Neil deGrasse Tyson Explains The North Star

[@IonutStefanescuSturz]

also, a good argument against flat-earthers: if Earth was flat, you could see Polaris from everywhere on the planet. It's the curvature that blocks the view for southern hemisphere.

[@coyoteboy5601]

Well, sure...if you're gonna resort to reason and logic!

[@Iamrightyouarewrong]

FAKE NEWS!

[@darkydoom]

Yeah I didn't think we could see "The Northern Star" from Australia. I think I can actually use the Southern Cross as a compass

[@whatabouttheearth]

The entire thing makes flat earthers look like fools, even tropical astrology Alpha Draconis, aka Thubin used to be the north star before Polaris but due to precessional slippage it shifted to Polaris. Precessional slippage can be tracked by the north star, due to the "wobble", or the shift of the constellations, hence why Aries is behind the sun during the tropical astrological period of Taurus, because Taurus was behind the sun at that time of year when the Babylonians created the Mul Apin, the Babylonian star charts, in the BC time period. Ptolemy reset the zodiac to 10° Aries and froze it around 100ad which is why tropical astrology does not account for precessional slippage.

[@rogerwilco1777]

Two pole-stars and the counter-clockwise rotation in the north, clockwise rotation in the south is the checkmate of any flat earther.. ..Couldnt happen on flat earth, space would have to have an equator, with each half of the universe rotating opposite around Polaris and Sigma Octantis every day!

[@nobodyknows3180]

I had a girlfriend in college that I referred to as "My Little Neutron Star" One day she asked me about it, "Is it because I'm so incredibly bright?" "No honey," I answered, "it's because you're so incredibly dense." The supernova occurred right after that.

[@JohnDoe-jh5yr]

And that, kids, is how a relationship collapses into a black hole.

[@nobodyknows3180]

@@JohnDoe-jh5yr yup.

[@mohammedhasnain2398]

Legend!!!

[@davidharvey3743]

The brightest star is the Sun!

[@asherikamichaela8425]

@@davidharvey3743 In relation to us, yeah, simply because it's closest.

[@willie417]

I see Neil deGrasse Tyson is still destroying things that people believe for years, with actual facts 😀😁😂

[@JohnFleshman]

I wouldnt want it any other way.

[@asherikamichaela8425]

Yup!

[@GrumpyLilGeck]

“If it can be destroyed by the truth, it deserves to be destroyed by the truth.” - Carl Sagan

[@F_L_U_X]

AKA: Educating people.

[@cubertmiso]

Did they explain why north star become mistakenly the brightest star in human lore?

[@ShannonShaw-x5r]

How strange is it that science so easily makes me forget about my depression? Thank you for doing what you do.

[@davidmccoy3174]

Happy Birthday to my Personal Astrophysicist, Neil. Enjoy Sir and thank you for sharing the knowledge.

[@d00ks]

How is he your personal astrophysicist? Can you call him at will?

[@d00ks]

@@aman-qj5sx well damn I never saw it that way. You’re right! Lol

[@dilonpolaris]

@@d00ks just listen to his intros on Star Talk.

[@josepht5331]

Just saw chucks new tide commercial on tv the other day. Congrats on the recent success chuck. Super happy for u and your family. Keep it going. 💪🏾

[@NewMadrid01]

He’s so underrated!!

[@endgamer322]

Chuck been doing Tide commercials for at least a year now, been seeing them for a while.

[@Synthwave89]

Chuck is the best!

[@madeonearth6506]

Go Chuck!!

[@rushabhsheth2850]

Another fantastic episode of Star Talk. Just one feedback: please explore the use of animations or still images to explain some of the more technical topics.

[@Alex-dk1um]

Neil laughing at his own jokes is my favorite 😂

[@spsheridan]

Good video Neil and Chuck. You started talking about people’s misconception that the North Star is the brightest (in the Northern Hemisphere) but I didn’t hear you say which one is. You danced around it a bit with Chuck citing Sirius, but he did so in connection with the North Star (for which he was corrected by Neil) not the brightest. For viewers who may be interested, Sirius is indeed the brightest star as viewed from Earth.

[@linyenchin6773]

You dream of controlling the direction of content that is formulated by others!! ... mess.

[@spsheridan]

@@linyenchin6773 Not really, just completing the thought that Neil started at 3:08 when he said, “we’ll get to the brightest star in a minute" but never did.

[@Redoer]

needs to be pinned

[@MrT------5743]

No where in your OP you said night sky for asking about the brightest star. So in your OP question about the brightest star, the answer is of course the Sun. And yes, I am fun at parties. HAHA

[@spsheridan]

@@MrT------5743 You make a good point.

