(uplifting music) - Coming up next on "NewsDepth", an astronomer explains, what
is a total solar eclipse? Jeff does a deep dive on the moon. Did you know Ohio has been
home to plenty of astronauts? And we have the latest
on the lunar landings and Mars missions, "NewsDepth" is now. (uplifting rock music) Hello everybody, I'm Gabriel Kramer. We're coming to you straight from the "NewsDepth" space station
to bring you a special episode all about space but
Natalia, she's our producer, do you think w
e could
turn the gravity back on? This whole episode, seems like
it's gonna be kind of tricky. (anti-gravity whooshing) Okay, thank you, that's a lot better. Gravity, by the way, is the
force that attracts a body toward the center of the Earth or toward any other
physical body having mass. Okay, let's get started with the show. On April the 8th, there will
be a total solar eclipse and northeast Ohio is
in the path of totality, which means we are in
the best place to see it. A solar eclipse happe
ns when the moon moves between the sun and the Earth, obscuring the sun either
partially or entirely from view. The event will last about two hours, starting just before 2:00
PM but at exactly 3:15 PM, the moon will be perfectly positioned to completely cover the sun if you're watching in or near Cleveland. But if you don't live in northeast Ohio, that doesn't mean that you won't
be able to see the eclipse. Let me introduce you to
Astronomer, Destiny Thomas. She works at the Cleveland
Natural Hi
story Museum and she's here to explain the science behind and in front of an eclipse. (upbeat techno music) - I am Destiny Thomas,
I'm a Museum Astronomer and we're here at the Cleveland
Museum of Natural History. An astronomer is a scientist
who studies outer space and everything beyond
the Earth's atmosphere. For me, I got interested in astronomy, going to local planetariums as
an elementary school student. So going into that planetarium and seeing all those
beautiful stars above me, made me r
eally interested in learning what's out there with astronomy. An eclipse is an occurrence
where one celestial body is blocked or obscured by
another celestial body. We have solar eclipses and lunar eclipses, a solar eclipse is, where the Earth falls within
the shadow of the moon. And then a lunar eclipse is where the moon falls within
the shadow of the Earth. So we have about two to
five eclipses every year, and they're divided between two seasons, we have two eclipse seasons per year. Within ea
ch season, we have at least one solar eclipse and one lunar eclipse. Eclipses are predicted by studying cycles, and so this is gonna include
the moon's orbit around Earth and also the Earth's orbit around the sun. Now, we've been able to predict eclipses very accurately since the 1700s. We can predict them up to
multiple centuries in advance. Once we get to about a thousand years out, it gets a little less accurate because the Earth's rotation of motion is actually changing over time. The Earth
is slowing down and the moon is also getting farther
away from the Earth. So every year the moon gets about an inch and a half farther away. In about 600 million years, we'll no longer be able to
have a total solar eclipse. On April 8th of this year, we're gonna have a total solar eclipse. And when the moon shadow is
gonna cross the United States, it's gonna start in Texas, going through about 13 states all the way up to the state of Maine. So when we're talking
about total solar eclipses, we wa
nna focus on the path of totality. That's where the darkest
part of the moon shadow will cross the Earth and if you are within the path of totality, you
get 100% coverage of the sun at some point during the day. For us here in Cleveland, we're less than 25 miles
from the central line, which means the closer you
are to the central line, the longer duration of totality you have. We have one of the longest
durations in the state, we'll have three minutes and 50 seconds of totality in Cleveland. Eve
ryone else in the United States, if they're outside of
the path of totality, will experience a partial solar eclipse. On April 8th, the entire
eclipse is gonna last for about two and a half hours. For us here in Cleveland,
the time of first contact, the very start of the eclipse
will be 1:59 in the afternoon. And then we get to totality at 3:13, we hit the maximum of totality
at 3:15, it ends at 3:17, and then the very, very end
of the last partial stage, we'll be at about 4:30. So if we're in n
ortheast Ohio, for us to observe the total solar eclipse, you wanna look towards the southwest, and in the sun and moon, there'll be about 50
degrees above the horizon. A technique that you can use, is to actually extend your
arm out in front of you and you wanna make a fist with your hand. You'll start your fist at the horizon, and then if you go up about
five of your fists high, that should be about 50 degrees up. That gives you a good estimate
to have an expectation of where the sun and moon
will be for the total solar eclipse. It's very important to protect your eyes during the total solar eclipse. The only time you can look up at the sun with your unaided eye is during totality, outside of totality, before and after, you wanna protect your vision
