//////////////////////////////////////////// //How Far is Far? Tour - Distances in Space // //(c) 1999 Meade Instruments //////////////////////////////////////////// TITLE "How Far Is Far?" AUTO SELECT TEXT "Introduction" "This tour is designed to give you an idea of" "the vast distances in space. It begins with objects relatively close to Earth" "and works its way outward, to the edge of our galaxy and beyond. Press MODE" "to begin a visual journey to the far reaches of our universe." AUTO SELECT TEXT "Step 1-The Moon" "Even though the Moon is Earth's closest" "celestial neighbor, it took Apollo astronauts 3 full days of travel to get" "there. On average, the Moon is 238,900 miles (384,400 km) away. Press MODE" "to view the Moon." AUTO SLEW ON PICK ONE AUTO SELECT MOON AUTO SELECT TEXT "Step 1-The Moon" "The Moon is currently not visible. Press" "MODE to continue the tour." PICK END AUTO SELECT TEXT "Step 2-A Planet" "The planets are too far away for astronauts" "to travel to them (at least for right now), but we have sent unmanned" "spacecraft to every planet in the solar system but Pluto. Travel to the" "planets takes a long time, which is the biggest challenge to overcome for" "human planetary exploration. The unmanned Pathfinder spacecraft took 6 months" "to get to Mars. The Voyager 2 spacecraft took 12 years to get to Neptune." "Press MODE to view a planet." PICK ONE AUTO SELECT PLANET "Venus" AUTO SELECT PLANET "Mars" AUTO SELECT PLANET "Jupiter" AUTO SELECT PLANET "Saturn" AUTO SELECT PLANET "Uranus" AUTO SELECT PLANET "Neptune" AUTO SELECT TEXT "Step 2-A Planet" "There are no planets currently visible." "Press MODE to continue the tour." PICK END AUTO SELECT TEXT "Step 3-A Star" "All the stars you can see without a" "telescope, including our Sun, are located in the same spiral arm of the Milky" "Way galaxy. Even though these stars are our neighbors, we can't visit them. " "They are too far away. Using current technology, it would take thousands of" "years to travel to our closest stellar neighbor, which is only 4.2 light years" "away. Press MODE to view a star." PICK ONE AUTO SELECT USER 00:00:82 29d05m26s "Step 3-A Star" "Alpheratz represents the" "head of the constellation Andromeda. It is approximately 100 light years" "distant and 160 times more luminous than our Sun. Press MODE to continue" "the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 01:37:42 -57d14m12s "Step 3-A Star" "Achernar is hot, blue" "giant star that ranks as the 9th brightest star in the sky. It is" "approximately 125 light years distant and 650 times more luminous than our" "Sun. Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 05:16:41 45d59m53s "Step 3-A Star" "Capella is a bright binary" "star system that is 45 light years distant. The two stars within this system" "are only 70 million miles (116 million km) apart, too close together to be" "seen as individual points of light with a small telescope. Press MODE to" "continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 06:23:57 -52d41m45s "Step 3-A Star" "Canopus is 116 light" "years away. It is the second brightest star in the sky, 30 times the diameter" "of our Sun and 1,400 times more luminous. Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 06:45:00 -16d42m58s "Step 3-A Star" "Sirius, the brightest" "star in our night sky, is also one of the closest stars to us at only 8.7" "light years. Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 10:00:82 11d58m02s "Step 3-A Star" "Regulus, the heart of the" "constellation Leo the Lion, is approximately 75 light years distant." "Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 12:26:35 -63d05m57s "Step 3-A Star" "Acrux is a bright binary" "star system whose combined light makes Acrux the 14th brightest star in the" "sky. It is about 400 light years away. Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 14:15:39 19d10m57s "Step 3-A Star" "Arcturus is the fourth" "brightest star in the sky. It is 25 times the diameter of our Sun and" "115 times more luminous. It is only 37 light years away. Press MODE" "to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 19:50:47 00d85m20s "Step 3-A Star" "Altair is only 16 light" "years from us and is the 12th brightest star in the sky. Press MODE to" "continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 23:04:45 15d12m19s "Step 3-A Star" "Markab makes up the" "southwest corner of the Great Square of Pegasus. It is 86 light years" "distant. Press MODE to continue the tour." PICK END AUTO SELECT TEXT "Step 4-Clusters" "Globular Star Clusters are huge balls" "of stars located on the fringes of our galaxy, just above and below the" "spiral arms of the Milky Way. "These clusters were probably formed just" "after the formation of the galaxy itself. On average, these clusters are" "several thousand light years away. Press MODE to view a globular cluster." PICK ONE AUTO SELECT USER 00:24:06 -72d05m "Step 4-Clusters" "47 Tucanae is one of the" "best globular clusters in the sky. This glowing sphere of over 100,000" "stars is 16,000 light years away and almost 210 light years in diameter." "Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 05:24:30 -24d33m "Step 4-Clusters" "M79 is a globular cluster" "approximately 50,000 light years away. This small, compact sphere of" "50,000 to 100,000 stars appears as a fuzzy, star-like object in a small" "telescope. Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 07:38:06 38d53m "Step 4-Clusters" "NGC 2419 is one of the" "most distant clusters in our sky. This cluster lies at a distance of 182,000" "light years, in a region otherwise devoid of clusters. In some ways it seems" "that it is trying to escape from the Milky Way. Through a telescope, this" "cluster can be seen as an extremely faint, round, fuzzy patch of light." "Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 12:39:30 -26d25m "Step 4-Clusters" "M68 is a globular" "cluster that is 46,000 light years away and 100 light years in diameter." "Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 13:26:48 -47d29m "Step 4-Clusters" "Omega Centauri is a" "globular cluster that is 17,000 light years away and 150 light years in" "diameter. Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 13:42:12 28d23m "Step 4-Clusters" "M3 is a globular cluster" "that is 35,000 light years away and over 220 light years in diameter." "Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 15:18:36 02d05m "Step 4-Clusters" "M5 is a globular cluster" "that is about 30,000 light years away and 100 light years in diameter." "Through a small telescope, look for a faint, round hazy patch. Press MODE" "to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 16:23:36 -26d32m "Step 4-Clusters" "M 4 is a globular" "cluster located just to the west of the bright star, Antares. Estimates" "of its distance range from 6,200 to 10,000 light years away. Press MODE" "to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 16:41:42 36d28m "Step 4-Clusters" "M13 is a globular" "cluster that is 22,000 light years away and 160 light years in diameter. " "Through a small telescope, look for a round, hazy patch of light. Large" "telescopes are able to resolve individual stars. To some observers, M13" "looks like a pile of sugar crystals spilled on a black table. Press MODE" "to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 18:24:30 -24d52m "Step 4-Clusters" "M28 is a globular" "cluster that is 15,000 light years away and about 65 light years in" "diameter. M28 appears as a round, hazy patch through a small telescope." "Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 21:30:00 12d10m "Step 4-Clusters" "M15 is a globular" "cluster that lies near the bright star Enif. M15 is approximately 39,000" "light years away and 130 light years in diameter. Press MODE to" "continue the tour." AUTO SELECT TEXT "Step 4-Clusters" "There are currently no bright globular" "clusters visible. Press MODE to continue the tour." PICK END AUTO SELECT TEXT "Step 5-Galaxy" "Everything you have viewed up to this point" "in the tour has been within our own galaxy, the Milky Way. Outside the" "boundaries of the Milky Way, it is necessary to travel incredible distances" "before reaching the next galaxy - the Large Magellanic Cloud at 169,000 light" "years. At this distance, light leaving the Large Magellanic Cloud takes" "169,000 years to reach Earth, and this is the CLOSEST galaxy! Press MODE to" "view a galaxy." PICK ONE AUTO SELECT USER 00:42:42 41d16m "Step 5-Galaxy" "The Andromeda galaxy is" "the closest spiral galaxy to the Milky Way. It is 2.2 million light years" "away, 180,000 light years in diameter, and contains over 300 billion stars. " "Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 00:53:00 -72d50m "Step 5-Galaxy" "The Small Magellanic Cloud" "is 190,000 light years away from us. This irregular galaxy is the" "second closest galaxy to the Milky Way. The Small Cloud has a diameter" "of 16,000 light years. Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 05:23:36 -69d45m "Step 5-Galaxy" "The Large Magellanic Cloud" "is an irregular galaxy that is 169,000 light years away, making it one of" "the closest galaxies to our own Milky Way. Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 07:36:54 65d36m "Step 5-Galaxy" "NGC 2403 is a faint spiral" "galaxy that is approximately 8 million light years distant and 37,000 light" "years in diameter. Through a small telescope, use averted vision to detect" "a faint oval-shaped cloud. Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 09:55:36 69d04m "Step 5-Galaxy" "M81 is a spiral galaxy" "that is 7 million light years away and approximately 36,000 light years" "in diameter. The orientation of this galaxy in the sky allows us to see" "almost all of its spiral arms and large central bulge. Press MODE to" "continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 11:18:54 13d05m "Step 5-Galaxy" "M65 is a spiral galaxy that" "is 29 million light years away and has a diameter of 60,000 light years." "Through a telescope, it appears as a faint elongated patch of light." "Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 12:29:48 08d00m "Step 5-Galaxy" "M49 is an elliptical galaxy" "that is 70 million light years away and about 50,000 light years in diameter. " "Through a small telescope, M49 resembles a globular cluster, with a round," "hazy appearance. Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 12:40:00 -11d37m "Step 5-Galaxy" "The Sombrero Galaxy is a" "spiral galaxy that is about 30 million light years away and 82,000 light" "years across. Through a small telescope, look for a faint, elongated patch" "of light with a brighter central region. Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 13:29:54 47d12m "Step 5-Galaxy" "The Whirlpool Galaxy is" "a spiral galaxy that is 35 million light years away and over 100,000 light" "years in diameter. Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 14:03:12 54d21m "Step 5-Galaxy" "M101 is a spiral galaxy" "that is 15 million light years away and 90,000 light years in diameter." "Through a small telescope, the human eye can only detect a very small," "faint patch of light under the best observing conditions. Press MODE to" "continue the tour." AUTO SELECT TEXT "Step 5-Galaxy" "There are currently no bright galaxies" "visible. Press MODE to continue the tour." PICK END AUTO SELECT TEXT "Step 6-Quasar" "Quasar is the name given to" "mysterious" ""quasi-stellar"" objects, the most distant objects in the" "universe. Astronomers believe quasars are galaxies in the earliest stages" "of formation and appear to be on the very border of the universe, at over 1" "billion light years away. Quasars are EXTREMELY faint and difficult to see." PICK ONE AUTO SELECT USER 00:14:12 00d15m "Step 6-Quasar" "PJL 909 is a quasar" "that is 1.5 billion light years from Earth. Because of its tremendous" "distance, this quasar is visible only to the largest telescopes on Earth." "Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 00:52:06 25d09m "Step 6-Quasar" "PG 0052+251 is a quasar" "that is 1.5 billion light years away and lies in the center of a spiral" "galaxy. Because of its tremendous distance, this quasar is all but invisible" "except to the largest telescopes on Earth. Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 02:40:06 00d00m "Step 6-Quasar" "PG 1012+008 is a quasar" "that is 1.6 billion light years away. Because of its tremendous distance," "it is visible only through the largest telescopes. Press MODE to continue" "the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 04:05:12 -12d19m "Step 6-Quasar" "PKS 0405-12 is a quasar" "that is over 1 billion light years away. Because of its tremendous distance," "this quasar is only visible through the largest telescopes. Press MODE to" "continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 05:37:12 -44d06m "Step 6-Quasar" "PKS 0537-441 is a quasar" "that is over 1 billion light years away. Because of its tremendous distance," "this quasar is only visible through the largest telescopes. Press MODE to" "continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 10:11:30 -04d04m "Step 6-Quasar" "PG 1011-040 is a quasar" "that is over 1 billion light years away. Because of its tremendous distance," "this quasar is only visible through the largest telescopes. Press MODE to" "continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 12:16:30 06d55m "Step 6-Quasar" "PG1216+069 is a quasar" "that is over 1 billion light years away. Because of its tremendous distance," "this quasar is only visible through the largest telescopes. Press MODE to" "continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 14:35:24 -06d45m "Step 6-Quasar" "PG1435-067 is a quasar" "is over 1 billion light years away. Because of its tremendous distance," "this quasar is only visible through the largest telescopes. Press MODE to" "continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 21:12:12 05d55m "Step 6-Quasar" "PG2112+059 is a quasar" "that is over 1 billion light years away. Because of its tremendous" "distance, this quasar is only visible through the largest telescopes." "Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 22:09:30 18d27m "Step 6-Quasar" "PG2209+184 is a quasar" "that is over 1 billion light years away. Because of its tremendous" "distance, this quasar is only visible through the largest telescopes." "Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT TEXT "Step 6-Quasar" "There are currently no ""bright"" quasars" "visible. Press MODE to continue the tour." PICK END AUTO SLEW OFF AUTO SELECT TEXT "The End" "From the Moon to a distant quasar, your eyes" "have traveled over a billion light years through out our universe. It is" "indeed a vast world we live in." ////////////////////////////////////////////////// //How Far is Far? Tour - Distances in Space //written by Melanie Melton for Meade Instruments //(c) 1999 Meade Instruments ////////////////////////////////////////////////// #END