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CNN Live Today

Interview with Bill Nye

Aired December 04, 2002 - 10:24   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Today down under, a rare total solar eclipse raced across the continent to the delight of astronomers and tourists who were there. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) then moved on to southern Australia. The eclipse in Africa was the second one there in some 18 months, and when you want to talk about eclipses, there's no one better to talk to about it than Bill Nye, the science guy.
He was actually among the thousands of people that went out there to watch this astronomical phenomenon, and he joins us now by telephone from South Africa. He is at the airport in Johannesburg, I believe (ph). Are you there, Bill?

BILL NYE, "THE SCIENCE GUY": I'm here, Leon. So good to talk with you.

HARRIS: Hey, good to have you back with us again, even if it is by phone. So tell me, how was it?

NYE: It was spectacular. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) it's only going to be 86 seconds this time. They're all different, and the reason for that being the sun and the moon have the tendency to be spinning the way they like to, so we only had 86 seconds, and it was cloudy, Leon. Cloudy, everybody, but it cleared for that moment, for that moment of moments it cleared up, and we got the view of the corona.

The thing I emphasize, why do you go around the world chasing these eclipses (UNINTELLIGIBLE) something elegant. There's something elegant about it. It's really a striking, striking phenomenon. I encourage everyone, if you ever get a chance to see a total eclipse of the sun, take that chance, because it literal is other worldly.

HARRIS: Now you have seen a number...

(CROSSTALK)

HARRIS: Now, I want to ask you about the time on this one. You said it was 86 seconds long. Now, is that considered to be a normal length, long, short, or what?

NYE: No, that's a short one. That's a short one, Leon. Yes, some of them are seven minutes, some of them are three minutes. This was quite short, but spectacular as always.

HARRIS: Yes.

NYE: The world goes completely dark, it looks like night.

HARRIS: I'm sorry. Go ahead.

NYE: Well, for several seconds, I mean, for an unnaturally long amount of time, it's just -- it doesn't look real.

HARRIS: Well, what did you make of the crowds that had assembled down there with you?

NYE: There were people lining the highway for kilometers, for miles lining the highway all waiting to see it, and we -- my group got especially fortunate with the cloud cover. This is the thing, Leon. You plan this thing for years and years to show up, and there is a cloud. It is a funny business.

HARRIS: That's what happens when you plan vacations, too, man. Let me ask you something else -- I'm sorry. I read that NASA had sent a team of astronomers down there to collect data. Any idea what they might have been looking for?

NYE: Oh, yes. That is a great question. See, when the sun is blocked so well, so perfectly by the moon, you can see the edge of the sun. It's called the corona, the glowing cloud around the sun and you can study it in ways that are very difficult to do without the moon in the way. So we always try to take advantage of these few moments.

HARRIS: All right.

NYE: And you look for temperatures and these flares. And speaking of cell phones, this kind of research affects predictions for the quality of telecommunications over the next few years, so we're always out there plugging away, collecting data. Leon, great to speak with you.

HARRIS: Yes, thanks for coming in...

(CROSSTALK)

NYE: I'm going to go on now, like so many of my colleagues, to the conference on public understanding of science and research in the developing world, which -- we happen to make this conference around the eclipse. Coincidence?

HARRIS: Bill, I'm sorry to cut you off, but we have got to run.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired December 4, 2002 - 10:24   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Today down under, a rare total solar eclipse raced across the continent to the delight of astronomers and tourists who were there. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) then moved on to southern Australia. The eclipse in Africa was the second one there in some 18 months, and when you want to talk about eclipses, there's no one better to talk to about it than Bill Nye, the science guy.
He was actually among the thousands of people that went out there to watch this astronomical phenomenon, and he joins us now by telephone from South Africa. He is at the airport in Johannesburg, I believe (ph). Are you there, Bill?

BILL NYE, "THE SCIENCE GUY": I'm here, Leon. So good to talk with you.

HARRIS: Hey, good to have you back with us again, even if it is by phone. So tell me, how was it?

NYE: It was spectacular. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) it's only going to be 86 seconds this time. They're all different, and the reason for that being the sun and the moon have the tendency to be spinning the way they like to, so we only had 86 seconds, and it was cloudy, Leon. Cloudy, everybody, but it cleared for that moment, for that moment of moments it cleared up, and we got the view of the corona.

The thing I emphasize, why do you go around the world chasing these eclipses (UNINTELLIGIBLE) something elegant. There's something elegant about it. It's really a striking, striking phenomenon. I encourage everyone, if you ever get a chance to see a total eclipse of the sun, take that chance, because it literal is other worldly.

HARRIS: Now you have seen a number...

(CROSSTALK)

HARRIS: Now, I want to ask you about the time on this one. You said it was 86 seconds long. Now, is that considered to be a normal length, long, short, or what?

NYE: No, that's a short one. That's a short one, Leon. Yes, some of them are seven minutes, some of them are three minutes. This was quite short, but spectacular as always.

HARRIS: Yes.

NYE: The world goes completely dark, it looks like night.

HARRIS: I'm sorry. Go ahead.

NYE: Well, for several seconds, I mean, for an unnaturally long amount of time, it's just -- it doesn't look real.

HARRIS: Well, what did you make of the crowds that had assembled down there with you?

NYE: There were people lining the highway for kilometers, for miles lining the highway all waiting to see it, and we -- my group got especially fortunate with the cloud cover. This is the thing, Leon. You plan this thing for years and years to show up, and there is a cloud. It is a funny business.

HARRIS: That's what happens when you plan vacations, too, man. Let me ask you something else -- I'm sorry. I read that NASA had sent a team of astronomers down there to collect data. Any idea what they might have been looking for?

NYE: Oh, yes. That is a great question. See, when the sun is blocked so well, so perfectly by the moon, you can see the edge of the sun. It's called the corona, the glowing cloud around the sun and you can study it in ways that are very difficult to do without the moon in the way. So we always try to take advantage of these few moments.

HARRIS: All right.

NYE: And you look for temperatures and these flares. And speaking of cell phones, this kind of research affects predictions for the quality of telecommunications over the next few years, so we're always out there plugging away, collecting data. Leon, great to speak with you.

HARRIS: Yes, thanks for coming in...

(CROSSTALK)

NYE: I'm going to go on now, like so many of my colleagues, to the conference on public understanding of science and research in the developing world, which -- we happen to make this conference around the eclipse. Coincidence?

HARRIS: Bill, I'm sorry to cut you off, but we have got to run.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com