This month look for the star Betelgeuse or Alpha Orionis in the constellation of Orion the Hunter. Betelgeuse is the second brightest star in Orion, which is one of the most recognizable constellations in the winter sky. Betelgeuse is located in the upper left corner and is orangish in color. Betelgeuse and Orion are located high in the southeast on January nights after sunset.

Betelgeuse comes from the Arabic for “hand of the central one”. The central one is a female Arabic character. Feminine names in Orion the hunter are not unusual, one of the constellation’s other bright stars is named Bellatrix, which is also has a female connotation. The light you see from Betelgeuse left the star in the year 1371.

Betelgeuse (the name sounds like beetle juice) is one of the largest stars in our galaxy. If it replaced our sun, its vaporous surface would reach over half way to Jupiter, engulfing the planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars in the process. That’s 600 times larger than our sun! Betelgeuse is a giant cool red star today; but in its stellar youth was a massive white hot star. Being seven times more massive than the sun, Betelgeuse burned through its main supply of hydrogen faster than the sun. Today, deep in its core, nuclei of helium atoms are fusing into carbon and oxygen. Outside that core is a shell of fusing hydrogen. Since that helium is denser than hydrogen, the helium created by the fusion of hydrogen sinks into the star’s core where it is fused into more carbon and oxygen. The increased heat generated by star’s fusion of hydrogen and helium has puffed up its atmosphere. The expanded atmosphere is a cool red-orange color as a result. However, because of its great size, Betelgeuse over 40,000 times brighter than our sun even though its surface is cooler.

Betelgeuse is so massive that it may eventually fuse the atoms in its core all the way to iron. When it does, the star will face an energy crisis that pales to anything we’ll ever see. That’s because iron is a dead end element and it’s impossible to fuse it into heavier elements to release energy. Since stars need that energy to support their weight, they collapse when their cores contains too much iron. The inward collapse of a massive iron core squeezes subatomic protons and electrons into neutrons and an immense blast of neutrino radiation that will outpace the emission of light from the dense core of the star. Betelgeuse’s blast of neutrino radiation will arrive at earth some 643 years after the core collapses, signally that the star is beginning to exploding as a supernova. When it goes, Betelgeuse will shine as brightly as the crescent moon and be visible in broad daylight.

Transcript for December 21st to 27th

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

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

BRING DOWN MUSIC

PAUL
The sun reaches its southernmost declination at 5:00 PM on the 21st.

RACHEL
That means it appears overhead to anyone residing at 23 degrees south latitude.

PAUL
That makes it the first day of summer in Australia and the first day of winter for us in the Northern hemisphere.

RACHEL
Ahh, just imagine, spending Christmas on an Australian beach.

PAUL
The distance between the sun and Earth has nothing to do with the seasons.

RACHEL
That’s right; the seasons are solely the result of Earth’s tilt with respect to its orbital plane around the sun.

PAUL
As a result of this tilt, the sun crosses the sky at its lowest path on the first day of winter.

RACHEL
And the hours of daylight are at their shortest length.

PAUL
The result is that the sun’s light is less intense and provides warmth for least number of hours.

RACHEL
Adding insult to injury, the night lasts it longest.

PAUL
Therefore, the ground has even more time to radiate its warmth back into the sky.

RACHEL
The combination of these three effects creates the coldest days of the year.

PAUL
However, its takes the ground and atmosphere another month to catch up to all that cold.

RACHEL
A minor meteor shower peaks on the night of December 22nd and morning of the 23rd.

PAUL
It’s the Ursid meteor shower and you can see it radiating out of the high north, near the Little Dipper or Ursa Minor.

RACHEL
Usually we don’t see more than 10 meteors per hour from this shower.

PAUL
However, it once produced an outburst of 100 meteors per hour.

RACHEL
The moon is only a day old tonight, so its light won’t interfere if you choose to watch the Ursid meteor shower.

PAUL
The 23rd presents us with the opportunity to observe a two-day old moon.

RACHEL
This is such a thin crescent moon that most people won’t chance upon it unless they know to look for it.

PAUL
So begin your search low in the southwest at around 6:15 PM.

RACHEL
You might find a pair of binoculars helpful.

PAUL
But please, please only use them after the sun has set.

RACHEL
After all these months, Mars is still visible in our night sky.

PAUL
Yep. And you can find the red planet on the 24th.

RACHEL
You first need to find the moon in the low southwest.

PAUL
Mars will be the slightly yellowish star located to the moon’s left.

RACHEL
Mars is not really red; its surface is more orange in color.

PAUL
That color comes from the oxidized iron in its soil.