[@Dippyification]

From Nigeria I am wishing Neil Degraas Tyson a Happy Birthday. I am your good fan

[@carolperazoli]

Chuck Nice and Neil deGrasse Tyson are the perfect combination of knowledge and humor. I could listen to their talks for hours! in fact i did just did that!

[@NGC-7635]

Polaris right now: “Shut up! I’m the North Star! I may not be super bright but I’m still special! 😭”

[@pedroakjr2371]

Right? She's doing her best. People are so demanding...

[@Baggytrousers27]

For the Southern hemisphere we've got the Southern Cross (Crux) and the Two Pointers (Alpha and Beta Centauri) which, used together help you find south (Or at least point you close enough to find that Sigma Octantis). Still love the analogue watch trick for finding North/South.

[@Anonymous-md2qp]

I can’t see Polaris from my country because the spherical Earth is in the way.

[@carlchristianlindalen9311]

Love the low key jab at flat earthers. 👍

[@Call_me_Akanik]

When did you fall over the edge?

[@DJ-ys9pv]

Nah bro you’re just on the underside. Wait 6 months for the Earth to pancake flip over and you’ll be good

[@wesleyverity7310]

You constantly answer questions from my childhood that I either couldn’t get a straight answer for or that I never thought to ask. I appreciate you so much!

[@amytaylor3000]

there👋👋,how are you doing today?❤️❤️

[@RadioactiveLobster]

Was Siriusly waiting for you to let Chuck know that he did at least know the brightest star in the sky but it never came.

[@ashwhikidd]

Damn, I'm halfway through the video and was hoping they would circle back to that

[@whatabouttheearth]

I see what you did there

[@whatabouttheearth]

The early name was Osir and related to the name Osiris, this is all supposedly related to the early root of the word sir.

[@taliachetty5417]

🤣 🤣 Love what u did

[@taliachetty5417]

🤣 🤣 Love what u did

[@AnishAbraham]

You missed the fact that Polaris is a temporary North Star! Please do a talk on axial precession too! Love the show!

[@Hajiou]

Yes please not saying earth is flat but north and south hemisphere has the same views like and constellation meaning south see the same constellation as the north

[@skinwalker3953]

Chuck doing directions is *literally* how we give directions because direction is hard -- Also, weirdly elated to have guessed Venus as the first "star" we see as we circle Sol, and guessing Polaris correctly.. :I Not sure we, in our thirties, should feel this excitement, but here we are.

[@DylRicho]

Answering your questions before you tell us the answers; - The brightest star is Sirius, a binary star system. Sirius A is a main sequence star and Sirius B is a white dwarf. - The north star is Polaris at the moment, but it will become Vega in the future.

[@NALOvs]

Me being ignorant: isn't the sun the brightest star in our sky?🤔

[@jamesgurney6576]

I really like this episode. I am a retired mariner , have used Polaris to get the ships latitude. Can you talk about longitude by using the time / chronometer ?

[@KennyFromPhilly]

What fascinates me most about NDT is his ability to retain information with 💯 accuracy. It’s astounding. Time is fleeting. Madness Takes Control.

[@Czechbound]

The great thing about mixing facts and fun is that I am 1000% more likely to remember these facts than I would if I read them on a page in a book

[@rdspam]

7:02 People don’t “want meaning in the sky”, they want to use an approximation that is very effective. If you’re lost in the wilderness and need to know which direction is North, do you want a pedantic A) Sorry, absolutely no way to know exactly the direction, or B) the North Star is the closest, it is less than 1 degree from true north, and you can use it quite effectively?

[@therealq6629]

I watch this for the Chuck, not the knowledge. The knowledge is easily found!

[@AZChrisK]

Chuck is brilliant! A great intellect that happens to be screamingly funny!

[@quasar4601]

Chuck is a clean and Spontaneous funny

[@skeller61]

I was a navigator in the Air Force (C-130) and used a sextant (GPS was coming in as I was getting out in the early '90s). To get celestial fixes, we used 3 stars about 120 degrees from each other. We used books that said how high in the sky (by degrees) a star should be based on location and time. In the same way Neil described the 90 degree point at the North Pole for the North Star, if the star you measure is higher in the sky, you are closer to it by one nautical mile per minute of declination it is higher. Do that three times and you get a small triangle (a point if you measure everything perfectly, of three intersecting arcs). The arcs we drew were just a small part of the circle that would be drawn through every spot in which the star would be at the same height. Because all this took time, and we flew on the same heading as we did all the calculations, they allowed us 24 NM on each side of our flight plan! Now we get mad if we're 30 feet off. Navigation has definitely been revolutionized. Thanks for your discussion!

