Saturday, October 26, 2013

Transcript for the Last Week of October

RACHEL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for the last week of October. We’re your hosts, Rachel…

PAUL
…and Paul.

RACHEL
On October 30th, 1938, the Mercury Theatre on the Air broadcasted a radio play.

PAUL
The producer was Orson Welles and he based his play on H. G. Wells’ War of the Worlds.

RACHEL
Orson Well’s Martian invasion was occurring that evening in Grover’s Mill, New Jersey.

PAUL
This was on the eve of war in Europe and many Americans found the news out of Europe unsettling.

RACHEL
Some feared that European events would drag the United States into another foreign war.

PAUL
Under this cloud uncertainty, the radio audience listened to news bulletins of strange events out of Grover’s Mill.

RACHEL
The news bulletins breaking into the ongoing music program told of Martian war machines attacking power plants and marching across the Hudson River.

PAUL
The panic that ensued was not as large as some stories have made it out to be.

RACHEL
Today we know Mars is a dead world.

PAUL
However, it may not have always been that way.

RACHEL
That’s right. Evidence collected by spacecraft point to a planet that in its past had large bodies of water.

PAUL
We don’t know yet how long conditions on Mars remained clement; however, it is possible that it was long enough for life to originate.

RACHEL
Any life that exists today is microbial at best.

PAUL
In order to discover it, spacecraft will need to drill deep into the planet’s surface or search through lava tubes.

RACHEL
On November 1st, Venus is at its greatest eastern elongation.

PAUL
The Evening Star will be visible in the west for two hours after it gets dark.

RACHEL
You can observe it sooner if you know where to look for it in the sunlit sky.

PAUL
You will find the planet low in the southwest when the sky gets dark at 7 PM.

RACHEL
Like Mars, some astronomers once considered Venus as potentially habitable.

PAUL
This was before they developed the tools to measure the temperature of Venus from Earth using microwave receivers.

RACHEL
Like Mars, Venus may have once been habitable billions of years ago.

PAUL
That’s before the sun warmed its surface to the point that a run away greenhouse ensued.

RACHEL
Today Venus is a scorching hot world with clouds of sulfuric acid and no water.

PAUL
Finally, this week, don’t forget to set your clock back on Saturday night, the second of November.

RACHEL
It’s the end of daylight saving time, so enjoy your extra hour of sleep.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the last week of October. Join us next month for the space and astronomical events in Idaho.

RACHEL
Be sure to read our blog for additional information. It’s at idahoskies dot blogspot dot com For Idaho Skies this is Rachel…

PAUL
and Paul.

RACHEL
Dark skies and bright stars.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Transcript for the Third Week of October 2013

PAUL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for the fourth week of October. We’re your hosts, Paul…

RACHEL
…and Rachel.

PAUL
The moon appears between two star clusters on the evening of the 20th.

RACHEL
You’ll want to get your binoculars out for this astronomical event.

PAUL
After dark on the 20th, you’ll find the Pleiades star cluster left of the moon and the larger, sparser Hyades star cluster below the Pleiades.

RACHEL
You may know the Pleiades star cluster by its popular name, the Seven Sisters.

PAUL
In Greek mythology, the Seven Sisters were the daughters of Atlas, a Titan.

RACHEL
After the war between the Titans and the Zeus, king of the Greek gods, Atlas was forced to carry the heavens on his shoulders.

PAUL
That’s when Orion the Hunter began pursuing seven of his daughters.

RACHEL
This made Atlas most unhappy.

PAUL
Zeus, who cursed Atlas to carry the heavens, took pity on Atlas in this one regard and placed his daughters in the heavens for their protection.

RACHEL
In dark skies, people with good vision can see six stars in the Pleiades.

PAUL
And that it has the shape like a tiny dipper. However, this is not the Little Dipper.

RACHEL
Now look at them in your binoculars and you’ll see at least two dozen stars in the Pleiades.

PAUL
The stars in the Pleiades formed around 100 million years ago.

RACHEL
This was near the end of the reign of the dinosaurs.

PAUL
That means these stars are only two percent of the age of our solar system.

RACHEL
The Orionid meteor shower peaks on the night of October 20th and morning of the 21st.

PAUL
Typically, 21 meteors per hour are visible from this shower.

RACHEL
Unfortunately, the moon is just past full this morning.

PAUL
That means 2013 is not a great year to watch this meteor shower.

RACHEL
Your chances of seeing Orionid meteors occurs several days earlier when the moon sets while it’s still dark.

