Neil deGrasse Tyson Explains the Constellations

What are the constellations supposed to look like? On this explainer, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice gaze up at the constellations that surround our world. Who made the constellations?

We break down the mythologies and methods used to paint these shapes in the sky. Are some constellations more accurate than others? Neil gives his take on which constellations are the most accurate and why Pegasus is anatomically incorrect. Discover Abbé Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille and his mission to map the sky of the southern hemisphere for the north. What constellations did he invent? All that, plus, we roast the constellations for their inaccuracy and ask: why is there no reverse centaur?

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About StarTalk:
Science meets pop culture on StarTalk! Astrophysicist & Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, his comic co-hosts, guest celebrities & scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Keep Looking Up!

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[Nanoytgaming]

Chuck is probably one of the funniest people alive, im crying rn

[chrisfranks]

This episode is the perfect example of how funny and cool this channel is. Pure love, pure jokes and pure enlightenment! Big fan of Star Talk. If you ever need music it’s on the house. X

[AZChrisK]

Chuck is so brilliant, which is why he's so funny. Ever notice he can answer almost every question Neil throws at him?

[MikeLinPA]

Neil doesn't look like he is reading notes constantly, so he is remembering and recalling all this stuff on the fly. I couldn't do that! Very impressive!

[marcoromero]

Neil & Chuck's really my heroes. Thanks Neil for making me love science. Thanks Chuck for always finding humor out of it. I love you guys!

[skinwalker]

Chuck doing the Hercules clap is exactly how Hercules needs to be said every time.

[joealine]

Neil: How many keys on a piano?
Me: I have know idea.
Neil: How fast did the DeLorean have to go?

[BURDYMAN]

I really enjoy this format. Neil asking questions to test knowledge and letting someone else have the floor to make their own comments instead of one sided conversations about things. I guess it's because he has background info on what Chuck knows about.

[MarcoPolo-jeej]

Even after a rough day at work, you guys put a smile on my face and give me something to think about, too.
Thank you.

[seasickviking]

Neil: "What Does The First Three Letters Of Zodiac Spell?"
Chuck: "Zoo!"
Neil: "That's Right!"
General Zod: "That Is Not My Name!"

[derekseven]

Great dialogue between you Neil and Chuck. It's really cool something intelligent to listen to whenever you guys do StarTalk

[aaronseet]

Even as a kid I was already, "seriously? how did they manage to imagine that shape/object out of those constellations??"

[suesharp]

I absolutely love STARTALK! I always walk away with something new!🧡🧡

[LadyNikitaShark]

The big advantage of growing up rural was being able to see the sky at night. It's just so beautiful

[twinton]

Chuck makes the most insightful comment at 13:55 "that there is, indeed, a psychological and cultural influence on observation". We connect these observations to make patterns when, in fact, those patterns usually don't really exist. It's only a pattern from our physical, cultural and psychological perspective. I don't mean to overstate the obvious, but the three stars in what we call Orion's Belt really are not in a straight line; Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka are all different distances (by hundreds of light years) from Earth and in reality form a triangular plane. It's just that the plane is flat from our viewpoint, so we interpret it as a line with three equidistant similarly-bright points. From most any other vantage point in the Milky Way (or outside of it), we might call them Orion's Loincloth or Orion's Kerchief or some other cultural name. And such is true for all the constellations; they are patterns from our current Earth-centric perspective.

[TheMangakid]

Neil: "What do the first three letters of the Zodiac spell?"
Me: ". . . Zod?"
Neil (in full costume doing doing an amazing Terence Stamp impression) "Neil before Zod!"

[timan]

One of the phrases that puts a smile on my face, “Chuck we’re back.”

[ivanesquilin]

Watching this just helped me understand politics and culture more. And, by that I mean that people don't always see things the way you see them. I'm a 33 year old American so I already knew that. However, this gives me a new perspective on how and why other people view things differently.

Growing up, I thought all the constellations were recognized globally. It now makes sense that different peoples would put their own spin on them.

[cathrynalpaugh]

You guys always seem to be having a lot of fun doing these videos. Love it!!💚

[peterbenjamin]

Chuck is the friend I need in my life all the time