[@tomc4132]

Thank you for that info, very interesting 👍 😊

[@ivancota9762]

6:35 the people are right, there is a star over the north pole that the axis points to, all the time, since there is Earth. We just don't know which one is it, and its not always the same one. But if given enough research, we could actually calculate which star is perfectly north for any day/week of the year.

[@spark_two]

I enjoy the longer 45 min-1 hour episodes, don't get me wrong, but these shorter one or two topic episodes are just as great.

[@amytaylor3000]

there👋👋,how are you doing today?❤️❤️!

[@MrMockingbird1313]

Dr Tyson, you keep things real and understandable for us mortals. I live in St Louis, Missouri. This is a terrible place to stargaze because we have so much junk in the air. We have intense humidity because we are in two river valleys. Our altitude is only 400-600 feet above sea level. No stars can be seen on about half of our nights. At best only the moon, Venus, and Mars is ever visible. So thanks for explaining these concepts.

[@NovaSixSix]

I half expected Neil to talk about the precession of Earth's rotational axis and how that affects what we view as the North/South star.

[@blakjedi]

I was thinking the same thing.

[@jeffreychang6165]

Would love to hear Neil's thoughts on the "Star Bridge" space elevator depicted in the Foundation TV series.

[@benjip1229]

Star Talk should go on the road. That would be so amazing to see live. 😂 You two are hilarious.

[@simonagudelogarcia]

Happy birthday Neil, thanks for doing this wonderful work!!

[@SurferDudex99]

After AAAAALLLL the explainers you've given us how have you waited this long to tell us this! This is important information!

[@markpodesta4605]

Happy Birthday Neil! Hope you are enjoying your day. 🎂🎉😀☀️

[@modestdaddy2000]

Hey all commentators! It’s well worth the $$ to see this man in person. Been twice and planning the next trip to take my family. It’s like this channel, but live. He is funny, brilliant and there are always some unexpected discussions that take place. It’s StarTalk++.

[@edwardzeya8131]

Happy birthday Dr Tyson. Thanks for being there when we are having thirst for that knowledge

[@kirbymarchbarcena]

POLARIS: I'm so insignificant SIGMA OCTANTIS: I'm so forgettable.

[@quasar4601]

Very entertaining!!! Tuesday nite is my 20 min Science class

[@SavageDarknessGames]

The point in knowing how to locate Polaris, which also leads to the little dipper, is to get the general direction of north, so as to get your bearings. Southern Crux is the South Hemmisphere equiv, for finding realative South.

[@DouglasdAquino]

Happy birthday Neil, thank you for bring all that knowledge to us, wish you all the best.

[@oaguilera81]

Great chemistry on this episode! A lot of laughs! 😂 Love it

[@Yash-tx6bb]

Happy Birthday to the only person who makes science intersting and easy to understand ✨

[@lauracarrillo6703]

I love this two guys !!!they make the talk star very funny and educational!!!! Thank you

[@amytaylor3000]

there👋👋,how are you doing today?❤️❤️

[@graceonearth]

Happy birthday! Really love your programs from Masterclass to Startalk. :)

[@jfreshh330]

Will you guys ever go back to the old format of Neil and the cohost in his office? I loved that setup so much more, these webcams are terrible quality and just the production quality of the videos seemed higher as you guys were filming with higher quality cameras too. Please consider 🥺

[@DaremoTen]

In case anyone was wondering what is actually the brightest star from Earth, barring Sol, Chuck got it, it's Sirius, in the Southern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere it's Arturus.

[@AaronShenghao]

America’s first nuclear submarine is “Nautilus”, tribute to fictional submarine which also have almost infinite endurance. The first submarine launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) is “Polaris” which I think is hinting that those can attack USSR from polar icecaps.

[@richa7118]

Polaris was the name of the missile not the name of the submarine. Subs that carried Polaris missiles are called Polaris subs. The first to carry Polaris missiles was the George Washington.

[@justmodels1218]

i think the first nuclear powered submarine was the USS Nautilus.

[@richa7118]

@TheRenaissanceman65 the class of the sub is named for the first vessel in the class. The Geo. Washington is in the Washington class. The Ethan Allen class,the second class of ballistic missile subs also carried Polaris missiles. Other later classes would carry larger missiles such as the Posideon and Trident.

