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Science Friday > Archives > 1998 > December > December 25, 1998:

Hour One: Christmas Science: Astronomy and Reindeer

You probably know how the Christian story of Christmas goes. A baby is born. Shepherds and kings follow an unusual star in the eastern sky to find the child lying in a manger in Bethlehem. But regardless of whether you believe in the story, you might be interested in the astronomy behind it. What might those travelers have seen in the sky? Was it a planet? A comet? Perhaps an exploding star? Over the years, lots of people have tried to figure out what that star might have been. We'll fill you in on some of the possibilities, and talk about what you might be able to see in the heavens yourself this Christmas.

Plus - we all know that they can fly around the world in double-quick time, and that at least one of them has a very shiny nose (and if you ever saw it, you might even say it glows ...) But what else is there to know about reindeer? Did you know that even though they don't look just like caribou, most experts say they're actually the same species? We'll talk to some scientists in the Arctic circle - not too far from the North Pole - who study reindeer for a living, and can field all your reindeer-related questions. So break out the cookies and milk and join in some of our reindeer games on this hour of Science Friday.

(image courtesy Univ. of Alaska, Fairbanks)

Listen to this program in RealAudio!

Guests:
Andrew Fraknoi
Professor, Astronomy Department
Foothill College
Los Alto Hills, CA

Perry Barbosa
Professor, Biology
Institute of Arctic Biology
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Fairbanks, AK

Bill Hauer
Large Animal Research Station Supervisor
Institute of Arctic Biology
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Fairbanks, AK

Books/Articles Discussed:

Related Links:

Bering Land Bridge National Preserve
Reindeer info from the Smithsonian

This segment produced by:
Annette Heist
Web producer:
Charles Bergquist