RACHEL
So the surface of Mars is actually rusty.

PAUL
Because its soil doesn’t contain organic material, we actually call the soil of Mars its regolith.

RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the fourth week of December. You can use your Christmas binoculars to observe a star cluster next week.

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

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
Dark skies and bright stars.

Transcript for December 14-21

RACHEL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for the third week of December. We’re your hosts, Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
The brightest star of Virgo the Maiden is located below the moon on the morning of the 16th.

PAUL
The star’s name is Spica and it represents a wheat stalk in the hand of Virgo.

RACHEL
Look for the moon in the low southeast as you drive to work this morning.

PAUL
Spica is the brightest star below the moon.

RACHEL
Double stars are fun astronomical objects.

PAUL
They are excellent tests of an astronomer’s visual acuity and the optical quality of his or her telescope.

RACHEL
Astronomers and physicists have even used the motion of double stars around each other to prove that gravity works light years away just like it does on Earth.

PAUL
So take some time to look for an easy double star on the morning of the 18th.

RACHEL
Its name is Zubenelgenubi and it’s located below the moon.

PAUL
Zubenelgenubi means Southern Claw of the Scorpion in Arabic.

RACHEL
Wait, isn’t Zubenelgenubi is the brightest star in Libra the Scales?

PAUL
It is today, but over 2,000 years ago, Libra was actually the claws of Scorpius.

RACHEL
This changed after precession carried the sun to the claws of Scorpius on the first day of autumn, otherwise known as the autumnal equinox.

PAUL
Because the equinox is a time when day and night are equal in length, the Greeks and Romans declawed Scorpius and turned its starry claws into a scale.

RACHEL
Listeners with sharp eyes are capable of seeing Zubenelgenubi as two closely spaced stars without using binoculars.

PAUL
Use your binoculars however and you’re sure to see two unequally bright stars next to each other.

RACHEL
This stellar pair is 77 light years away.

PAUL
Saturn is a morning planet this month.

RACHEL
You can locate it on the 19th if you look for the brightest star below the moon at 7:00 AM.

PAUL
That may be a bit early to look for this planet, but you’ll be the first on your block to see Saturn.

RACHEL
If you have a telescope or spotting scope handy, then point it at Saturn.

PAUL
A telescope magnification of 25-power is enough to see its rings.

RACHEL
Which means even a spotting scope is up to the task.

PAUL
The distance across the rings is slightly larger than the distance between Earth and its moon.

RACHEL
Saturn is not the only planet to have rings.

PAUL
That’s right; all the large planets have their own rings.

RACHEL
However, Saturn’s are the most wonderful and stunning.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the third week of December. The winter solstice occurs next week.

RACHEL
Be sure to follow us on Twitter at Idaho Skies for this week’s event reminders and sky maps.

For Idaho Skies this is Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
Dark skies and bright stars.

Transcript for December 7 - 13

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

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
The constellation of Gemini the Twins consist of two rows of stars

RACHEL
The two rows of stars are horizontal in the eastern sky during December evenings, but become more vertical at around midnight.

PAUL
You can locate Gemini on the 7th by looking for the two rows of stars located to the moon’s left.

RACHEL
One row is higher than the moon and the other is lower.

PAUL
The two bright stars at the left end of the row of stars are named Castor and Pollux.

RACHEL
You can tell the difference between them because Pollux is slightly brighter than Castor.

PAUL
In Greek mythology, Castor was the mortal twin and Pollux his immortal brother.

RACHEL
The light of Pollux left 34 years ago, so if you’re 34 this year, Pollux is your birthday star.

PAUL
And Castor is the birthday star of everyone 51 years old.

RACHEL
New Horizons is scheduled to wake up from its hibernation on the 7th.

PAUL
New Horizons is an American spacecraft bound for Pluto.

RACHEL
The spacecraft’s closest approach to Pluto occurs on July 14th next year.

PAUL
This will be the first time humans have ever been able to see Pluto as more than just a few pixels or a faint smudge.

RACHEL
And who knows what we’ll discover, perhaps geysers of liquid nitrogen.

PAUL
The eighth brightest star in the sky is located to the moon’s right on the night of the 9th.

RACHEL
The star’s name is Procyon and it’s the alpha star of the constellation Canis Minor, the Little Dog.

PAUL
Procyon is so bright because it’s only 12 light years away from the solar system.

RACHEL
Hey, where’s Jupiter?

PAUL
Why it’s above the moon late on the evening of the 11th.

RACHEL
Through a good pair of binoculars or a spotting scope, you’re likely to see all four of its Galilean satellites.