[@richa7118]

@@justmodels1218 yes but the Nautilus did not carry Posideon missiles

[@mdm4504]

There is a story about two Irish brothers building a homestead cabin in eastern South Dakota. They wanted to align their cabin exactly North & South so they sighted in line with the north star. They were aware of the small error between Polaris and true North. They planned to do one sighting early in the night, wait 12 hours and and sight again, then split the difference for the exact direction. However the night was pretty cold so they took a few nips to keep warm. When they woke up the next morning they decided having their cabin aligned to within one or two degreesof true North was probably precise enough.

[@theoranjeboy]

That blur with long exposure is the star trail. Happy Birthday, Dr Tyson.

[@charliesmth1165]

Neal, if your in a ship going the speed of light and you get out of your seat then run to the front of the ship theoretically would you be moving faster than the speed of light?

[@YungJay0]

"Are you burning thermonuclear energy in your core?" 🤣🤣🤣

[@garyharden2362]

While I enjoy the science and discussion and really enjoy Dr Tyson’s ability to explain a broad range of Facts, The elitism is bothersome. Teachers teach, not laugh at their students,...they’re students. Please keep teaching you’re brilliant.

[@amytaylor3000]

there👋👋,how are you doing today?❤️❤️!!

[@MoNaura-ym3kp]

I am just wondering does the north star spin with the earth 1000 mph and going around the sun at 66,600 mph and how do the constellations are always the same no matter what day or year ???

[@rjvalle8094]

Happy birthday! Keep looking up!

[@sapelesteve]

Happy Birthday Neil & I hope that you had a good one & were treated well! 👍👍🎂🎂😉😉

[@lauracarrillo6703]

Happy birthday to my personal astrophysics I love the way to explain all about the 🧬 science!!!

[@stephenherring9771]

Thanx for your time.Love you man

[@erichowry7197]

Great video Dr. Tyson. You taught me something new!!

[@BradfordsVideos]

Mr. Tyson, I'm probably not the 1st to point this out but, the "Nautilus" was the 1st nuclear sub. I believe that the Polaris submarine was the 1st sub to traverse the artic ocean underwater. I'm rather surprised you let a reference pass undetected.

[@benwagner5089]

You almost had the Polaris-submarine reference right. The first nuclear submarine was the Nautilus, not the Polaris. However, the first submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) was the Polaris missile, started around 1960. To be honest, I only remember that because of the old Batman movie when the Riddler used the missiles for skywriting his riddles.

[@MrJamesHWard]

Astronomy + shenanigans = the beauty of StarTalk

[@robertcampomizzi7988]

The little dude with the flag on Chuck's shirt would have made a decent visual aid. Missed opportunity I guess, but awesome video!(I didn't notice till 15/16 of the way thru). I had heard Architect's Table before and thought at the time that it was strikingly different but never made that connection about the nomenclature of the southern constellations. Thanks for learning me something! And Happy Birthday!

[@bannedagain8123]

I love these two I don’t even have to take drugs to feel high when I’m watching

[@uschi414]

An entire episode on Polaris and not even a mention of how it wasn’t always the North Star and, how, in the distant future, it won’t be again. I’m a little disappointed…but I still love StarTalk. Thanks Neil and Chuck.

[@DennisCambly]

I wish everyone could get a chance to get out of the city to a place where you can lay in the grass and look up to the night sky. It won't take long until u begin to feel Earth rotating.

[@amytaylor3000]

there👋👋,how are you doing today?❤️❤️!!

[@CleanVGC]

Happy Birthday, Neil!

[@antonysnook4932]

I was on social media and someone trashed someone for saying "In space no one can hear you scream" It got me thinking, if you are in a space rocked you have air and oxygen to simulate earth. But if you where outside on say Mars can sound travel. without the need for a helmet and microphone.

[@reddwarf3046]

Show love to Chuck ❤️

[@michaeltovrea7947]

Wait a minute, are you telling me that there are people out there who take information at face value without doing research? Inconceivable!

[@amytaylor3000]

there👋👋,how are you doing today?❤️❤️!!

[@eliyahfeld]

great - thanks! (1st of all) - and one is louder than the other it's very hard to listen this way, for future episodes

[@baschfonrosenburg8003]

My Dad taught me the Big Dipper trick to finding the North Star!! It definitely works and can save your life.

[@slcncr]

Happy Birthday Neil 😄 All the very BEST for you. And keep entertaining us with your knowledge and humor.

[@AbdurrahmanAllahem]

Thank you, guys. Could you please allow the youtube cc (subtitle) for future episodes?

[@Dabasin]

Is it worth noting that the north star is kind of the last start on the handle of little dipper?, that kinda would make it more easy to find

[@dbus1635]

Imagine these two having a chat over dinner, there'd be food flying everywhere.

[@chaosmarklar]

Luckily any half decent telescope can track a star for a long exposure photo, but I would love to have a vid condensed to 8sec for gif showing the track

[@wooddogg8]

make a series of short exposures and animate them.

