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00:00Welcome to AccuWeather's Ask the Experts. I'm your host Jeff Cornish. On this show we
00:16go beyond the everyday forecast to give you the how and why on all the cool and interesting
00:21things you've wondered about and wanted to ask in weather, space and science. In this
00:26episode we're going above the atmosphere and talking about astronomy and stargazing.
00:32So joining us as our expert today is Jackie Faraday, Senior Research Scientist and Senior
00:37Education Manager at the American Museum of Natural History. Many of you know that's in
00:42New York City. So Jackie, thank you so much for joining us. Welcome.
00:45It's a pleasure to be here, Jeff.
00:47Well, we're glad to be speaking with you again. And how did you get interested in astronomy?
00:53I read a book and I watched a movie called Contact that was written by Carl Sagan. And
00:59then the film starred Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey. And the critical thing there
01:04was it was a story of an astronomer that was trying to unlock the secrets of the universe
01:11by getting a first contact from an alien species. And Carl Sagan made a very, very direct choice
01:17to make it a female astronomer and a female lead. And as soon as I saw that and realized
01:24that door could be open for me, I fell in love and immediately switched all of my intentions
01:31for my career to this that I'm on now, which is an astrophysicist. So that is why I'm able
01:37to talk to you today with this title.
01:39That's great. I have seen that movie and it really is a great, great film. But that's
01:44cool to how that has influenced your career path. So how long have you been at the American
01:48Museum of Natural History and what types of programs or studies are you working on at
01:53the moment?
01:54Well, I've been here for a long time because I started right out of my undergraduate career
02:00and I actually started in the education department. The American Museum of Natural History has
02:04some phenomenal education programs where kids can come into the museum and get lessons on
02:12everything from the bugs in your area to dinosaur bones to astrophysics. And I was
02:18brought in as an instructor for the astro department. And then I went to graduate school
02:23and did my thesis work here. So it's been a long time. I don't want to say how long
02:30because that will date me, but it's more than a decade that I have been working at this
02:37amazing institution. And in my world now, I'm half doing education programming and this
02:44counts in some ways because I'm able to talk to you and get the word out about how awesome
02:48astronomy is. But then I also do research. I have a research group here with graduate
02:54students and postdocs, undergraduates and even high school students that I'll invite
02:58into my research team over the summer. And we work to unlock the secrets of the universe.
03:03And specifically right now, I study worlds that are beyond our own solar system. Sometimes
03:09they're referred to as exoplanets, but I study the highest mass ones that fall in the
03:16category of exoplanets. And I figure out their atmospheres and, and Jeff, I figure out
03:21their weather. I figure weather patterns out for worlds beyond our own.
03:26That's pretty fascinating stuff. Really, really cool. Well, before we talk about particular
03:31things to look out for when stargazing, we recently had a couple of blockbuster astronomical
03:35events. We had the recent total solar eclipse. I got to go to the path of totality. Really
03:40awesome. And also we've had the most impressive auroras in North America in over two
03:44decades. So are you noticing an increase in interest in astronomy as kind of a response
03:50to these events?
03:51Well, I don't. So an increase in interest needs to be compared to where the interest
03:57level was before. And I would say any time there's an astronomical event, the public
04:05rallies around and gets excited about it.
04:07We just don't have an astronomical event that we can offer up once a week kind of thing.
04:12When this past year, 2024, that total solar eclipse definitely had everybody that could
04:21be on the path of totality talking about it, even people that weren't on the path of
04:25totality. But if you go back to 2017, there was also a total solar eclipse.
04:31And that one, that one was in the summer where people weren't, they didn't have school,
04:36kids didn't have school, adults could be on vacation.
04:40And that one was also huge.
04:42So in comparison, they're similar.
04:45And what I would tell you is that astronomy just gets people at their core excited.
04:53An eclipse is magical and people want to participate.
04:57The aurora is magical.
04:59People want to see it.
05:01And I would say if we had an astronomical event that I could offer up to you every week
05:06like Netflix with some new series, it would be the top rated show that could be out there
05:13because it's so magical to participate and witness astronomical things happening.