PAUL
Starting from the bottom and going up, the moons are Ganymede, Europa, and Io.

RACHEL
Jupiter is next and through a spotting scope or small telescope, it will show a disk.

PAUL
Above Jupiter is Callisto.

RACHEL
You may have difficulty splitting Io and Europa in binoculars, but not through a spotting scope.

PAUL
Don’t forget that through an astronomical telescope, the order of the satellites is backwards.

RACHEL
One of the year’s best meteor showers peaks on the night of the 13th and morning of the 14th.

PAUL
Normally the Geminid meteor shower does not disappoint with its plentiful number of yellowish meteors.

RACHEL
In fact, when viewed from dark skies, you can expect to see more than a meteor per minute on average.

PAUL
Unfortunately, this week the moon is a waxing gibbous.

RACHEL
Therefore, its large and bright surface will wash out many of the fainter members of the shower.

PAUL
If you have some time and the inclination, dress warmly and spend a little time observing this shower.

RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the second week of December. Next week we’ll tell you how you can observe Saturn’s rings.

PAUL
Be sure to read our blog for additional information. It’s at idahoskies.blogspot.com.

For Idaho Skies this is Paul...

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
Dark skies and bright stars.

Transcript for November 30th to December 6th

RACHEL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for the first week of December. We’re your hosts, Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
The moon helps locate the seventh planet on the 1st.

PAUL
The 7th planet is named "your anus", although I prefer to pronounce it as Uranus to keep people from giggling.

RACHEL
To find Uranus, look for two stars on the right side of the moon that form a triangle with the moon.

PAUL
That means the moon is the left corner of the triangle.

RACHEL
The star closest the moon is the top of the triangle and it’s called 96 Piscium.

PAUL
Twice as far away from the moon is slightly fainter Uranus.

RACHEL
The moon, 96 Piscium, and Uranus will all fit within half of your binocular’s field of view.

PAUL
Do you want to find the constellation of Aries the Ram?

RACHEL
It’s the flat triangle of stars right above the moon on the evening of the 3rd.

PAUL
Many of our listeners are familiar with Aries; in Greek mythology, it’s the ram with the Golden Fleece.

RACHEL
Some of the best star clusters are among the closest ones to our solar system.

PAUL
And they’re visible to us in the Northern hemisphere.

RACHEL
Look for two of these star clusters above and below the moon on the evening of the 4th.

PAUL
The Pleiades is the small dipper-shaped cluster of stars above the moon.

RACHEL
The other is the Hyades star cluster and it’s the larger V-shaped splash of stars below the moon.

PAUL
Both are excellent objects for your binoculars.

RACHEL
The moon immerses itself within the Hyades star cluster on the evening of the 5th.

PAUL
When observed separately, the moon seems larger than the Hyades star cluster.

RACHEL
On the 5th however, you’ll be able to see how much larger the Hyades is than the moon.

PAUL
Be sure to use your binoculars on this attractive sight.

RACHEL
The moon is located above Orion the Hunter on the evening of the 6th.

PAUL
Orion appears as a tall rectangle of bright stars.

RACHEL
Going from left to right, the top two stars are named Betelgeuse and Bellatrix.

PAUL
The two bottom stars, also going form left to right are names Saph and Rigel.

RACHEL
Check out Betelgeuse.

PAUL
Betelgeuse has a reddish-orange tint because it’s a red giant star.

RACHEL
It’s a red giant because it is nearing the end of its life.

PAUL
Its core is now filling with the helium ash from its fusion of hydrogen.

RACHEL
Some day in the near future, it may accumulate enough helium to start fusing it for energy.

PAUL
Until then, it will remain a huge and bloated star.

RACHEL
Betelgeuse is so bloated that if it replaced our sun, the star would engulf all the inner planets out to Mars.

PAUL
Ouch!

RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the first week of December. The moon passes by the Heavenly Twins next week.

PAUL
Be sure to follow us on Twitter at Idaho Skies for this week’s event reminders and sky maps.

For Idaho Skies this is Paul...

RACHEL
...and RACHEL
.

PAUL
Dark skies and bright stars.

Polaris, the star for December

This month look for the star Polaris, the lucida (brightest star) of Ursa Minor the Little Bear. Polaris is also known as Alpha Ursae Minoris, The North Star, The Pole Star, and The Lode Star. Polaris is the guide to true north (as opposed to magnetic north) so it appears nearly straight up to anyone standing on the North Pole. Polaris is not the brightest star in the sky nor is it exactly true north. Polaris is actually the 40th brightest star in the sky and ¾ of a degree (1-1/2 moon diameters) away from the point of true north in the sky. In long duration photographs, Polaris makes a tiny little circle around the true North Pole. Polaris is the star marking the end of the Little Dipper’s handle.

