1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:01,125 [MUSIC PLAYING] 2 00:00:01,125 --> 00:00:02,583 ANNA FREBEL: Have you ever wondered 3 00:00:02,583 --> 00:00:06,120 how all the chemical elements are made? 4 00:00:06,120 --> 00:00:08,640 Then join me, as we are lifting all these data 5 00:00:08,640 --> 00:00:11,630 secrets to understand the cosmic origin of the chemical 6 00:00:11,630 --> 00:00:12,130 elements. 7 00:00:15,890 --> 00:00:18,188 Astronomers collect data, and when 8 00:00:18,188 --> 00:00:19,730 you want to work with the older stars 9 00:00:19,730 --> 00:00:22,223 and you want to determine a comic chemical composition, 10 00:00:22,223 --> 00:00:24,140 you have to use the technique of spectroscopy. 11 00:00:31,810 --> 00:00:34,300 Spectroscopy means that we split up the light 12 00:00:34,300 --> 00:00:36,310 into the rainbow colors. 13 00:00:36,310 --> 00:00:40,000 And because we are looking for stars with very weak absorption 14 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:43,210 lines in the very end, we need to stretch out 15 00:00:43,210 --> 00:00:47,260 the light real bad to get to a data quality 16 00:00:47,260 --> 00:00:49,930 level that is sufficient for our work. 17 00:00:49,930 --> 00:00:53,920 Now if you want to split up your light over so many colors, 18 00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:57,760 you really need a big glass, a big telescope in order 19 00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:00,880 to collect enough light that there is enough light, 20 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:03,880 enough photons left over for every single color 21 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:05,410 in the rainbow. 22 00:01:05,410 --> 00:01:08,770 And I use the Magellan Telescope in Chile. 23 00:01:08,770 --> 00:01:11,740 It has a 6.5 meter mirror. 24 00:01:11,740 --> 00:01:13,300 And it's a beautiful telescope. 25 00:01:13,300 --> 00:01:15,550 And I like going observing, very much. 26 00:01:15,550 --> 00:01:17,980 But most people really can't understand 27 00:01:17,980 --> 00:01:21,010 what it means when I say, I go observing. 28 00:01:21,010 --> 00:01:25,630 Well, what it means is I fly to Chile. 29 00:01:25,630 --> 00:01:28,420 The telescope is located in the Atacama Desert, 30 00:01:28,420 --> 00:01:30,640 2,500 meters up. 31 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:34,090 And one has to fly to Santiago first, and then to La Serena. 32 00:01:34,090 --> 00:01:35,710 And then from there, it's two hours 33 00:01:35,710 --> 00:01:38,080 with a car up into the mountains. 34 00:01:38,080 --> 00:01:40,520 And then when you get there, you see the mountains. 35 00:01:40,520 --> 00:01:45,372 And you see a little telescope glistening in the sun. 36 00:01:45,372 --> 00:01:47,080 Actually, there are two telescopes there, 37 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:49,000 the twin telescopes. 38 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:51,040 I use mostly, just one of them. 39 00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:55,272 Sometimes I use the other one, too. 40 00:01:55,272 --> 00:01:56,980 And one time, actually, I used them both. 41 00:01:56,980 --> 00:02:00,140 That was exciting, both at the same time. 42 00:02:00,140 --> 00:02:02,680 I had to run back and forth between the two 43 00:02:02,680 --> 00:02:05,650 to make sure that everything is working properly. 44 00:02:05,650 --> 00:02:08,600 And what you have when you get there 45 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:12,730 is that you have a beautiful mountain landscape. 46 00:02:12,730 --> 00:02:15,790 And, of course, at night, you have the beautiful dark sky 47 00:02:15,790 --> 00:02:17,200 above you. 48 00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:20,830 And the stars are so bright altogether when 49 00:02:20,830 --> 00:02:25,120 they make up the Milky Way, that actually, I 50 00:02:25,120 --> 00:02:28,360 used to walk outside and I didn't 51 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:30,340 need to bring a flashlight. 52 00:02:30,340 --> 00:02:33,310 There was no moon, but the Milky Way ban 53 00:02:33,310 --> 00:02:36,880 in the Southern Hemisphere is so bright 54 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:39,250 that you can just walk outside. 55 00:02:39,250 --> 00:02:42,440 You wouldn't run into a tree, or a car, or whatever. 56 00:02:42,440 --> 00:02:45,610 And I could almost imagine that I would see the shadow 57 00:02:45,610 --> 00:02:48,880 from the Milky Way's light. 58 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:51,880 I could have just imagined that, but the fact that I actually 59 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:54,310 was in this position that I said, like, 60 00:02:54,310 --> 00:02:57,580 can I see my shadow from the night sky? 61 00:02:57,580 --> 00:03:00,650 That's just fantastic in itself. 62 00:03:00,650 --> 00:03:02,530 So in the following, I want to show you 63 00:03:02,530 --> 00:03:07,360 a few videos that I have taken at the telescopes, 64 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:11,680 to give you a little insight into what this observing means, 65 00:03:11,680 --> 00:03:13,965 and how we collect data. 66 00:03:13,965 --> 00:03:15,340 But I also want to share with you 67 00:03:15,340 --> 00:03:17,230 what the night sky looks like. 68 00:03:17,230 --> 00:03:20,230 Because it is just too beautiful, and words 69 00:03:20,230 --> 00:03:22,920 really can't describe it.