'cause the sun's so bright. So you can have permanent
damage done to your eyes, you can also have retinal damage because the sun's light is so intense so make sure you have
safety precautions in place. There's gonna be so much to see when
you're looking up in the sky for the total solar eclipse. There's also gonna be a lot to see if you look around you
in your environment. So as the sun is being
eclipsed by the moon, you might start to see
how shadows are changing. As we approach totality, shadows
may appear to be sharper, and also you'll be able to
see those partial phases as they're projected
onto different surfaces. It'll almost look like a solar crescent projected on the ground. For all my students out there who are really e
xcited about astronomy, a big piece of advice that I
have is to explore the sky. So if you have a telescope, you can look up at the
sky during the night. If you wanna do any solar viewing, make sure you have proper solar filters to do that during the day
and also just stay curious. Stay curious about all the
things that you can learn 'cause there's so much
out there in the universe. (air whooshing) - Thank you, Destiny, and special thanks to Ideastream's Leigh Barr for
her help on that last vide
o. In 1969, Ohio native Neil
Armstrong reached the moon, a milestone in space exploration. But how much do we really
know about the moon? The moon formed from a collision about four and a half billion years ago, and Earth is not the only planet in our solar system that has moons. Jeff St. Clair has the scoop. - In 1969, humans took their first steps on Earth's only natural
satellite, the moon. It was a monumental achievement in the history of space exploration. We know what it took
for humans to
get there, but what did it take for
the moon to get there? To find out, we must go back in time, some four and a half billion years. (intriguing music) The leading scientific theory
of the origin of the moon is the giant impact hypothesis. According to this theory, around four and a half billion years ago, during the early formation
of the solar system, a Mars sized protoplanet
referred to as Theia collided with a young Earth. The impact was so powerful, it ejected a significant
amount of mater
ial from both Theia and Earth into space. This ejected material eventually combined and formed a disc of debris around Earth known as the lunar disc. Over time, the particles in this disc began to clump together due
to gravitational forces, forming the moon. Our moon is the fifth largest
moon in the solar system, about one sixth the size of Earth. It has a diameter of around 2,159 miles. Scientists say our moon's circumference has shrunk by about 150 feet
in the last million years. That doesn't
sound like much
and it won't affect Earth, but it indicates a
geologically active satellite. In fact, the moon is still hot inside. It's cooling off though, and that causes the surface to shrink like a grape shriveling into a raisin. The moon's surface is
rocky and heavily cratered with planes, mountains, and valleys. Its appearance in the
sky changes due to phases caused by the interaction between sunlight and its orbit around Earth. These phases range from the new moon, when the moon is not vi
sible
from Earth, to the full moon when the entire face of
the moon is illuminated. While Earth's moon is remarkable, it's not alone in having
companions in the cosmos. Many planets in our
solar system have moons, each with unique characteristics. Mars has two small moons
named Phobos and Deimos. These moons are irregularly shaped and thought to be captured asteroids. Jupiter, the largest
planet in our solar system, has a whopping 79 known moons. Some of the largest moons
known as the Galilean m
oons include Io, Europa,
Ganymede, and Callisto. Saturn has over 80 confirmed moons with its largest being Titan. Titan is notable for its dense atmosphere and hydrocarbon lakes. Some dwarf planets and large asteroids in the outer solar system also have moons. For example, Pluto has five known moons, the largest of which is Charon. In recent years, there's
been renewed interest in lunar exploration with
plans for future missions to return humans to the moon and establish a sustainable presence t
here. Overall, the moon continues to be a source of wonder, inspiration, and scientific discovery for humanity. - Thank you, Jeff. Ohio is home to pioneers in many fields. One of the areas in which Ohioans have blazed new trails is space flight. According to NASA, 25
astronauts are Ohio natives. Collectively, these Ohioans have completed close to 80 space missions, including three voyages to the moon, and accumulated more than 22,000 hours of space flight experience. In this week's, Know Ohio,
Z
aria Johnson highlights the achievements of some of
these brave space pioneers. (upbeat country music) - Ohioans know how to reach
for the stars, literally. There have been more than a handful who have headed into space
with careers as astronauts. Let me introduce you to a
few who really stand out. No doubt you've heard of Neil Armstrong. He's got that famous quote, "That's one small step for man,
one giant leap for mankind." Originally from Wapakoneta, Ohio, Armstrong attended Purdue University