Polaris is a bit hotter than our sun and older. It’s at the point in its life where it is fusing helium in its core and fusing hydrogen in a shell above its core. This makes Polaris slightly unstable and its outer layers pulsate in size and slightly in brightest. At 430 light years away, you’re seeing light from Polaris that was emitted in the year 1584.

Polaris is an easy star to find since most people can locate the Big Dipper in the sky. The two stars at the end of the Big Dipper’s bowl are called the Pointers and a line drawn up from the Pointers just about runs into Polaris.

Idaho Skies Transcript for November 23rd to 29th

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

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
On the evening of the 24th, you have a second chance to see a very thin moon this month.

PAUL
This time however, it’s an evening event.

RACHEL
The moon is three days old on the 24th, so it will still be crescent shaped.

PAUL
So look for the moon low in the southwest just after it gets dark.

RACHEL
And don’t forget to use a pair of binoculars so you can see Earthshine.

PAUL
In Earthshine, you should faintly see the lunar seas as dark patches, but you won’t be able to see lunar craters.

RACHEL
The moon passes next to Mars on the evening of the 25th.

PAUL
Look in the low southwest after dark for the brightest star to the moon’s left.

RACHEL
Mars will appear as a star with a decidedly yellowish tint.

PAUL
The Solitary One gets some company on the 29th.

RACHEL
The Solitary One is Fomalhaut, the brightest star beneath the moon that night.

PAUL
Fomalhaut is the brightest star in the constellation of Pisces Austrinus, or the Southern Fish.

RACHEL
The Southern Fish is a faint constellation, just like Pisces above it.

PAUL
At 25 light years away, Fomalhaut is one of the closest stars to our solar system.

RACHEL
But don’t make plans to visit it in search of new life and civilizations.

PAUL
That’s because Fomalhaut is much younger than the sun.

RACHEL
It’s so young that Fomalhaut is still in the process of forming its planets.

PAUL
Within the disk of dust and gas surrounding the star, the Hubble Space Telescope has observed a pin point of light over several years.

RACHEL
That pin point is star light reflecting off a young planet orbiting the outer reaches of Fomalhaut’s disk of dust and gas.

PAUL
The ancients named Fomalhaut the Solitary One because of its location in the sky.

RACHEL
The southern autumn sky around Pisces Austrinus contains mostly large sea-based constellations.

PAUL
And these constellations contain mostly faint stars.

RACHEL
This really lets Fomalhaut stand out.

PAUL
So go outside after dark on the 29th and get acquainted with the Solitary One.

RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the last week of November. Join us next month for the space and astronomy events for Idaho.

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

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
Dark skies and bright stars.

Transcript for Nov 16 - 22

PAUL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for the third week of November. We’re your hosts, Paul...

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
We get to see a decent meteor shower on the night of the 17th and morning of the 18th.

RACHEL
It’s the Leonid meteor shower and in dark skies you can expect to see 20 meteors per hour for m this shower.

PAUL
That’s three times as many meteors as you might see on a quiet night.

RACHEL
Better still, this week the moon is a thin crescent.

PAUL
That’s good news because the moon’s feeble light is unable to interfere with the meteor shower.

RACHEL
As you drive to work on the 19th, look for the brightest star beneath the moon.

PAUL
It’s Spica, the brightest star in the constellation of Virgo.

RACHEL
Spica is close to the moon, only twice the moon’s apparent diameter away.

PAUL
Looks can be deceiving however.

RACHEL
While the moon is only 1.5 seconds away at light speed, Spica is 262 years.

PAUL
Here’s your chance to see a very thin crescent moon.

RACHEL
On the 20th at 6:30 AM, the moon is only two days away from being new.

PAUL
That means it appears as a very thin crescent.

RACHEL
Look at the moon through binoculars and you may notice that you can see the rest of the moon, even though its night time on that part of the moon.

PAUL
This is called Earthshine.

RACHEL
Earthshine is caused by the reflection of sunlight off of Earth.

PAUL
Earth is much more reflective to sunlight than is the moon, so it can illuminate the dark portion of the moon well enough for us to make out some lunar surface markings.

RACHEL
Astronomers call the reflectivity of an astronomical body its albedo.

PAUL
And the moon’s albedo is 0.07, or just 7%.

RACHEL
That’s about as dark as fresh asphalt.

PAUL
Earth’s albedo on the other hand is 0.39, or 39%.

RACHEL
If you were an astronaut standing on the moon during the night, you could look up and see Earth shining overhead.

