

1061
00:38:15.930 --> 00:38:18.010
we know have modes that can but they are very

1062
00:38:18.010 --> 00:38:20.120
seldom used because you have a

1063
00:38:20.120 --> 00:38:22.160
what they have a parallax problem.

1064
00:38:22.160 --> 00:38:24.200
The moon is to close

1065
00:38:24.200 --> 00:38:26.250
and Hubble is moving to fast

1066
00:38:26.250 --> 00:38:28.320
that light beams aren't coming to you

1067
00:38:28.320 --> 00:38:30.390
in a parallel fashion.

1068
00:38:30.390 --> 00:38:32.450
And so, the secret is

1069
00:38:32.450 --> 00:38:34.570
the stars are so far way.

1070
00:38:34.570 --> 00:38:36.630
Wow that fascinating.

1071
00:38:36.630 --> 00:38:38.760
Some asked, what is the best

1072
00:38:38.760 --> 00:38:40.810
telescope for astro-photography?

1073
00:38:40.810 --> 00:38:42.850
OK.I don't know how to answer that

1074
00:38:42.850 --> 00:38:44.870
question, that's why I'm asking you.

1075
00:38:44.870 --> 00:38:46.930
[laughter]

1076
00:38:46.930 --> 00:38:48.990
There is different types of targets

1077
00:38:48.990 --> 00:38:51.070
what we've been calling

1078
00:38:51.070 --> 00:38:53.190
these ones would be classified as

1079
00:38:53.190 --> 00:38:55.290
deep space objects

1080
00:38:55.290 --> 00:38:57.350
(DOS's). There's also like the moon

1081
00:38:57.350 --> 00:38:59.400
and planets. You would

1082
00:38:59.400 --> 00:39:01.480
want a different type of telescope

1083
00:39:01.480 --> 00:39:03.540
to do lunar and

1084
00:39:03.540 --> 00:39:05.670
planetary work then you would

1085
00:39:05.670 --> 00:39:07.810
for deep sky objects.

1086
00:39:07.810 --> 00:39:09.840
And so that's part of the answer.

1087
00:39:09.840 --> 00:39:11.880
For deep sky objects I think

1088
00:39:11.880 --> 00:39:13.960
most web sites

1089
00:39:13.960 --> 00:39:16.040
I would go to and people more

1090
00:39:16.040 --> 00:39:18.150
experience then I at this would say

1091
00:39:18.150 --> 00:39:20.300
get medium size

1092
00:39:20.300 --> 00:39:22.350
refracting telescope.

1093
00:39:22.350 --> 00:39:24.400
It's the type that has the lens up front.

1094
00:39:24.400 --> 00:39:26.480
With a

1095
00:39:26.480 --> 00:39:28.540
fairly short focal length

1096
00:39:28.540 --> 00:39:30.650
and that will probably do the best

1097
00:39:30.650 --> 00:39:32.750
for you for these things.

1098
00:39:32.750 --> 00:39:34.800
Lot's of reason why

1099
00:39:34.800 --> 00:39:36.850
those kind of telescope can

1100
00:39:36.850 --> 00:39:38.910
range from the $600 that I bought

1101
00:39:38.910 --> 00:39:40.990
to $6000 so

1102
00:39:40.990 --> 00:39:43.020
you kind of go with your budget too.

1103
00:39:43.020 --> 00:39:45.110
And so much of it appears to be in the way you process the images.

1104
00:39:45.110 --> 00:39:47.160
I mean you image of Andromeda was

1105
00:39:47.160 --> 00:39:49.280
spectacular. I remember when I first saw it

1106
00:39:49.280 --> 00:39:51.460
we were rehearsing for this, I said that was something

1107
00:39:51.460 --> 00:39:53.540
that the Mt Wilson telescope would have taken

1108
00:39:53.540 --> 00:39:55.600
a 100 years ago. That would have been the best

1109
00:39:55.600 --> 00:39:57.680
astronomical image in the world but here you did this out of the

1110
00:39:57.680 --> 00:39:59.790
small scope. Yeah, there it is.

1111
00:39:59.790 --> 00:40:01.930
So that has to do a lot with what you do

1112
00:40:01.930 --> 00:40:03.980
with the imagery afterwards too.