where he studied aeronautical engineering before being called to
serve in the Korean War where he flew 78 missions. Upon returning and completing
his education at Purdue, Armstrong joined the
National Advisory Committee for aeronautics, which would
eventually become NASA. It was here where Armstrong made history, flying the Apollo 11 and
becoming the first man to walk on the moon in 1969. Although monumental,
Armstrong was not the only Ohio born astronaut making
an impact during that time. John
Glenn born in Cambridge,
Ohio, beat him to space. Glenn was the first American
to orbit the Earth in 1962. In 1959, Glenn was selected to join the first group of astronauts
named the Mercury Seven. Glenn made history for
America with his orbit mission and continued serving the country as an Ohio Senator for 25 years. However, he didn't stop there. He made history once more, in 1998, when he did one more space flight. What was so impressive this go? Well, Glenn was 77 years old at the time, maki
ng him the oldest
person to fly into space. Now, Armstrong and Glenn
are probably familiar names, but how about Judy
Resnik, ever heard of her? Resnik was from Akron and was accepted into the astronaut program in 1978, along with five other women. During her time, she became the second female astronaut
to travel to space and was well regarded for being a pioneer. Her first flight to space was
aboard the Discovery in 1984. she was an expert in operating
the shuttle's robotic arm. Unfortunately, R
esnik's next mission was aboard the space
shuttle Challenger in 1986. The Challenger exploded
not long after takeoff, killing her and six other crew mates. Resnik's work and accomplishments
helped revolutionize the industry and pave the
way forward for women. For example, one of the
toughest astronauts out there, Sunita Williams. Williams was born in Euclid, Ohio. She joined NASA as an astronaut in 1998, already having retired from
a career as a Navy Captain. She served as a flight engineer duri
ng her time as an astronaut. Williams has been commended
for endurance as an astronaut and has a record to back it up with two missions under her belt. She has spent time on the
International Space Station and set the record for female astronauts with the most spacewalk,
totaling more than 50 hours. So as you can see, Ohio is home to some super accomplished astronauts and there are plenty
more I could talk about. Will you be one of them one day? (air whooshes)
(ball bounces) - Thank you, Zaria.
And that brings us to
our poll for the week. Who is your favorite Ohio astronaut? Jump over to our poll page to vote. You can choose between
Neil Armstrong, John Glenn, Judy Resnik, Sunita
Williams, or someone else, but all of them are
pretty out of this world. Last week, we talked about new legislation coming out of Congress
that could potentially ban the social media app, TikTok. And we wanna know what you thought. 68% of you said, yes, TikTok should be banned
in the United States. While anoth
er 32% of you voted
no because you like TikTok. A US made spacecraft named Odysseus, has achieved the historic feat of landing on the uncharted south pole
of the moon after 50 years. NASA, the primary supporter
of the Odysseus mission, intends to dispatch a crude expedition to the same lunar region as
part of its Artemis program. The objective of the Artemis program is to pioneer a human
settlement on the moon and leverage the acquired expertise for future Mars missions. A settlement refers to a
community or group of people living together on a
particular area or location. Michael Yoshida spoke to a NASA official about this new space age and what is ahead as humanity once again
reaches for the stars. (team applauding) - [Michael] For the
first time in 50 years, a US made spacecraft
touching down on the moon. The company behind Odie says
these images released Tuesday, are the closest observations of the area. It's of high scientific interest because it may have ice that in the future co
uld be used for water fuel. - This is a gigantic accomplishment. - [Michael] NASA, the
main financial backer of the Odysseus mission,
plans to send a crude mission to the Moon's South Pole as
early as September, 2026, as part of the agency's Artemis missions. The goal to establish a
human base on the moon and eventually use what is learned to take the next giant leap,
sending astronauts to Mars. On Earth, NASA's already preparing for human exploration of the red planet. - We already, you know,
s
end things to Mars, right? So a real complication with
Mars is the human component. - [Michael] A four person
crew is currently living and working inside a
1700 square foot habitat. Simulating physical and mental
challenges of a Mars mission, - Being away from family and friends for an extended period of time, living in a small space
with other individuals for an extended period of time. - [Michael] This research
combined with other work on the International Space Station and future lunar missio
ns will... - Tell us a piece of the
puzzle that we can integrate and to help understand these challenges as well as test countermeasures. - The first of three
Mars surface simulations is nearing its end, and NASA
is accepting applications to take part in the second
