Photo: Courtesy of Jason White
Nov. 20 is sky-watching night
Photo: Courtesy of NHK
WILL-TV This night of astronomy begins at 7 pm with NOVA’s At the Edge of Space, a look at the earthspace boundary zone that’s home to some of nature’s most puzzling phenomena, including sprites—fleeting flashes that shoot upwards from thunderclouds—now captured with 3D video.
Then at 8 pm, NOVA continues with Asteroid: Doomsday or Payday, which examines various scenarios of asteroids colliding with Earth. While some foresee these collisions setting off deadly blast waves, raging fires and colossal tidal waves, others see the space rocks as loaded with billions of dollars worth of elements such as iron, nickel and even platinum. And at 9 pm, Comet Encounter follows a once-in-alifetime event, the path of the sun-grazing comet ISON, currently just beyond the orbit of Jupiter. As it races past Earth toward the sun, scientists predict that ISON will light up the night skies before traveling around the back of the sun to emerge perhaps brighter than ever.
Photos: Courtesy of Deborah Feingold
A new look at Music City
16 PATTERNS • NOVEMBER 2013
Nashville 2.0 (8 pm Friday, Nov. 22) explores the American musical melting pot, looking to the future while embracing the breadth and genius of American roots music, from Emmylou Harris to Mumford and Sons, Rosanne Cash (pictured at left) to the Avett Brothers, Dwight Yoakam to the Carolina Chocolate Drops (pictured above).