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Transcript

Spirits in the Sky: Halloween Stargazing · Star Trails: From Backyard Astronomy to Cosmic Wonder

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Well, well, what have we here?
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Another curious soul daring to venture into the dark, starry abyss.
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How delightful!
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Welcome to the decrepit observatory of the Eternal Watcher, perched upon this forsaken
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peak where the winds never cease and the shadows grow long.
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Here, I watch the skies and listen to the whispers of the cosmos.
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Ah, but tonight is no ordinary night, my celestial companions.
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Oh, no, for the veil between worlds is thin and the heavens are brimming with secrets.
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And look at this, I'm receiving a transmission.
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Yes, my radio telescope is receiving a voice from the ether, a familiar one.
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Do you hear it?
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As always, its stunning rings make it a solid target for telescopes.
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Mars will be rising later.
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It's our friend, Drew, drifting through the cosmic microwave background, bringing you
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his usual, what does he call them, stargazing tips?
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Alquaint.
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Now, don't get me wrong, Drew was a fine stargazer, even if he's more likely to trip
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over his own telescope than discover a new constellation.
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He's got that endearing, oh look, there's a meteor, enthusiasm that you mortals find
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so charming.
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But tonight, let's see if he can handle the darker side of the cosmos, shall we?
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After all, not every twinkling light is as friendly as it seems.
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Howdy stargazers and welcome to a special Halloween edition of Star Trails.
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My name is Drew, and today we're diving into the spookier side of the universe, exploring
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some ghostly nebula and deep sky objects that might send a shiver down your spine.
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And later in the episode, we'll gather around the campfire for some scary stories of the
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night sky.
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So grab your binoculars and some Halloween candy, and let's get started.
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Now when you think of Halloween, your mind might wander to haunted houses and eerie graveyards,
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but did you know that the night sky has its own share of ghost stories?
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Out there, in the depths of space, are nebula that seem to float like spectral apparitions,
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stars that flicker like candle flames, and even cosmic clouds that resemble ghostly figures.
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I can't think of a better place to begin than with the ghost nebula, also known as SH2-136.
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Created about 1200 light-years away in the constellation Cepheus, this eerie structure
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of gas and dust appears to have ghostly figures drifting through space.
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These figures are actually knots of interstellar dust and gas which reflect and scatter the
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light from nearby stars, giving the nebula its haunting, translucent appearance.
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If you catch a glimpse of this nebula through a telescope, it's not hard to imagine a few
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ghostly apparitions gliding silently across the void.
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And then there's the Witch Head Nebula.
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With a name like that, it's no surprise this cosmic cloud makes an appearance in our Halloween
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special.
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The Witch Head Nebula, located about 900 light-years away in the constellation Aradanus, is so
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named because it looks remarkably like a witch's profile, complete with a pointy nose and chin.
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But this nebula isn't conjuring up spells, it's actually a cloud of gas and dust that's
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reflecting the light of the nearby supergiant star, Rigel.
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This blue star, which is part of the Orion constellation, gives the nebula a ghostly blue
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hue, perfect for Halloween night.
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Of course, we can't forget about one of the most iconic deep-sky objects in this spooky
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category, the Helix Nebula, also known as the Eye of God.
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This planetary nebula is what's left of a star much like our own Sun, which has shed
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its outer layers at the end of its life.
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What remains is a glowing ring of gas with a dense core at its center.
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Viewed through a telescope, it almost looks like a giant eye staring back at you from
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across the cosmos.
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The Helix Nebula is about 650 light-years away in the constellation Aquarius, and if you're
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lucky enough to be in a dark sky area, you just might be able to spot it on a clear night.
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When you think of Halloween, you probably picture the warm orange glow of a jack-o'-lantern.
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Well, it turns out the night sky has its own version of this Halloween hue.
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Tonight, we're looking at stars, moons, and other celestial bodies that shine with that
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same fiery orange glow, creating a pumpkin-like palette across the cosmos.
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Let's start with some of the orange stars you might spot in the night sky.