mission set to begin next year. NASA has previously said it
hopes to send astronauts to Mars as early as the 2030s. For our Write to Us this week, we want you to send in your questions about a career in space science. And next episode
we'll have a professional answer some of them for our
Career Call Out segment. On our last episode, we met
photographer Bridget Caswell, and we wanted to see
your photography skills. Let's see some of the pictures you sent by opening up our inbox. (cheerful music)
(alert swooshes) Leah from Claggett Middle
School in Medina, my hometown, sent this picture and
wrote, "Dear NewsDepth, this is a picture I took in second grade of a cotton candy sky. I hope you like it and tell
NewsHound and I said h
i." (dog barks) Beautiful picture, Leah. It does look just like cotton candy. Hayden from Eastwood's
Intermediate School in Hudson sent us a picture of a cool hangout spot. "Dear NewsDepth, I took a
picture of my school's courtyard because I love going out there to do work and just to have fun, and
all my friends come with me." MacKenna from Suffield
Elementary in Mogadore, painted us a picture using words. "Dear NewsDepth, I'm sorry
I don't have a picture, but maybe if I can describe
it, you ca
n picture it. It's an orange flower
with a beautiful butterfly that had black stripes all over it and it was orange between the stripes, but also the flower had a really cool line with a ball looking thing coming outta the middle, it was yellow." MacKenna, you did a
great job describing it. I can see it in my head for sure. Dominic from Nord Middle
School in Amherst, sent a picture of their dog. "Dear NewsDepth, I have
a picture of my dog, his name is Zeus. I can feel better when I'm by him and
tell the NewsHound that we enjoy him. I hope you and Ygal are both working hard and you have the best job. I think Zeus and NewsHound
would be great friends." I bet they would be great
friends too, Dominic. Amelia from Gillis-Sweet
Elementary in Freeview Park sent us a picture of something
very special to them, their pencil box. "Dear NewsDepth, I did this because I had it since third grade. It has all my stickers,
it's my favorite color. My favorite color is blue. I dropped it a couple
times bu
t it survived, that's why it has a bunch
of holes and broken spots. This is why I did my pencil box." Thanks to everyone that's
sent in photographs, you all have a really good eye for it. Now, let's head back to outer space. Some of you are probably wondering what a human settlement on
the moon would even look like. In order for human life to
be sustainable in space, there will need to be food,
water, shelter of course, and even medical services. And you're posing some great questions. Well, che
ck out this next story. Doctors on Earth have managed
to successfully control a tiny robot at the
International Space Station that could help perform
operations remotely. Kristin Fisher details
this major milestone. - [Ground Control] Go, SpaceX, go Falcon. - [Kristin] Sitting on
top of this SpaceX rocket when it launched in January, was the first surgical
robot bound for outer space. - So MIRA is a small surgical robot. - [Kristin] MIRA made by a
company called Virtual Incision, arrived at the
International
Space Station in February and on Saturday it did something that's never been done before. - Saturday was the first time
that a surgical robot in space was controlled by surgeons on Earth to perform simulated surgical activities. - [Kristin] Virtual Incision provided CNN with exclusive video, as six surgeons at the company's headquarters
in Lincoln, Nebraska took turns operating the robot after it was powered
up by NASA astronauts, roughly 250 miles above. - It was really exhilarati
ng
but at the same time, once I saw that, you know,
robotic device doing the things that I'm used to it doing, settled down. - [Kristin] Dr. Michael Jobst
says he's already performed 15 surgeries with MIRA
during clinical trials on human patients here on Earth, but he's never had to
contend with zero gravity or a time delay of about half a second. - A split second or you
know, a half a second is gonna be significant so
this was a big challenge. - You can see a left hand with a grasper and a righ
t hand with a pair of scissors and we use rubber bands here
to simulate surgical tissue. - So you could of those
rubber bands as perhaps, you know, blood vessels or tendons, or other connective tissue
that has elasticity. So we're able to, you know,
grab hold of the rubber bands and then take the scissors and
just basically to cut them. - Alright, I'm going for it... - Yeah!
(team applauds) - Thank you, Kristin. In addition to someday
performing remote surgeries on people in space, they also wan
t to use this technology on Earth in
rural areas or war zones, where it might be tough to find a surgeon. In New York, a team of
aerospace engineering students at a private university
is looking to make history with a rocket launch. Emani Payne spoke with a group on the importance of the mission. - While most college students are focused on spring break plans this time of year, this group of RPI students are focused on something a bit more daring. So really, you all are essentially
rocket scient
ists here. Yeah?
