A Astronomy Cast, Episode 606, Time Diallation.

Welcome to Astronomy Cast, our weekly facts based journey through the Cosmos, where we

help you understand not only what we know, but how we know what we know.

I'm Frisricane, publisher of University, and with me, as always, is Dr. Pamela Gay, a senior

scientist for the Planetary Science Institute and the Director of Cosmos Quest.

Hey, Pamela, how you doing?

I'm doing well.

It is a glorious spring day.

And while the stars don't shine as many hours each night, it is great to have Mercury

over on the horizon.

Have you gotten out to go look at it yet?

I thought we went through this.

I can't see Mercury.

I have no view to the east and I have no view to the west.

Mercury is, I'm just going to have to take it on faith that Mercury even exists.

Okay.

I understand I am going to have to go to a field somewhere because I too have no horizon,

but I have access to corn fields that don't yet have much corn in them.

The only time I've ever seen Mercury, I was in Australia.

That's it.

And you have the benefit that the ecliptic sort of rises straight overhead in Australia.

So you know, as opposed to things here being very low down to the horizon.

...