1113
00:40:03.980 --> 00:40:06.050
So true. Yes

1114
00:40:06.050 --> 00:40:08.120
The more you stack the more signals

1115
00:40:08.120 --> 00:40:10.220
noise you get and the more you learn

1116
00:40:10.220 --> 00:40:12.310
about Photoshop and

1117
00:40:12.310 --> 00:40:14.460
these other processing techniques.

1118
00:40:14.460 --> 00:40:16.520
They just

1119
00:40:16.520 --> 00:40:18.580
the better you get at it. I really consider myself

1120
00:40:18.580 --> 00:40:20.660
a baby at it.

1121
00:40:20.660 --> 00:40:22.740
This one again was about a 4 hours exposure.

1122
00:40:22.740 --> 00:40:24.800


1123
00:40:24.800 --> 00:40:26.850
Many many times more then

1124
00:40:26.850 --> 00:40:29.000
4 hours in processing.

1125
00:40:29.000 --> 00:40:31.050
And you only have been doing this about 4 years.

1126
00:40:31.050 --> 00:40:33.130
Yep. It's because there's so many resources online.

1127
00:40:33.130 --> 00:40:35.180
We're bringing you the

1128
00:40:35.180 --> 00:40:37.220
Hubble Messier catalog

1129
00:40:37.220 --> 00:40:39.340
online with all its information

1130
00:40:39.340 --> 00:40:41.440
there's lots and lots of helpful

1131
00:40:41.440 --> 00:40:43.480
resources out there about astro-photography.

1132
00:40:43.480 --> 00:40:45.650
The Messier catalog is

1133
00:40:45.650 --> 00:40:47.720
such an inspiration to me, sort of wrapping

1134
00:40:47.720 --> 00:40:49.810
it all up again, we talk about avoiding these things that

1135
00:40:49.810 --> 00:40:51.880
aren't comets but instead

1136
00:40:51.880 --> 00:40:54.020
it turns out to be the catalog of wonders.

1137
00:40:54.020 --> 00:40:56.100
Everything from dead stars to baby stars to

1138
00:40:56.100 --> 00:40:58.140
these vast galaxies that you took a picture of

1139
00:40:58.140 --> 00:41:00.190
well in some strange way we have

1140
00:41:00.190 --> 00:41:02.260
Charles Messier even though

1141
00:41:02.260 --> 00:41:04.350
it wasn't what he was looking for.

1142
00:41:04.350 --> 00:41:06.470
Yes, he found 13

1143
00:41:06.470 --> 00:41:08.620
comets on his own.

1144
00:41:08.620 --> 00:41:10.800
Remarkable for the instruments he had and

1145
00:41:10.800 --> 00:41:11.860
operating from the center of Paris.

1146
00:41:11.860 --> 00:41:12.960
Can you imagine it?

1147
00:41:12.960 --> 00:41:16.060
In an observatory there and he

1148
00:41:16.060 --> 00:41:19.160
co-discovered 7 others with

1149
00:41:19.160 --> 00:41:22.300
his friends. So the man found 20

1150
00:41:22.300 --> 00:41:25.360
comets in his lifetime.

1151
00:41:25.360 --> 00:41:27.420
Very remarkable for the instruments he had

1152
00:41:27.420 --> 00:41:29.510
and the place he was doing it from.

1153
00:41:29.510 --> 00:41:31.600
Try to discover one from the center of Paris right now.

1154
00:41:31.600 --> 00:41:33.730
Pretty hard to do. OK.

1155
00:41:33.730 --> 00:41:35.880
Are you ready for another question? Sure!

1156
00:41:35.880 --> 00:41:37.930
Alahondra wants to know what are your favorite

1157
00:41:37.930 --> 00:41:39.950
locations for stargazing? I guess I can ask both

1158
00:41:39.950 --> 00:41:42.030
of you that question.

1159
00:41:42.030 --> 00:41:44.110
Well I just mention the Atacama Desert but that's kind

1160
00:41:44.110 --> 00:41:46.220
hard to get to. So it is

1161
00:41:46.220 --> 00:41:48.360
amazing to me how much you actually

1162
00:41:48.360 --> 00:41:50.420
can see from a relatively dark back yard.

1163
00:41:50.420 --> 00:41:52.480
If you can get yourself to a nice clear

1164
00:41:52.480 --> 00:41:54.540
horizon. I've seen comets

1165
00:41:54.540 --> 00:41:56.620
through small binoculars.