(Lucas laughs) - Yeah, it's a pretty cool
fact to be able to say. - [Emani] And you can't
be a rocket scientist without a rocket. The aerospace engineering
students known as the Ascendants, using this rocket to attempt something that no other university
team has done before. - [Teacher] Two, one... - [Emani] Send a rocket
330,000 feet into the sky where Earth and outer space meet. - I've always loved space,
I've always loved rocketry. I think this is an awesome opportunity and I
would not wanna waste that. - [Emani] The team off to a good start launching their rocket
more than 42,000 feet high in an earlier competition in Nevada. Their latest design
though expected to soar up to 375,000 feet cruising
straight into outer space. (metal clinking) The students also researching
cost saving benefits of their project that could
benefit mankind in the future. Making the time, effort, and energy they're dedicating to the
mission that much more rewarding. - You feel such a sense
of
pride because you're like, oh my goodness, I spent so
many hours working on this in the lab and on the
computer, and all that. And then you just put it on
the pad, you watch it go up, and then everybody else around
you is also watching it. So you're like, "Yes, it worked." Such a great feeling. - Great work, team. People always say if
you shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you'll
land amongst the stars. Well, this week's A+ Award
Winner did just that. Grant Bauer, an eighth grader
out Hur
on Middle School recently got a personal message from NASA's Mars Perseverance Rover. Grant was one of 20 students
from across the country who were selected by NASA
to speak with a Rover team at the Jet Propulsion Lab in California. "Grant is a really hard worker. When he faces a challenge, he sticks to it until he's successful." Says Mrs. Lacrosse, Grant's
teacher and cross country coach. She also shared that he is the go-to guy for keeping the school's
three 3D printers. She also told us that
he was
able to use the technology to build models of the
Rover and Space Shuttle. Grant told us that he hopes
to eventually work for NASA and that his interest
began in fifth grade. He has a particular
interest in microgravity. Grant taught us that microgravity
is the condition in which people or objects appear to be weightless. Microgravity can be seen when astronauts and objects float in space. It's what keeps the International
Space Station in orbit. Grant also told us about his conversation
with the Rover team at
the Jet Propulsion Lab. The engineers at NASA told them that the Rover's trip to Mars
was not as easy as it seemed. They were challenged
with two system restarts and a coding error. Grant's dad told us that he's most proud of Grant's character and his
unwillingness to give up. And that brings us to the message Grant received from the Rover. Grant told us that the
Rover's message was, "Keep going, never stop. Stopping will get you nowhere." That message sums up
Grant's appr
oach to life. This week's A+ Award goes to Grant Bauer from Huron Middle School for
his grit and determination. Keep reaching for the stars, Grant. It's now time to check in on NewsHound. I think he said he found a
story about some flying pups. Let's find out what he meant by that. (lively music) (NewHound barking) Hey, NewsHound, nice "NewsDepth" glasses. It's great to see you're ready
to see the eclipse safely. Well, what animal story
did you find this week? Oh, it's a story about
two pilots i
n Kansas that fly rescue animals
to different states for medical treatments. A-ha, that's what you
meant by flying pups. Great story, NewsHound. You can watch the full video on our website and YouTube channel. (bubble popping) And that's a wrap for this week's show. The "NewsDepth" Team will be
on spring break next week, so our next episode will be
posted on April the 11th. Until then, you can keep
the conversation going because you know we always
want to hear from you and there are plenty of wa
ys for you to stay in touch with us. You can write to us, we're
at 1375 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio, our
zip code here is 44115, or you can email us at
newsdepth@ideastream.org. Plus you can catch all of our
special segments on YouTube. Hit Subscribe if you're old enough so you don't miss out on
any of our new videos. Thanks for joining us, I'm Gabriel Kramer. We'll see you back when we land on Earth. Hey Natalia, let's turn
off that gravity again. (anti-gravity whooshes) (upbeat music) - [An
nouncer] "NewsDepth" is made possible by a grant from the Martha
Holden Jennings Foundation. - [Announcer Two] Career Call
Outs featured in "NewsDepth" are funded by the Ohio
Broadcast Media Commission. (uplifting rock music) (inspiring ambient music)
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