05:21So I wouldn't say that the interest level is like completely skyrocketed because I think
05:27it's steady state.
05:28People just get excited about astronomical events when they happen.
05:33I think that's part of the draw, I guess, that they're not commonplace, so they're
05:36unusual to us as the observer.
05:38And that's part of part of the draw.
05:41Well, we want to give everybody a good understanding of how to set ourselves up for
05:44success when stargazing in terms of equipment.
05:47What do we really need and does it need to be expensive?
05:50Yeah, so this is a great question and I get asked it all the time, all astronomers get
05:56asked this. My first advice, and this is very, very important, people get so excited
06:03about I want to watch an astronomical phenomenon, I want to know the nighttime sky,
06:06what telescope should I buy?
06:09And my advice is do not buy a telescope off the bat.
06:14First and foremost, go outside and learn the sky.
06:19Just basics about the sky.
06:21There is so much for you to explore with just your eye.
06:25Figuring out constellations is an easy thing to do.
06:29Seeing some naked eye, meaning unassisted by a telescope or binoculars, objects like the
06:36Andromeda galaxy, which is the farthest thing that you can see with your unaided eye,
06:40like nebula that are beautiful.
06:43Orion nebula is this beautiful star forming region.
06:46You can see the different colors.
06:47Get used to that first and then you can step up to binoculars where you can move the
06:55binoculars around the sky and kind of easily be able to see through.
06:58Most people know how to use binoculars before you get to the telescope because you kind
07:02of have to learn how to look through an eyepiece and people will get frustrated if
07:06they're not exactly sure what parts of the sky they're looking at.
07:10So I would say cost is zero at the beginning to just go outside and look up at the sky
07:16and then you can start stepping up to some fairly like not that expensive binoculars.
07:22You could use them for bird watching and then you could use them for stellar watching in
07:26the evenings and then consider looking at a small telescope when you get to the
07:32telescope. I would suggest getting one with a motor so that you could actually type in
07:37an object that you want to look at and then it'll point to an area of the sky.
07:42For that, though, you need to know the sky first.
07:46Know the sky before you step up to the instrument that's going to really bring the sky
07:50to life for you.
07:51That's great advice.
07:53Well, it is time for our first viewer question, and this comes from Jesse in Colorado.
07:56He writes, when I'm looking up at the sky with just my naked eye, how can I tell what's
08:00a star, what's an airplane, what's a planet or a satellite?
08:05All right, this is Jesse.
08:07All right, Jesse, and you're in Colorado, so you probably have a good view of the
08:11nighttime sky. So the one major thing of an airplane and a satellite in the sky is
08:19that they are going to move.
08:22Planes and satellites move quickly across the sky, and so you will wait for a bit and
08:30you'll be able to see it move. A plane or a satellite will move across your sky and
08:34it'll be bright. And oftentimes planes will have different colors.
08:38You might be able to see some color on the wings of the plane.
08:42Stars are going to stay still.
08:46The next thing to try and differentiate would be a planet.
08:49Now, planets are different in some ways than the stars.
08:56Sometimes we say that the planets don't twinkle the way that the stars will twinkle.
09:02And that's because they're closer to you.
09:04So to look out for the planets, there are a couple of major ones that you can see with
09:09your eye. Jupiter, Saturn, Mars and Venus are the four easiest planets for you to try
09:17and pick out with your eye.
09:18You can kind of see Mercury, but it's oftentimes really close to the sun.
09:22So that one's just like generally hard to find.
09:25Uranus is at the limit of what the eye can see.
09:28And then Neptune, you need a telescope or binoculars to see it.
09:31And Pluto, which we don't really call a planet, is way out there and just very
09:35difficult. But Jupiter and Venus are two of the brightest objects in the sky.
09:41So they're going to be whoppingly obvious to you when you see them as very bright.
09:46And if you come out every night to look at the sky, you'd be able to tell that the
09:51planets are moving actually within the stellar constellations that you will start
09:57learning. So you'll be able to see the planets because they're orbiting the sun as
10:01we're orbiting the sun.
