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Sky Serpents and Space Legends · Star Trails: From Backyard Astronomy to Cosmic Wonder

• 0:07
  Howdy Star Gazers and welcome to this episode
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  of Star Trails. I'm Drew and I'll be your guide
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  to the night sky for the week starting April
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  the 6th through the 12th. This week we welcome
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  another full moon. Three planets become morning
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  risers. Hydra dominates the night sky, and we
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  take a moment to celebrate the anniversary of
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  the first human in space, Russia's Yuri Gagarin.
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  So grab a comfortable spot under the night sky
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  and let's get started. We're building up to a
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  full moon on Saturday, April the 12th. This one
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  is known as the pink moon. Now, despite what
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  that name might suggest, this moon won't actually
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  turn pink. The name comes from a North American
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  wildflower, moss phlox, which blooms around this
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  time each spring and has a pink hue. Ancient
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  traditions, especially among indigenous peoples
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  and early European settlers, gave each month's
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  full moon a name tied to seasonal change. And
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  April's pink moon is all about new life blossoming
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  after winter. But this pink moon has a little
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  twist. It's also a micro moon. That means it
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  reaches its full phase just a day before the
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  moon hits apogee, the farthest point in its orbit
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  around Earth. Because it's farther away than
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  usual, this full moon will appear slightly smaller
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  and dimmer in the sky, about 14 % smaller than
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  a so -called supermoon. It's a reminder that
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  the moon's orbit isn't a perfect circle, but
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  rather an ellipse. Now on to the planets. You'll
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  want to grab a cup of coffee for this. In the
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  pre -dawn hours, there's a fascinating gathering
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  happening low in the eastern sky. Venus, Saturn,
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  and Mercury are forming a tight celestial trio.
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  Venus is by far the brightest, shining like a
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  beacon before sunrise. Just nearby are Saturn
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  and Mercury. Now here's the catch, because they're
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  so close to the horizon and the sun is coming
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  up fast, Mercury and Saturn will be tricky to
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  spot. You'll need an unobstructed view of the
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  eastern horizon, think open fields or the ocean,
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  and a bit of luck with atmospheric clarity. Binoculars
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  can help, but be sure the sun is fully below
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  the horizon to avoid eye damage. If you catch
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  them though, it should be a stunning sight, three
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  planets clustered less than 10 degrees apart
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  in a small corner of the sky. In the evening,
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  Jupiter and Mars are also making appearances.
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  Jupiter sets before midnight and shines brightly
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  in the west, hanging out in the constellation
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  Taurus. Mars is further east in Gemini, fading
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  a bit now that it's slipping away from Earth,
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  but still visible with its signature reddish
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  glow. This week, let's take a look into the cosmic
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  coils of Hydra, the largest constellation in
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  the night sky. Hydra slithers across the southern
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  sky in April, stretching more than 100 degrees
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  from just below Cancer in the west to Libra in
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  the southeast. It's a massive, winding constellation
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  that can take some effort to trace. In mythology,
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  Hydra was the serpent slain by Hercules as one
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  of his twelve labors. The creature had multiple
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  heads, and when one was cut off, two more would
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  grow in its place. Hercules had to burn each
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  neck after decapitation to stop the heads from
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  regenerating. The constellation captures that
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  serpentine nature with a long meandering line
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  of stars that slinks across the sky. Hydra's
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  brightest star is Al Fard, which means the solitary
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  one in Arabic. Al Fard sits alone in a relatively
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  dark patch of sky, glowing with an orange hue.
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  It's a giant star more than 50 times the size
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  of our Sun and about 177 light years away. Within
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  Hydra's boundaries, you'll also find a few deep
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  sky gems if you have binoculars or a small telescope.
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  Look for the Ghost of Jupiter Nebula, also known
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  as NGC 3242, a planetary nebula that looks like
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  a small pale disk. sort of like a tiny version
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  of Jupiter, hence the name. There's also the
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  Hydra cluster of galaxies, though that one's
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  best left to larger telescopes under dark skies.