PAUL
Speaking of the moon, it traverses the outer edge of the Hyades star cluster on the night of the 21st.

RACHEL
In Greek mythology, the Hyades are also daughters of Atlas.

PAUL
Astronomers tell us that the stars in the Hyades are six times older than the neighboring Pleiades.

RACHEL
If you point your binoculars at the moon on the 21st, you’ll see that this star cluster spans an area much larger than the moon.

PAUL
You will also see that it has a distinct V shape.

RACHEL
You will see several dozen stars in this cluster in dark skies.

PAUL
The moon is just below Gemini on the morning of the 26th

RACHEL
To the moon’s left, you will see a very bright star that’s not a part of this constellation.

PAUL
It’s Jupiter and it is so bright that you can’t miss it.

RACHEL
Look at Jupiter through your binoculars and you will see three fainter stars forming a line with the brighter planet.

PAUL
These are its largest moons.

RACHEL
From the bottom-left to the top-right, you will see Callisto, Europa, Jupiter, and finally Io and Ganymede.

PAUL
However, Io and Ganymede are so close together they can’t be resolved as individual satellites.

RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the fourth week of October. Next week we’ll discuss Mars and Venus.

PAUL
Be sure to read our blog for additional information. It’s at idahoskies dot blogspot dot com For Idaho Skies this is Paul…

RACHEL
and Rachel.

PAUL
Dark skies and bright stars.

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Transcript for 6 to 12 October

PAUL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for the second week of October. We’re your hosts, Paul…

RACHEL
…and Rachel.

PAUL
Early on the evening of the 8th, the young crescent moon forms a triangle with two other astronomical objects.

RACHEL
To the lower right of the moon is brilliant Venus.

PAUL
Even though Venus is not the planet closest to the sun, its surface is hotter than Mercury’s.

RACHEL
To the moon’s lower left is the other party in this trio, the star Antares.

PAUL
Antares is a super red giant star and the brightest star of Scorpius the Scorpion.

RACHEL
The trio of the moon, Venus, and Antares will be very low in the southwest at 8:00 PM.

PAUL
Find a location with a clear southwest horizon in order to maximize your viewing time of this alignment.

RACHEL
This is not the end of the action in the low west. Venus and Antares continue approaching closer to each other until next week.

PAUL
So you might want to keep an eye on this region of the sky even after the moon has left the scene.

RACHEL
The moon is passing through a thick section of the Milky Way on the 10th.

PAUL
This area of the Milky Way lies between Earth and the central bulge of the Milky Way galaxy.

RACHEL
Since its closer to the nucleus of the galaxy, it contains more star clusters and nebulae than any other part of the sky.

PAUL
Many of the star clusters and nebulae are visible in a pair of binoculars, if you observe them where the sky is clear and dark.

RACHEL
You’ll need to find a location away from light and let your eyes become adapted to the dark.

PAUL
Did you know that your eyes adapt to the dark by dilating your pupils.

RACHEL
This lets more light enter into your eye and then you can see fainter stars as a result.

PAUL
The process of getting dark adapted can take as long as 20 minutes for older adults.

RACHEL
After your eyes have adapted, begin scanning the region west of the moon with your binoculars.

PAUL
Be sure to scan both high and low.

RACHEL
In binoculars, the stars will remain pin points of light.

PAUL
Nebulae however will appear as hazy spots.

RACHEL
Some of the largest star clusters will appear as small sprinkles of fainter stars.

PAUL
Did you know that it was Galileo who first discovered the nature of the Milky Way?

RACHEL
In 1609, Galileo overheard news about the discovery of a new optical instrument invented in Holland.

PAUL
An ambassador claimed the instrument magnified the view of what ever it was pointed at.

RACHEL
Galileo quickly realized its operating principle and made one for himself.

PAUL
His first telescope only magnified three times.

RACHEL
In time however, he became expert at making lenses and eventually created a telescope capable of magnifying 30 times.

PAUL
So Galileo is not the inventor of the telescope, but he is one of the first to turn it towards the heavens, including the Milky Way.

RACHEL
And he was the first to publish the results so that the public could read about them.

PAUL
Galileo discovered that the nebulous appearing Milky Way became a multitude of stars in his telescope.

RACHEL
You can do the same this week with your binoculars.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the second week of October. Next week is the Hunter’s Moon.

RACHEL
Be sure to read our blog for additional information. It’s at idahoskies dot blogspot dot com. For Idaho Skies this is Rachel…

PAUL
and Paul.

RACHEL
Dark skies and bright stars.