When you look up at the sky at night, the velvet vault seems peppered with thousands of stars. But how much of the Galaxy are we really seeing? Just how far away is the farthest star you can see? What about the farthest object?
Q & BA Episode 3: “The Farthest Star” is now online. Here are your viewing options:
I am also trying something new. The ITPC protocol supposedly lets you automatically subscribe to a podcast via iTunes. Here is that link. It worked for me when I tried it, but your mileage kilometerage may vary. If you click on it, tell me in the comments what happened. Unless your machine melts. Then it’s Apple’s fault.
Show notes
The question asked was, “How much of the Milky Way Galaxy do we see with the naked eye?”, asked by Richard Saunders. Full disclosure: Richard is a dear friend, but his question was so good I decided to use it despite any possible accusations of cronyism.
For more info about stars, get yerself over to Jim Kaler’s site. He’s one of the nicest guys in astronomy, and his site is pretty cool.
Image pedigrees:
Deneb and Mu Cephei from Davide De Martin’s Sky Factory
Small star next to Sun: NASA/Walt Feimer
Star sizes (for giants): Wikipedia
Keck Observatory: JPL/NASA
GRB 990123: NASA/STScI/Andy Fruchter
M81: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Jupiter orbit: I did that one myself, using The Sky planetarium software.
Orion/Rigel: I had that image lying around at work for an educational activity we developed, and I had permission from the photographer, but danged if I can find it now. Pretty though, isn’t it?
Minties: the best candy lolly in the whole wide world. Yummy. Those are courtesy of many Aussie friends who keep me supplied. Thanks!