PAUL
Earth would be five times brighter and four times larger than the moon appears to us on Earth.

RACHEL
So its no wonder we can see the effects of Earthshine on the moon.

PAUL
Look for the thin crescent moon very low in the east-southeast.

RACHEL
Not many people have ever observed the moon this close to new.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the third week of November. Next week go look for the Solitary One, we’ll tell you how to find it.

RACHEL
Be sure to follow us on Twitter at Idaho Skies for this week’s event reminders and sky maps.

For Idaho Skies this is Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
Dark skies and bright stars.

Transcript for Nov 9 - 15

RACHEL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for the second week of November. We’re your hosts, Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
The moon will help you locate Orion the Hunter on the 9th.

PAUL
The majority of the constellation is the tall rectangle located below and right of the moon.

RACHEL
Above the rectangle of Orion is his raised arm and club.

PAUL
This is where the moon is located on the 9th.

RACHEL
So it looks like Orion is about to bat the moon with his club.

PAUL
Be sure to look for the row of three stars located inside the rectangle of Orion.

RACHEL
That’s Orion’s Belt.

PAUL
If you have a pair of binoculars handy, then scan downward from the middle star in Orion’s Belt.

RACHEL
The stars represent his sword, but you’ll notice the second star looks a little fuzzy.

PAUL
That fuzzy spot is located 1,300 light years away.

RACHEL
And it’s not a star, it’s a seething cauldron of star formation called the Orion Nebula.

PAUL
Astronomers have counted at least 700 stars in the process of forming within the Orion Nebula.

RACHEL
Here’s an easy way to identify Gemini the Twins; look for the moon on the night of the 10th.

PAUL
You’ll need to go outside after 10 PM to locate it, however.

RACHEL
Look right above the moon for two horizontal rows of stars.

PAUL
The brightest stars of the constellation, which are located to the left side of the moon, are called Castor and Pollux.

RACHEL
They represent the heads of the twins.

PAUL
Pollux is the brighter of the two stars and nearer the horizon.

RACHEL
Look for a bright star to the moon’s lower right on the 11th.

PAUL
It’s Procyon, the brightest star of Canis Minor, or the Little Dog.

RACHEL
The name Procyon means "Before the Dog".

PAUL
It got this name because it rises shortly before the Dog Star, Sirius.

RACHEL
Procyon appears bright in our sky not because it is a truly bright star, but because it’s so close to Earth.

PAUL
It’s just under 12 light years away for our solar system.

RACHEL
So if you know someone born in 2002, then Procyon is their birthday star this year.

PAUL
Get your binoculars out on the morning of the 13th.

RACHEL
That’s because you’ll be able to find and see the Beehive star cluster.

PAUL
After 3:00 AM, aim your binoculars at the moon and follow it's terminator straight north.

RACHEL
The terminator is the boundary between day and night on the moon.

PAUL
If you put the moon at the bottom edge of your binocular’s field of view, then the star cluster will be located near the center of your binoculars.

RACHEL
In your binoculars, and in dark skies, you should observe at least two dozen stars in the star cluster.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the second week of November. Next week a fine meteor shower gives us a show. 

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

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
Dark skies and bright stars.

This month look for the star Caph in the constellation Cassiopeia. Caph is called Beta Cassiopeiae by astronomers. And as you would guess from its name, Caph is the second brightest star in the constellation.

Cassiopeia may have originated as the Greek goddess, Hecate, but was later transformed into the queen of Ethiopia. According to the Greek legend, Cassiopeia boasted she was more beautiful than the Nereids. The unhappy Nereids complained about this slight to their father, the god of the sea. As punishment, Poseidon sent the sea monster Cetus to destroy Cassiopeia’s coastlands. King Cepheus and queen Cassiopeia learned they could halt the destruction of their lands only if they offered their daughter, Andromeda to the sea monster. So unfortunate Andromeda was chained to the rocks to await the next arrival of Cetus. Fortunately, before the sea monster arrived, Perseus, who was traveling back home on his flying sandals, saw and rescued Andromeda.  

The star Caph is 54 light years away. Therefore, if you were born in 1960, Caph is your birthday star this year. The surface of Caph is 1,600 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than our sun. It’s also four times larger and 28 times brighter. Caph is old enough that the energy from hydrogen fusion can’t preventing its core from contracting. The core is shrinking as a result and growing hotter. Eventually the contraction will warm the core up to the point that helium fusion will begin. Once its helium begins to "burn", Caph will expand in size and change into a cooler giant star.

Transcript for November 2 - 8

PAUL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for the first week of November. We’re your hosts, Paul...