1166
00:41:56.620 --> 00:41:58.710
I've seen small telescopes where you can see the rings

1167
00:41:58.710 --> 00:42:00.830
of Saturn. Saturn in particular

1168
00:42:00.830 --> 00:42:02.990
is an object a lot closer to us

1169
00:42:02.990 --> 00:42:05.050
then the Messier objects are but

1170
00:42:05.050 --> 00:42:07.110
this is one of the things where if you're a little disappointed

1171
00:42:07.110 --> 00:42:09.210
by the Andromeda galaxy just being a smudge.

1172
00:42:09.210 --> 00:42:11.300
When you see Saturn and it's rings

1173
00:42:11.300 --> 00:42:13.420
right there in front of you and the moons of Saturn

1174
00:42:13.420 --> 00:42:15.570
as well, that's something that just floored

1175
00:42:15.570 --> 00:42:17.630
me the first time I saw it. It looked like somebody

1176
00:42:17.630 --> 00:42:19.700
had taken a picture of Saturn from a textbook and

1177
00:42:19.700 --> 00:42:21.760
just kind of pasted on the end of the telescope.

1178
00:42:21.760 --> 00:42:23.890
So some of these objects are very easy to

1179
00:42:23.890 --> 00:42:25.950
see, they are very bright

1180
00:42:25.950 --> 00:42:28.090
don't need a dark sky to see them.

1181
00:42:28.090 --> 00:42:30.130
Yeah that's right.

1182
00:42:30.130 --> 00:42:32.190
The moon and planets

1183
00:42:32.190 --> 00:42:34.220
in even a very modest size scope

1184
00:42:34.220 --> 00:42:36.330
can be a

1185
00:42:36.330 --> 00:42:39.360
unforgettable

1186
00:42:39.360 --> 00:42:41.490
experience.

1187
00:42:41.490 --> 00:42:43.660
As you mentioned, seeing the rings of Saturn

1188
00:42:43.660 --> 00:42:45.710
I've been at so many

1189
00:42:45.710 --> 00:42:47.760
star parties, we call them, we have telescopes

1190
00:42:47.760 --> 00:42:49.850
out and have fun with

1191
00:42:49.850 --> 00:42:51.940
the heavens.

1192
00:42:51.940 --> 00:42:54.060
It's so fun to see people

1193
00:42:54.060 --> 00:42:56.230
see the moon or the planets

1194
00:42:56.230 --> 00:42:58.360
Saturn or Jupiter with it's

1195
00:42:58.360 --> 00:43:01.380
moons and bands for the first time.

1196
00:43:01.380 --> 00:43:03.380
They never forget it. I never forget it.

1197
00:43:03.380 --> 00:43:05.490
That's what got me into astronomy

1198
00:43:05.490 --> 00:43:07.600
many, many years ago

1199
00:43:07.600 --> 00:43:09.740
seeing Saturn

1200
00:43:09.740 --> 00:43:11.800
there is connection with the universe

1201
00:43:11.800 --> 00:43:13.870
that you feel and it's really

1202
00:43:13.870 --> 00:43:15.940
unforgettable. Where would I go

1203
00:43:15.940 --> 00:43:18.040
around here? I have a brother-in-law

1204
00:43:18.040 --> 00:43:20.150
that lives down in Virginia in the mountains

1205
00:43:20.150 --> 00:43:22.290
and so that's a good spot to go

1206
00:43:22.290 --> 00:43:24.330
and the eastern shore is pretty

1207
00:43:24.330 --> 00:43:26.370
good dark spot with nice horizons.

1208
00:43:26.370 --> 00:43:28.420
So you can see things

1209
00:43:28.420 --> 00:43:30.510
from horizon to horizon

1210
00:43:30.510 --> 00:43:32.560
but if I were going to pay money and go some

1211
00:43:32.560 --> 00:43:34.660
place it would probably Chile or someplace like that

1212
00:43:34.660 --> 00:43:36.840
or Hawaii

1213
00:43:36.840 --> 00:43:39.910
to have, be on top of a mountain

1214
00:43:39.910 --> 00:43:42.950
where all the other great telescopes are

1215
00:43:42.950 --> 00:43:44.020
and observe from there.

