TODAY star Al Roker has teased astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson during the scientist's appearance on Thursday's episode of the morning show.
Al's chummy interaction with Neil turned into the talk show moderator taking a shady swipe at him amid the educator's visit to Today.
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Al, 68, decided to quiz the 64-year-old expert and his co-hosts as a part of his meteorologist report.
"In honor of Mr. deGrasse Tyson, we have a lunar edition of [the on-air game] Who's Warmer?," the weatherman introduced.
As Al "cued the Star Trek" music, he invited Neil to stand beside him in front of the weatherboard that was now showing the first quiz question instead of the forecast.
He asked Neil, who insisted that Al called him by his first name instead of formally addressing him, to "help them" out with the impending inquiry.
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"Who's warmer? Death Valley, California, or the Apollo 11 Landing Site?," Al asked.
Neil specified that the answer depended on whether it was "day or night" at the Apollo 11 Landing Site.
However, in the daytime, the Apollo 11 Landing Site is "way hotter," Neil explained.
When Al revealed the answer on the digital board, Neil came out as correct - It was 109 degrees in Death Valley and over 200 degrees at the Apollo 11 Landing Site today.
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Neil busted out his "happy dance" to celebrate being right.
"I don't know if we really needed to see that," Al mocked, causing his co-hosts and Neil to laugh.
MORNING SHOW MISHAPS
Before the awkward on-air moment between him and Neil, he suffered a technical difficulty.
Earlier in the show, Al seemed to struggle with getting his microphone to work while on-air.
His colleague Craig Melvin, 45, tried to save the weatherman from another blunder on the morning show.
The issue occurred during the TV host's daily weather segment.
His co-host, Hoda Kotb, 59, passed the torch to Al after she finished interviewing pro-tennis player Caroline Wozniacki for a segment that she co-anchored with Craig.
Al boasted that things were "so good" when producers cut to him next to his weatherboard after Hoda "checked in with Al" for his meteorology report.
Al's voice initially sounded distorted, and very distant.
Meanwhile, Hoda and Craig's voices were sharp.
Al continued to sound muffled as he began reporting on the weather.
Craig sang a little of Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline to try and distract viewers from the obvious technical difficulty Al was having.
Seconds later, Al realized something was off with his mic, which prompted him to reach around himself and adjust the body mic attached to his waist.
AL-L HANDS ON DECK
"You have to turn your microphone on Al," Craig told him while he fidgeted with the mic.
"That's the weird thing about those microphones."
Al took off his mic and put it in his hand to get a better look at it.
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He turned it on at the same time a morning show crew member had brought him a handheld wireless mic.
"I'm good; I got a mic. I turned it on," Al told the crew member, who offered him the other mic.
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