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  Despite its size, Hydra doesn't have many bright
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  stars, which makes it a bit of a challenge. Once
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  you find Alphard, start tracing eastward and
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  let your imagination wind along the serpent's
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  spine. Before we wrap things up, let's shift
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  our gaze from the stars we see to the people
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  who have dared to go there. April the 12th marks
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  the 61st anniversary of a moment that changed
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  the course of human history. On this day, in
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  1961, a 27 -year -old Soviet pilot named Yuri
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  Gagarin climbed aboard a tiny, spherical spacecraft
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  called Vostok 1. and became the first human being
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  to travel into space. It's one of those before
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  and after moments, not just for science or space
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  exploration, but for how we see ourselves as
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  a species. Before Gagarin's flight, space was
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  something distant, something untouchable. After
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  his single orbit around the Earth, we knew it
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  was possible. A human had left the atmosphere
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  and come back. Gagarin's fame took off. He became
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  an international icon, a symbol of hope, curiosity,
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  and the courage it takes to go where no one has
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  gone before. Let's set the scene. The Cold War
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  was in full swing. The space race between the
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  Soviet Union and the United States was accelerating
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  after the launch of Sputnik in 1957, and both
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  nations were pouring resources into developing
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  manned spaceflight. The Soviets had a lead in
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  the early stages, and on April 12, 1961, they
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  stunned the world again. Gagarin was chosen from
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  more than 200 cosmonaut candidates. By all accounts,
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  he was calm under pressure, highly skilled, and
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  incredibly charismatic, which didn't hurt when
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  the mission made him a global celebrity overnight.
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  Vostok 1 launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
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  in Kazakhstan at 6 .07 am UTC. The spacecraft
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  was fully automated with no manual controls,
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  just in case Gagarin became disoriented in microgravity.
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  Gagarin's job was to monitor systems, report
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  back to ground control, and survive. The flight
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  lasted just 108 minutes, completing one full
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  orbit of the Earth at a peak altitude of about
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  200 miles. Gagarin saw something no human had
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  seen before, the curve of the Earth. He conveyed
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  the experience to mission control, saying, I
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  see the horizon of the Earth, and I see a beautiful
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  blue halo along the horizon, along the edge of
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  the Earth. For the first time, we had confirmation
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  from someone who had been there, looking down.
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  The reentry process was just as dramatic. The
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  Vostok capsule didn't have a soft landing system
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  like modern spacecraft. Gagarin ejected from
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  the capsule at about 23 ,000 feet and parachuted
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  to the ground separately. The Soviets kept that
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  detail secret for years because it didn't technically
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  comply with the international definition of a
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  complete spaceflight, which required the pilot
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  to land with the spacecraft. But he went to space
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  and made it back, so he earned his wings. When
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  he landed in a rural area of Russia, he surprised
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  a farmer and her daughter, who weren't quite
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  sure what to make of the man in the orange suit
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  and helmet. According to reports, he smiled and
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  reassured them, don't be afraid, I am a Soviet
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  like you, who has descended from space and I
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  must find a telephone to call Moscow. Overnight,
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  Yuri Gagarin became the most famous person on
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  Earth. He was paraded through Red Square, visited
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  by heads of state, and sent on goodwill tours
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  across the globe. But even as he became a symbol
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  of Soviet success, people everywhere, regardless
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  of politics, recognized the deeper significance
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  of what he had done. He wasn't just the first
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  Soviet in space. He was the first human in space,
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  and for one brief moment, the boundaries between
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  nations faded away and all of humanity had something
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  to cheer for. Tragically, Gagarin's life was
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  cut short. He died in a training jet crash in
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  1968, just seven years after his historic flight.
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  But his legacy endures in statues, in spacecraft
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  bearing his name, and in the hearts of everyone
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  who dreams of the stars. Every year on April
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  12th, space agencies, museums, and fans around
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  the world celebrate Yuri's Night, an international
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  party for space that honors not just Gagarin's
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  flight, but all of human space exploration. It's
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  a reminder that space belongs to all of us. If
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  you found this episode helpful, let me know and
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  feel free to send in your questions and observations.
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  The easiest way to do that is by visiting our
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  website, StarTrails .Show. This is also a great
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  way to share the show with friends. Until next
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  time, keep looking up and exploring the night
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  sky. Clear skies everyone!