1216
00:43:44.020 --> 00:43:45.200
One thing I have to say is take advantage of

1217
00:43:45.200 --> 00:43:47.320
your local amateur astronomy societies.

1218
00:43:47.320 --> 00:43:49.380
Because pretty much where ever you are in the US

1219
00:43:49.380 --> 00:43:51.430
there is local club where if don't know what

1220
00:43:51.430 --> 00:43:52.480
sort of telescope you'd like

1221
00:43:52.480 --> 00:43:53.570
or you don't know how to use a telescope

1222
00:43:53.570 --> 00:43:55.600
if you don't where the nearest dark sky

1223
00:43:55.600 --> 00:43:57.710
areas are around you. Your local astronomy

1224
00:43:57.710 --> 00:43:59.840
club will know these things. And they are an

1225
00:43:59.840 --> 00:44:02.010
incredible resource. As a professional

1226
00:44:02.010 --> 00:44:04.070
astronomer I would go to these large

1227
00:44:04.070 --> 00:44:06.140
observatories and people would type coordinates

1228
00:44:06.140 --> 00:44:08.230
in the computers and I would make my observations

1229
00:44:08.230 --> 00:44:10.350
I often feel that the amateur astronomy

1230
00:44:10.350 --> 00:44:12.650
community are the real astronomers.

1231
00:44:12.650 --> 00:44:13.710
They're the people who really know the sky

1232
00:44:13.710 --> 00:44:14.750
like the back of their hand.

1233
00:44:14.750 --> 00:44:15.800
Right.

1234
00:44:15.800 --> 00:44:17.900
Amateur astronomy

1235
00:44:17.900 --> 00:44:19.990
groups will also

1236
00:44:19.990 --> 00:44:22.100
love to show you telescopes

1237
00:44:22.100 --> 00:44:24.250
and so you can try

1238
00:44:24.250 --> 00:44:26.320
before you buy. If you

1239
00:44:26.320 --> 00:44:28.370
go to a club and that's

1240
00:44:28.370 --> 00:44:29.410
also helpful.

1241
00:44:29.410 --> 00:44:30.510
Great!

1242
00:44:30.510 --> 00:44:31.640
It's kind of like asking someone about

1243
00:44:31.640 --> 00:44:32.760
their job,

1244
00:44:32.760 --> 00:44:33.920
asking someone about their telescope

1245
00:44:33.920 --> 00:44:34.970
they can talk for days.

1246
00:44:34.970 --> 00:44:37.010
So unfortunately we only have time for

1247
00:44:37.010 --> 00:44:39.110
one more question.

1248
00:44:39.110 --> 00:44:41.200
We're going to keep answering some of your questions on

1249
00:44:41.200 --> 00:44:43.370
Facebook as they are coming in later on but

1250
00:44:43.370 --> 00:44:45.540
unfortunately we only have so much camera time so.

1251
00:44:45.540 --> 00:44:47.600
One more question.

1252
00:44:47.600 --> 00:44:49.670
What is your favorite object you've view

1253
00:44:49.670 --> 00:44:51.740
through a telescope?

1254
00:44:51.740 --> 00:44:53.860
Awe, it's like choosing between your children.

1255
00:44:53.860 --> 00:44:55.910
Oh wow. OK so I guess.

1256
00:44:55.910 --> 00:44:57.960
We just mentioned Saturn

1257
00:44:57.960 --> 00:45:00.100
so I think that actually is my favorite.

1258
00:45:00.100 --> 00:45:02.180
In the southern sky

1259
00:45:02.180 --> 00:45:04.280
there is something called the Carina nebula

1260
00:45:04.280 --> 00:45:06.400
and the Carina nebula is an area where

1261
00:45:06.400 --> 00:45:08.520
can see star birth and star death

1262
00:45:08.520 --> 00:45:10.660
all happening at once. There are young

1263
00:45:10.660 --> 00:45:12.720
clusters of stars, then there's a star called

1264
00:45:12.720 --> 00:45:14.790
Eta Carinae which is very close

1265
00:45:14.790 --> 00:45:16.840
we think to blowing itself up in a supernova

1266
00:45:16.840 --> 00:45:18.950
explosion. This part of the sky

1267
00:45:18.950 --> 00:45:21.090
has these vast bands of

1268
00:45:21.090 --> 00:45:23.270
dark dust and bright gas

1269
00:45:23.270 --> 00:45:24.310
and I have to say

1270
00:45:24.310 --> 00:45:25.360
those are some of the things that I've

1271
00:45:25.360 --> 00:45:26.420
seen with my own eyes

1272
00:45:26.420 --> 00:45:27.540
when I was living in the southern hemisphere

1273
00:45:27.540 --> 00:45:29.790
that just blew me away.