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One of the brightest is Beetlejuice, the red supergiant star that marks the shoulder of
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Orion.
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Beetlejuice is one of the largest stars visible to the naked eye, and it shines with a deep
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reddish-orange color.
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This hue comes from its cooler temperature compared to the other stars, like our Sun,
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giving it that warm pumpkin-like glow.
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Beetlejuice has been in the news quite a bit recently because it's expected to explode
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as a supernova sometime in the next 100,000 years.
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Imagine the Halloween show that would put on.
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Another orange star worth noting is Aldebaran, the eye of Taurus the Bull.
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This star has a softer orange tint, and it's relatively easy to find in the night sky.
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Look for it near the famous Pleiades star cluster, which appears like a tiny dipper of
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blue-white stars.
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Aldebaran's color comes from its cooler surface temperature, similar to Beetlejuice, making
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it another great example of a pumpkin star.
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But it's not just stars that take on a Halloween hue.
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Every autumn, we get to enjoy the sight of the Harvest Moon and the Hunter's Moon.
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These moons often appear larger and more orange when they're closer to the horizon, thanks
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to an effect called Rayleigh scattering.
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As the moon's light passes through more of the Earth's atmosphere at a low angle, shorter
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blue wavelengths scatter, leaving the longer red and orange wavelengths to reach our eyes.
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It's the same reason sunsets look so vibrant.
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Finally, there's Mars, the red planet.
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If you've been out stargazing recently, you might have noticed Mars shining brightly in
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the sky.
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Its reddish-orange color comes from iron oxide, or rust, on its surface.
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During certain times of the year, Mars is particularly close and bright, making it a striking addition
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to the night sky.
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Maybe it's not quite a jack-o'-lantern, but it definitely adds to the Halloween color scheme.
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And now it's story time.
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For thousands of years, people have looked up at the stars and told stories about them,
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some of them beautiful, some of them spooky, and some are downright chilling.
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Tonight we'll explore a few of these celestial tales that are perfect for a night of cosmic
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ghost stories.
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First up is the story of Algal, also known as the Demon Star.
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Algal is a star in the constellation Perseus, and it's famous for its strange flickering
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behavior.
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It's what astronomers call an eclipsing binary, two stars that orbit each other, causing the
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stars' brightness to dip every few days.
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But to ancient astronomers, this dimming and brightening was unsettling, almost as if the
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star were blinking or winking ominously.
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The name Algal comes from the Arabic word for the demon's head, and in Greek mythology,
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it represents the eye of Medusa, the snake-haired gorgon whose gaze could turn you to stone.
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Fortunately, we now know there's no magic behind Algal's eerie flickering, just a case
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of celestial mechanics at work.
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Next, let's visit a tale from Egyptian mythology.
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The ancient Egyptians believed that the star Sirius represented the soul of the god Osiris,
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a king who was murdered and dismembered by set, the god of war.
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Every year when Sirius reappeared in the dawn sky after months of being hidden by the sun,
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it signaled the start of the annual flooding of the Nile, which brought life and fertility
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to the land.
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But for some, the bright, sudden appearance of Sirius was a ghostly sight.
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Osiris wasn't merely an icon of fertility, but in his death he became the god of the
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underworld and a symbol of resurrection.
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Finally, let's hear a tale about the constellation Orion.
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In many cultures, Orion is depicted as a mighty hunter, but some legends paint him in a darker
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light.
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In Greek mythology, Orion was known for his unparalleled skill.
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He was so impressive, in fact, that he claimed he could hunt and kill every animal on earth.
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This arrogance would ultimately play a role in his downfall as the gods rarely looked kindly
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on mortals who were too boastful.
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One of the most well-known myths involves Orion's complicated relationship with Artemis, the
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goddess of the hunt and the moon.
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Depending on the version, Orion was either a companion of Artemis or a would-be suitor.
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In some stories, Orion tried to force himself on Artemis, enraging the goddess, who then
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struck him down with her arrows.
