[applause, music starts] John: It’s 9pm, and you know what that means! Coming to you live from the Staples Stadium - it’s Sky Jazz!!! [Skyjazz theme] Wendy: Hello and welcome to SkyJazz! Its Tuesday, April 23, 2024, and were coming to you tonight from Xuanzhou - its my favourite place here in China . John: Good evening everyone, and thank you Wendy! As ever, we are going to start the show by taking a question from a listener about stargazing and general aspects of astronomy! Uh, so Wendy, what have you picked out randomly from our mailbag today? Wendy: We have an email from Roderick Munch - someone living right here in Xuanzhou John: Fantastic! Isnt it great to hear from a local skygazer? They say, "Hi Skyjazz - Ive got a question for Wendy". Oh. Ok. "Wendy - wheres Uranus?" Wendy: Wendy: That’s a great question. Well, Roderick, it’s interesting you chose this planet. If you look to the east, youll see mercury - Also a perfectly good planet for the amateur astronomer to view. mars is there in the east. saturn is also up there tonight. Saturn’s rings are Kronoss Crown. They were formed when Kronos tried to eat the god, Zeus, but ate a rock by accident. Those crumbs are all that remain of that poor rock, scattered in Saturn’s hair. Time eats all moons. So is neptune. And yet you chose to ask me a question about the seventh planet of the solar system. The planet that passes around the sun every 84 years - roughly one human life span. One Uranian year is a human life. This planet is the bringer of change the bringer of death, the bringer of life. This planet rules over technology. Its the caretaker of change, of a new world. In a sense, in a trite quantum mechanical sense Every little decision we make brings about a new world Everything we do, or choose not to do By action, or omission, creates a new universe. A universe exactly identical to our own, except for a tiny change, like what I chose to wear this morning, or whether you remembered to bring an umbrella with you today. Maybe, just now, in this parallel universe, I walked over to the other side of the stage, or maybe I took a little drink of water. Something small, something inconsequential. It probably makes no huge difference in the scheme of things whether I took a sip from this glass of water, or not. But that’s a different universe, living its life, without us. Maybe that universe is just the same as ours in every other way. But there are other universes. Maybe there’s a universe in which I never came to Xuanzhou, and Roderick never wrote me that email. Or maybe we came on a different night, and we didn’t get his email in time. Or maybe there’s another person that calls themselves Roderick Munch, and thought it would be a good idea to write me a letter like this Maybe, whatever city I’m inn, I received this same letter from a different Roderick. Sometimes even large decisions we make get lost on the waves of a world made up of millions of ripples, ripples other people create. But sometimes those tiny ripples grow. Sometimes the beating of a butterfly’s wings, or a finger hovering too long over a “send” button, can have huge consequences. And by the time we realise, those little eddies... spiral into something much larger, something we can no longer control. And sometimes, more often, change isn’t something we do. Change happens to us. If there’s one thing you can say about change, Roderick, it’s that it’s hard. Change is painful. And, I get the sense from your email, you’re trying to use humour to cover some kind of pain. To ease it for yourself, and for others. Is that what you’re doing, Roderick? Are your afraid? Is it change that you fear? Audience member with poor judgment: Woo! Wendy: I suppose you can’t answer. But I should answer your question. Uranus is not visible from Xuanzhou tonight. There are thousands and thousands of miles of dirt, and earth, and molten rock between you and the bringer of change, blocking it, burying it, keeping you safe in the arms of the planet earth. Tonight, no change will come, things will go on A little like they were, A glass of water might go undrunk But you can sleep easy As easy as you let yourself. Is that what you wanted to hear? John: Well, thats about all we have time for - but well be back tomorrow, broadcasting from a completely new city, with a brand new episode of Skyjazz! [Skyjazz theme] --- Neutrinowatch is generated daily, so this text will change every day. This version was generated on Wednesday, 24 April 2024, at 00:04 UTC/GMT