StarTalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson Season 4 Episode 10 Celestial Navigation
- TV-14
- December 3, 2017
- 47 min
-
6.4 (10)
In this episode of StarTalk with Neil DeGrasse Tyson season 4 episode 10, titled Celestial Navigation, Neil and his guests explore the art and science of navigating the skies. Neil begins by discussing the history of celestial navigation, the practice of using the stars to guide ships across the sea. He explains how sailors used to rely solely on the position of stars to travel from one place to another, long before the invention of modern navigation tools like GPS.
Neil's first guest is theoretical physicist and cosmologist Lisa Randall. She discusses how the tilt of the Earth's axis affects navigation and how it makes it possible to use the stars to navigate. Randall also talks about how gravity can affect the movement of stars and planets, and how this can be used to calculate distances and trajectories.
Next, Neil is joined by astrophysicist and author Janna Levin. She talks about how we can use pulsars to navigate in space, due to their incredibly accurate and regular pulses of electromagnetic radiation. She also discusses how black holes can be used as landmarks to navigate in the universe.
Neil then switches the topic to the current state of space exploration, specifically the mission to Mars. He discusses how NASA is using technology like star trackers and inertial measurement units to navigate their spacecraft to Mars.
The final guest is comedian, actor, and science enthusiast Eugene Mirman. He provides some comic relief to the otherwise serious discussions of navigation and space exploration. Mirman and Neil discuss the hypothetical scenario of Earth being destroyed and the challenges of navigating through space without the use of modern technology.
Throughout the episode, Neil and his guests discuss the intersection of science and the ancient art of navigation, showcasing how we can use our knowledge of the heavens to navigate our way both on Earth and in space. The episode is filled with fascinating facts and interesting discussions, making it a must-watch for anyone interested in the science of navigation.