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And other versions, Artemis genuinely cared for him, and it was Apollo, her brother, who
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grew jealous of their friendship.
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In this version of the story, Apollo, the god of the sun, felt that Orion was becoming
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too close to his sister.
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One day when Orion was swimming far out in the sea, Apollo tricked Artemis.
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He challenged her to hit a tiny dark speck in the distance with her arrow, without telling
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her that the target was actually Orion's head.
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Being an excellent archer, Artemis hit the mark and killed Orion.
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When she realized what she had done, she was heartbroken.
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To honor him, she placed Orion's image among the stars, where he continues to hunt eternally
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across the night sky.
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Yet another version has Orion killed by a giant scorpion sent by the Earth Goddess, Gaia.
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The two combatants were placed in the sky as constellations, damning them to forever
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chase each other across the sky.
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The two constellations aren't never seen in the sky at the same time.
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When Orion rises, Scorpius has already set, and vice versa.
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It's as if they're forever destined to avoid one another, yet always remain locked in their
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celestial dance.
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Despite his tragic and sometimes dark end, Orion's placement among the stars also symbolizes
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a kind of immortality.
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Though he was killed, he was honored by being given a place in the sky, where he remains
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one of the most recognizable constellations with his distinctive belt of three bright
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stars.
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In a way, this makes Orion's story both a warning against hubris and a symbol of eternal
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vigilance and strength, albeit haunted by the events that led to his downfall.
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Finally, here's what's in the night sky for the week of October 27th to November
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the 2nd.
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On October 29th, the moon will be in its waning crescent phase, moving closer to a new moon
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on November the 1st.
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The dwindling moon is a great time for stargazing as the night sky will be darker, providing
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better visibility for deep sky objects.
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Jupiter will be bright and easily visible, rising earlier each night and peaking around
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midnight.
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It's positioned in torus and reaches a prominent altitude in the sky.
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Jupiter's brightness around magnitude negative 2.7 and position make it ideal for observation,
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especially in the darker hours after the new moon.
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Jupiter is also showing great detail with features like the great red spot visible on
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certain nights.
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Saturn, located in Aquarius, is best observed in the early evening.
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As always, its stunning rings make it a solid target for telescopes.
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Mars will be rising late in the evening and visible in the pre-dawn hours.
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It will appear in Gemini, gradually moving towards Cancer, and is brightening as it heads
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towards Opposition in January of next year.
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The Orionid meteor shower is still active though past its peak, which occurred last week.
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There is still a potential treat for those with clear dark skies.
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Looking out a bit deeper, there are two easy targets to explore this time of year.
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The Pleiades star cluster M45 is prominent in the eastern sky.
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Look for its tiny dipper-like shape.
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The Orion nebula M42 is also visible and easy to locate in the sword of Orion, just under
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the three distinct stars that form his iconic belt.
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The constellation's Cassiopeia and Pegasus are well placed for northern observers, while
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the summer triangle of Vega, Deneb, and Altair will be setting earlier in the evening, marking
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the end of the summer stargazing season.
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That's it for today's episode of Star Trails.
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If you found this episode informative or entertaining, please share it with a friend.
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The easiest way to do that is by visiting our website, startrails.show, where you can
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find all of our episodes including transcripts, night sky maps, and more.
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Until next time, keep looking up and exploring the night sky.
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Clear skies, everyone.
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Clear skies, everyone.
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Makes me sick.
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Well, it seems Drew has managed to make it through another transmission without being
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completely engulfed by the dark matter.
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Impressive.
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My dear stargazers, our time together is coming to an end, but fear not.
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The night is long, and the sky is vast, filled with countless mysteries that have yet to
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reveal themselves.
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As you leave my haunted observatory, take one last look up at the stars.
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Perhaps you'll see a flickering light that wasn't there before, or a strange ghostly
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glow hovering just above the horizon, or maybe, just maybe, you'll catch a glimpse of me
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appearing through the eyepiece of my spectral telescope, watching over the cosmos and you.