10:02They will change their positions the way that the moon changes its positions on a
10:07given night. And that is how you can differentiate between a planet and a star.
10:13It's how the ancients did it.
10:14The word planet actually means wanderer because they noticed that the planets were
10:19actually wandering around the sky, not the same way that the stars were moving.
10:24Very fascinating. Jackie has great information so far, and we have a lot more to
10:27talk about coming up.
10:29Coming up later in our WeatherWise segment, three interesting things.
10:33We're sharing some of the best pictures captured by the James Webb Space Telescope.
10:38But next, we're looking at another nighttime phenomenon that sparks a lot of
10:42interest, the Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis.
10:44And we're going to answer more of your questions when Ask the Experts returns.
10:54Welcome back to AccuWeather's Ask the Experts.
11:07I'm your host, Jeff Cornish.
11:08And today we're talking about space and stargazing.
11:11And joining us again is Jackie Faraday, senior research scientist and senior education
11:16manager at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.
11:19So let's talk about the phenomenon, which seems to be getting more and more interest
11:23lately. And we're talking about the Northern Lights or the Aurora Borealis.
11:27Jackie, we had a great event in 2003, another spectacular one early in 2024.
11:32What are the Northern Lights and how do they occur?
11:35Yeah, so the Northern Lights are, or the Aurora Borealis, we call both things, is a
11:42collision. It's a collision between this wind that's coming from the sun and the
11:49Earth's magnetic field and atmosphere.
11:52So the sun is a big ball of gas and it's got a lot of hot, it's got a hot plasma
11:59around it. And for reasons that astronomers are still trying to figure out, the sun can
12:05be eruptive and it can launch charged particles, charged like energy, towards the
12:12Earth in events.
12:14Sometimes they're called coronal mass ejections.
12:17And when that happens, that that charge that's coming from the sun gets captured by
12:23the Earth's magnetic field.
12:24It interacts in the atmosphere and you'll see beautiful colors because the charges
12:30will run into things like oxygen, nitrogen, and you'll see these different colors.
12:36The greens, the reds, the blues are different elements in our atmosphere at different
12:42levels in the atmosphere, getting excited as this energy hits them that comes from the
12:48sun. And the reason why it's happening now at such a big level, to some extent, is the
12:54sun goes through this active and inactive period.
12:59And we are currently in the Earth's cycle in the active period.
13:04So the sun is particularly like burpy and sending out a lot of charged particles our
13:10way on a on a more than regular basis right now.
13:14And when and where can we typically see the Northern Lights?
13:17Is there a best time of the year or best time of night?
13:20Well, the best places to go to watch the Northern Lights is farther north.
13:27So Norway and Sweden and that area of the world have amazing places to watch.
13:34But I'll tell you what you don't want to do is be there in the summer to try and catch
13:38the Northern Lights because they're so far north that the sun doesn't really set for
13:43very long, if at all in some parts of that north.
13:47So in an ideal world, you want maximum amount of darkness in order to potentially see the
13:52Northern Lights at any time.
13:53So the late fall, the winter months, even the early spring, that's when you have a
13:58better shot at catching it.
14:00It's unpredictable, though, when it's going to happen.
14:02I can't tell you like next week there's going to be a great solar flare and I'll be able
14:08to tell you where to go see the Northern Lights.
14:10You just have to pay attention to various websites that track the solar activity and
14:15then make your move.
14:17You can see it as far south as New York, even further south.
14:22They can go down the eastern seaboard.
14:24Just depends on how strong the magnetic storm is that's coming from the sun.
14:30And we're going to go to our next viewer question, Jackie.
14:32This comes from Andrew in Chicago.
14:34So, Andrew, what would you like to ask the experts?
14:38As an astronomer, what is one of the coolest things you've witnessed looking up at the
14:41night sky?
14:42Oh, Andrew from Chicago.
14:46The coolest thing I've ever witnessed looking at the nighttime sky, I think I have a tie
14:50between two different things.
14:52One is during a meteor shower.