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
The Taurid meteor shower peaks on the morning of the 3rd.

RACHEL
Meteor showers occur when Earth’s orbit intersects the orbit of a comet.

PAUL
The dust ejected from a comet continues to orbit the sun until it slams into Earth’s atmosphere, at speeds ranging from 7 to 70 miles per second.

RACHEL
At a speed of 70 miles per second, a cometary dust particle could cross Idaho from west to east in about six seconds.

PAUL
The hyper-velocity of a reentering dust particle violently compresses the air ahead of it.

RACHEL
This creates a shock wave that heats the air to thousands of degrees.

PAUL
The hot shock wave ahead roasts and melts the reentering dust particle.

RACHEL
Most meteors are vaporizing about 70 miles above Earth’s surface.

PAUL
And most are no larger than a grain of sand.

RACHEL
Unfortunately, for the Taurid meteor shower this year the moon is in a waxing gibbous phase.

PAUL
That means the moon is a nearly full and won’t set until 3:30 AM.

RACHEL
So if you want to observe this shower, you’ll need to wait until after 3:30, when the moon has finally set.

PAUL
By that time, meteors from this shower will appear to originate from overhead.

RACHEL
The Taurids don’t sound like a very promising meteor shower when you consider that you might only see five meteors per hour from this shower.

PAUL
However, the Taurids have several tricks up their sleeve.

RACHEL
Yep. First, the stream of meteoroids forming this shower is massive and spread out.

PAUL
So you can observe meteors from this stream for several weeks around the day of peak intensity.

RACHEL
And second, the rocky material making up the meteoroids tend to be larger, even pebble size.

PAUL
Therefore, Taurid meteoroids can create very bright meteors over several weeks as they reenter Earth’s atmosphere.

RACHEL
The moon appears around two large galactic star clusters on the evening of the 7th and 8th.

PAUL
After it gets dark on the 7th, sweep the region above and below the moon with your binoculars.

RACHEL
You’ll see the Pleiades star cluster above the moon and the Hyades star clusters below.

PAUL
If you miss them or the weather is bad on the 7th, the star clusters will be located above the moon on the 8th.

RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the first week of November. Next week we’ll tell you how to find and observe the Orion Nebula.

PAUL
Be sure to follow us on Twitter at Idaho Skies for this week’s event reminders and sky maps.

For Idaho Skies this is Paul...

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
Dark skies and bright stars.

Idaho Skies Transacript for July 27 - Aug 2

PAUL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for the last week of July. We’re your hosts, Paul...

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
Like the vast majority of orbits in our solar system, the moon’s orbit around Earth is not a perfect circle.

RACHEL
Closed orbits that are not perfect circles are called elliptical.

PAUL
You can think of them as perfect ovals, but not like an egg.

RACHEL
At its closest to Earth, the distance between the center of the moon and the center of Earth is 225,291 miles.

PAUL
At its greatest distance, the moon is 26,619 miles father away.

RACHEL
Perigee is the term for the closest distance and apogee is the term for the greatest distance.

PAUL
Due to its gravitation interaction with the sun, the distances of lunar apogee and perigee varies from month to month.

RACHEL
On the 28th, the apogee of the moon’s orbit is its greatest for the entire year, about 700 miles farther away than usual.

PAUL
At its greatest distance, it would take you over 9 ½ years to walk to the moon.

RACHEL
On July 30, 1610, Galileo became the first astronomer to observe Saturn’s rings through a telescope.

PAUL
Unfortunately, Galileo’s 20-power telescope was not good enough to show the true nature of the rings.

RACHEL
He thought he was seeing handles on opposite sides of Saturn.

PAUL
Later on, he thought he was seeing two very large satellites.

RACHEL
Things got more confusing for Galileo when two years later, when these objects disappeared altogether.

PAUL
It took decades before Cassini finally figured out that astronomers were seeing rings around Saturn.

RACHEL
Fortunately, you can see Saturn’s rings tonight though a small telescope or even spotting scope and you won’t suffer the confusion Galileo did.

PAUL
The Southern Delta Aquarid meteor shower peaks on the night of the 29th and morning of the 30th.

RACHEL
It’s a pretty good meteor shower and you can expect to see up to 20 meteors per hour in dark skies.

PAUL
Better still, the moon is young and it sets before midnight.

RACHEL
So its light won’t interfere with watching the fainter meteors.

PAUL
Adding to the number of meteors is the fact that July and August contain many overlapping meteor showers.

RAHCEL Any Southern Delta Aquarids will appear to originate from the southeast.

PAUL
So dress warmly and enjoy a shower, meteor shower that is.

RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the last week of July. Join us next month for the space and astronomy events for Idaho.

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

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
Dark skies and bright stars.

Idaho Skies Transcript July 20-26

RACHEL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for the third week of July. We’re your hosts, Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
We celebrate two important spacecraft landings this week.

PAUL
And they both occurred on the 20th of July

RACHEL
Thirty-eight years ago, the spacecraft Viking 1 landed on Mars.

PAUL
It was a good thing that JPL engineers placed Viking 1 in Martian orbit before it attempting a landing.

RACHEL
That’s because when the spacecraft arrived at Mars, the initial landing site was found to be too rocky and dangerous for the lander.

PAUL
After JPL found a safer location, Viking 1 successfully touched down on Chryse Planitia, or the Plain of Gold on July 20, 1976.

RACHEL
The Viking 1 lander was nuclear powered and operated on Mars for six years.

PAUL
It determined that Mars had no obvious signs of life.

RACHEL
As a result of the negative findings, there was some reluctance in NASA to go back to the planet for further study.

PAUL
Our second landing celebration is Apollo 11.

RACHEL
Forty-five years ago on the 20th, Armstrong and Aldrin landed on the moon.

PAUL
After six hours of rest, they climbed out of their lander and spent 2-1/2 hour exploring the moon.

RACHEL
Do you remember the name of their lunar lander?

PAUL
Sure, it was Eagle.

RACHEL
Yep, and Columbia was the Apollo capsule that remained in lunar orbit with astronaut Michael Collins.

PAUL
Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins safely returned to Earth on the 24th.

RACHEL
And they brought back 47 pounds of lunar rock and dust.

PAUL
It was the fulfillment of Kennedy’s pledge to put a man on the moon before the end of the decade and bring him back safely.

RACHEL
Speaking of the moon, it moon passes close to the Pleiades star cluster on the morning of the 21st

PAUL
And the Hyades star cluster on the morning of the 22nd.

RACHEL
The Pleiades and Hyades are examples of loose groupings of stars called galactic star clusters.

PAUL
The stars in a galactic star cluster tend to be young, only on the order of tens to hundreds of millions of years old.

RACHEL
Because of their recent birth, they are rich in elements heavier than helium.

PAUL
That increases their chances of having planets containing the raw materials of life.

RACHEL
We just need to wait a billion years or so to find out if life developed.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the third week of July. It’s the start of meteor shower season and next week we’ll tell you about the first one to watch.

RACHEL
Be sure to follow us on Twitter at Idaho Skies for this week’s event reminders and sky maps.

For Idaho Skies this is Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
Dark skies and bright stars.

Idaho Skies Transcript for July 13-19

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

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
Idaho has several opportunities to see the innermost planet this week.

RACHEL
The best morning is the 16th.

PAUL
To find Mercury, you’ll first need to find the Morning Star.

RACHEL
That’s Venus and it appears in the low northeast at 5:15 AM.

PAUL
Look below and left of Venus for a fainter star.

RACHEL
That will be Mercury.

PAUL
Mercury will be easy to find if you have a clear horizon.

RACHEL
Unfortunately, Mercury doesn’t climb very high above the horizon this month.

PAUL
Do you know how Mercury got its name?

RACHEL
It got its name because it travels very quickly around the sun.

PAUL
The Greeks and Romans thought it had the speed and mobility of the Roman god, Mercury.

RACHEL
Did you know that a year on Mercury lasts only 88 Earth days?

PAUL
However, from our perspective on the moving Earth, it appears Mercury’s year lasts 116 days.

RACHEL
Still, that’s shorter than any other planet.

PAUL
So Mercury really does deserve its name.

RACHEL
The moon is located just below Aries the Ram on the morning of the 19th.

PAUL
To locate Aries, follow the terminator of the moon northward.

RACHEL
In a short distance, this path will take you to a flat triangle of three stars.

PAUL
Those three stars form Aries.

RACHEL
Astronomers call the brightest star of Aries, Alpha Arietis.

PAUL
But you can call it Hamal.

RACHEL
Hamal is just about 50 light years away.

PAUL
This means that if you were born in 1964, then Hamal is your birthday star this year.

RACHEL
The fact that we can see Hamal 50 light years away means that it’s much brighter than the sun.

PAUL
At a distance of 50 light years, the sun would be invisible except in a telescope.

RACHEL
Hamal is an orange star, which indicates its cooler than our sun.

PAUL
However, since it’s brighter than the sun overall, its must be a giant star.

RACHEL
In fact, astronomers have determined that Hamal is about 15 times larger than the sun.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the second week of July. We celebrate two American planetary landings next week.