[@dbunt88]

Happy Birthday, Dr. Tyson!

[@kkgc5760]

9:28 i imagined an advanced alien spieces from the polaris system pointing at our sun, that star is not remarkable😂

[@bjornsan]

Many years ago I learned how to find the North Star. My first thought when seeing it was that it isn't the brightest star by a long shot. I would never have found it if I hadn't known about using the Big Dipper. The North Star is a little bit to the left of the line from BD.

[@isatousarr7044]

The North Star, Polaris, is known for its pivotal role in navigation due to its position nearly aligned with Earth's rotational axis. Although it’s not the brightest star in the night sky, its steady position makes it invaluable for orientation. How might future astronomical observations reveal more about the true brightness and characteristics of Polaris compared to other prominent stars?

[@archerpro137]

How do you explain this if the earth spins at an angle and points to different directions through the year. This is why Antarctica gets 6 months of sun and 6 months of no sun.

[@biddinge8898]

Hi Neil! Happy birthday! I found a video of you dancing at a party and in that video I commented quote "CMON NEIL DANCE ASTRONOMY WON'T TALK ABOUT ITSELF" 😉. During my birthday late last month I was in the hospital dealing with geon bray syndrome so I hope you're having a great time!

[@carwynthomas5836]

Polaris is actually the Uks nuclear missile program for nuclear capable subs. It’s the actual nuclear delivery device not a US submarine, the first US nuclear submarine was called the Nautilus (SSN-571)

[@joseimpact]

wish this was longer!

[@EetTheMeak]

Polaris is also the name of the band who did the Pete and Pete theme song, which is called "Hey Sandy". For your enjoyment.

[@dilonpolaris]

I just love the name POLARIS! And I'm fond of icy weather.

[@abrahamwondafrash7549]

Happy birthday to my invaluable physics teacher! Wish you all the best!

[@HoOGenghisB]

‘If a man carries out the government with virtue, he can be compared with the northern pole-star which keeps its place steadily, while all other stars turn round about it respectfully.’

[@DougHanchard]

One of the greatest astrophysics communicators of our generation. There is some tiny leeway that must be allowed when Tyson explains how close the North Star / Polaris is to the North Pole alignment. A couple of moons is relevant for some 🌚 When Tyson states, if someone takes a long exposure picture from the North Pole, it would show it moving in a circle around true north in the sky. This is absolutely (factual) correct, if one was to take a exposure of Polaris that is 12+ hours with a very wide or narrow angle focul aperture. But because Polaris is 323 light years away from earth, a 30 minute exposure image wouldn't "star trail" in a circular motion as he says. Not even from latitudes as far south as the Canadian - U.S. 49° parallel, will show the North Star circling, if the camera is pointed precisely at Polaris. It's harder to do and setup than you think, especially if you're not using a motorized star tracker. I've taken hundreds of pictures 30 to 45 minutes that show star trails in a beautiful and trailing"perfectly", in 360 circles around Polaris. This gives the false perception that Polaris is directly over the North Pole, when it isn't. Given its 323 light year distance, its inclination between true north and where it actual position in our solar system northern position, it's very small indeed and why it is an excellent "analog" naval navigation beacon. ⭐

[@z-mane1438]

Dude space isn’t real man

[@jeffreyburley4033]

I believe Polaris (North Star) is also part of a binary star system. A more accurate name for it is Polaris A. The name of the second star in that pair is Polaris B.

[@Tina-d8f]

Excellent work gentlemen.

[@nelsonnichols922]

Happy birthday Dr. Tyson and thank you for the scientific education!

[@amytaylor3000]

there👋👋,how are you doing today?❤️❤️!!

[@muskyoxes]

Oh, that's why it's called Star Talk! I thought it was just interviews with celebrities.

[@aurora4270]

Happy birthday From Germany

[@desmondsigamoney1438]

Thanks so much. Have you done a video on the Southern Cross for those of us below the equator

[@markklewinski3072]

Correction. The Polaris was never a submarine. It was the first Nuclear Missile from a submarine.

[@timothymulholland7905]

Nautilus was the first nuclear sub. Polaris was the missile which could take nuclear warheads from a sub under the sea to targets anywhere.

[@isetfrances6124]

This is so cool cuz I moved to an area deemed The North Star🤩 but not seemingly known (among denizens there) for its relationship to trail of escape to black freedom 🤷🏽‍♀️

[@Quifuh]

Wait, is this guy about to explain Kenshiro's Fist of the North Star?!

[@ThePurificator69420]

maybe next time