14:56Meteor showers happen at very, very predictable parts of the year.
15:03And there's one called the Perseids that I particularly love.
15:06It happens in August.
15:07It's a beautiful meteor shower.
15:09And during them, I saw a fireball, a meteor that was lit up the whole sky.
15:18It was just probably a rock, a tiny rock.
15:21And it shook me to my core when I saw it.
15:25It was instantaneous.
15:26It was amazing.
15:27I cannot imagine seeing that if I didn't know that a meteor shower was going on and
15:33feeling good because it felt scary.
15:36But because I knew what was going on, I just felt like I'd just gotten off a roller
15:39coaster. And then the second thing I would say is just the Milky Way.
15:44The Milky Way that we live in, in the summer for the northern hemisphere, gets really
15:49high in your sky.
15:50And if you get yourself to a dark area, it is magical to see it.
15:56It's got a stream around that just really looks like a milky white, beautiful, creamy
16:02area filled with stars.
16:04So two of those things I have been blown away by in my own astronomical observing
16:12experience.
16:13Really cool stuff. Well, Jackie, before we let you go, where can we get more information
16:18on you and the American Museum of Natural History?
16:21Yes. So if you go to AMNH.org, you can get all sorts of information about the American
16:29Museum of Natural History, public programs that we do.
16:32We have a lot of public programs.
16:34Once a month, we have astronomy live programs that you can come into the Hayden
16:38Planetarium and you can hear somebody like me, I often do it, give you a live tour of
16:44something really exciting that's happening in astrophysics at that time.
16:48Then you can follow the museum on any of your favorite social medias.
16:52You can also follow me on social media.
16:54I often tweet or put on Instagram really fun, interesting astronomical events that are
17:01happening. So you just have to look up my name or the museum's name and you'll get all
17:05sorts of really great astronomical information.
17:09That's great stuff. Your passion for this is contagious, Jackie.
17:12So we really appreciate you and your time.
17:15So thanks for joining us here on this edition of Ask the Experts.
17:19And don't forget, when you have a question about weather, space or science, Ask the
17:22Experts. Send us an email at asktheexperts at AccuWeather.com.
17:26You can also call us at 888-566-6606.
17:32Coming up next, it's weather wise with three interesting things.
17:35We're going to share some of the most amazing images captured by the James Webb Space
17:39Telescope when Ask the Experts returns.
18:01Welcome back to AccuWeather's Ask the Experts, I'm your host, Jeff Cornish, and it is now
18:08time for weather wise.
18:09Today, we go up in space with three interesting things captured by the James Webb Space
18:14Telescope. NASA says the primary goals of the telescope are to study galaxy, star and
18:19planet formation in the universe.
18:21First, galaxies.
18:23This image shows the cartwheel galaxy on the right and two companion galaxies on the
18:28left. The cartwheel has two rings, a bright inner ring and a colorful outer ring.
18:34Scientists say that this spiral galaxy was formed after a high speed collision 400
18:38million years ago.
18:41Second, stars.
18:42Take a look at this exploded star called Cassiopeia A.
18:47This supernova is one of the most studied stellar explosions in the Milky Way by
18:52astronomers. Infrared light is invisible to our eyes, but with the James Webb Telescope
18:56and image processors, scientists can translate these light wavelengths to visible
19:01colors. And third, planets.
19:05Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system.
19:08Called the gas giant, this Webb Space Telescope image of Jupiter revealed a hidden jet
19:12stream traveling at a speedy 320 miles per hour in Jupiter's atmosphere.
19:17And you can see that bright white band at Jupiter's equator.
19:20Well, those are clouds and there's the big storm, the bottom right.
19:25Thanks so much for joining us here on AccuWeather's Ask the Experts.
19:29I'm Jeff Cornish. Remember, when you have a question about weather, space or science,
19:32Ask the Experts. You can email us at AsktheExperts at AccuWeather.com.
19:36You can also call us at 888-566-6606.
19:42Thanks for being with us. Have a great one.
19:54Transcribed by ESO. Translated by —