1274
00:45:29.790 --> 00:45:30.930
I mean this is probably the closest thing

1275
00:45:30.930 --> 00:45:31.990
I've seen with my

1276
00:45:31.990 --> 00:45:33.100
naked eyes looking through a telescope

1277
00:45:33.100 --> 00:45:35.180
that looked like a Hubble image.

1278
00:45:35.180 --> 00:45:37.270
Eda Carinae would have to be one of my favorites.

1279
00:45:37.270 --> 00:45:39.300
Yeah and for me

1280
00:45:39.300 --> 00:45:41.410
It is like deciding between

1281
00:45:41.410 --> 00:45:43.560
your children I guess.

1282
00:45:43.560 --> 00:45:45.590
I really love to look

1283
00:45:45.590 --> 00:45:47.630
visually at M11

1284
00:45:47.630 --> 00:45:49.690
that Wild Duck cluster.

1285
00:45:49.690 --> 00:45:51.780
Because when you first look at it in the scope

1286
00:45:51.780 --> 00:45:53.880
you can

1287
00:45:53.880 --> 00:45:55.930
imagine how Messier

1288
00:45:55.930 --> 00:45:58.090
didn't see any stars in, they're very

1289
00:45:58.090 --> 00:46:00.130
very close and yet you

1290
00:46:00.130 --> 00:46:02.180
zoom in and

1291
00:46:02.180 --> 00:46:04.260
it's almost like the

1292
00:46:04.260 --> 00:46:06.460
fly through that we saw.

1293
00:46:06.460 --> 00:46:09.580
It turns into something else.

1294
00:46:09.580 --> 00:46:12.630
And it's in the heart of the Milky Way where

1295
00:46:12.630 --> 00:46:14.710
it's surrounded by hundreds and hundreds stars

1296
00:46:14.710 --> 00:46:16.790
to begin with and so it's just

1297
00:46:16.790 --> 00:46:18.900
it's

1298
00:46:18.900 --> 00:46:20.990
I don't know how to describe it.

1299
00:46:20.990 --> 00:46:23.140
It's just beautiful. I could look at it

1300
00:46:23.140 --> 00:46:24.310
a long time.

1301
00:46:24.310 --> 00:46:25.370
If we don't know how to

1302
00:46:25.370 --> 00:46:26.450
describe it, you need to try it yourself.

1303
00:46:26.450 --> 00:46:27.550
That's right.

1304
00:46:27.550 --> 00:46:28.630
So get out there and

1305
00:46:28.630 --> 00:46:30.760
find the Messier catalog yourself

1306
00:46:30.760 --> 00:46:32.900
and enjoy the absolutely

1307
00:46:32.900 --> 00:46:34.990
beautiful that the Hubble Space Telescope

1308
00:46:34.990 --> 00:46:35.590
has made of these objects.

1309
00:46:35.590 --> 00:46:36.760
Absolutely, like they said

1310
00:46:36.760 --> 00:46:38.810
if you want more we've got

1311
00:46:38.810 --> 00:46:40.860
the catalog up on our web site at

1312
00:46:40.860 --> 00:46:41.920
nasa.gov/hubble and if you want

1313
00:46:41.920 --> 00:46:43.000
to know anything about Hubble

1314
00:46:43.000 --> 00:46:44.010
at anytime you can follow

1315
00:46:44.010 --> 00:46:45.160
us on twitter

1316
00:46:45.160 --> 00:46:46.310
@nasahubble

1317
00:46:46.310 --> 00:46:48.460
Thank you both so so much for being

1318
00:46:48.460 --> 00:46:50.540
here and thank you all for tuning into us

1319
00:46:50.540 --> 00:46:52.610
and we'll see you next time.

1320
00:46:52.610 --> 00:46:54.650
Bye

1321
00:46:54.650 --> 00:46:56.710


1322
00:46:56.710 --> 00:46:56.947