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

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
Dark skies and bright stars.

Idaho Skies Transcript for July 6-12

RACHEL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for the first week of July. We’re your hosts, Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
It’s a shame we don’t live in Chile or Argentina.

PAUL
Why?

RACHEL
Because they get to see the moon pass over Saturn on the afternoon of the 7th.

PAUL
So what do we get to see instead?

RACHEL
We’ll see the moon and Saturn with a separation of 1.3 degrees between them.

PAUL
Since the moon has an apparent diameter of ½ of a degree, they’ll be separated by less than three times the moon’s apparent diameter.

RACHEL
And that’s bound to be an attractive sight, so get you binoculars out.

PAUL
When an astronomical body like the moon covers another object, astronomers call it an occultation.

RACHEL
That’s right and occultations are important tools in astronomy.

PAUL
Because when the time of the occultation is carefully measured, astronomers can accurately measure positions of bodies, like asteroids.

RACHEL
And by measuring the time of the occultation for telescopes in many locations, astronomers can determine the size and shape of an asteroid.

PAUL
New planetary rings and asteroid satellites have been discovered using occultation timings.

RACHEL
Hey, there’s a Super Moon on the 12th.

PAUL
That’s because the moon becomes full just a few hours before reaching its closest point to Earth.

RACHEL
As a result of its closeness this month, the full moon will be slightly larger and brighter than usual.

PAUL
You probably won’t notice this difference with your eye, but you can if you take a picture of the full moon.

RACHEL
After taking a picture of the full moon, record your camera settings.

PAUL
Then take an identical picture six months from now.

RACHEL
And be sure you used the same camera setting for both photographs.

PAUL
When you compare the two images, you’ll see that July’s full moon was both the larger and brighter full moon.

RACHEL
Don’t worry if you can’t record this month’s Super Moon, we’ll get three more Super Moons this year.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the first week of July. Mercury is visible next week, but not for long. Listen in to learn where you can find it.

RACHEL
Be sure to follow us on Twitter at Idaho Skies for this week’s event reminders and sky maps.

For Idaho Skies this is Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
Dark skies and bright stars.

This month look for the Keystone of Hercules. The Keystone consists of four stars arranged in a keystone, or truncated triangle shape. The Keystone represents the body of the hero Hercules. His arms and legs are arranged such that he is upside down and kneeling.

Find the Keystone by first locating Vega, the brilliant blue-white star located nearly overhead just after dark. From Vega, look 16 degrees to the west-southwest for keystone pattern of four stars. Sixteen degrees is about the width of your hand and extended thumb when viewed from your outstretched arm.

The stars of the Keystone, clockwise from the upper left are Pi, Eta, Zeta, and Epsilon Herculis. Although the Keystone appears flat against the sky, it’s actually three-dimensional. Pi is 370 light years, Eta 112 light years, Zeta 35 light years, and Epsilon 163 light years away. However, these distances pale in comparison to the distance to the fuzzy cloud located between Eta and Zeta (the side of the keystone away form Vega). That fuzzy cloud is M-13, the Hercules Globular Cluster and its located 25,000 light years away. In a pair of binoculars, M-13 looks like a fuzzy star. You’ll know you’re looking at it when all the stars appear as sharp pin points of light, except for this one. M-13 is more impressive through a telescope though. A good telescope will resolve the cluster into a ball of tiny stars immersed in fog. In a large telescope, M-13 looks like a pile of salt on blackest velvet.

July Overview

• The length of the day shortens by 46 minutes this month
• Mercury and Venus make a close, but low approach on the morning of the 17th
• Earthshine on the moon is visible in the evening on the 1st and again in the morning starting on the 22nd
• The moon approaches Venus the morning of 24th
• The moon approaches Mars the evening of the 5th.
• The moon approaches Saturn the evening of the 7th.

Transcript for June 29 to July 5

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

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
Earth received an interplanetary wake up call 106 years ago on the 30th.

PAUL
June 30, 1908 started out as just another day for the Tungus people in Siberia.

RACHEL
The morning was interrupted at 7:14 when they saw the sky split in two by a great meteor.

PAUL
It was bright; glowing more brightly than the sun as it fell from the sky.

RACHEL
This meteor didn’t go out with the whimper like most meteors.

PAUL
Nope, the tremendous heat of its reentry vaporized the space rock and it exploded some 5 miles above the ground.

RACHEL
The 50 foot diameter meteoroid or comet exploded with the force of a 10 to 15 megaton nuclear bomb.

PAUL
People over one hundred miles away where knocked off their feet and their windows were shattered.

RACHEL
No one has ever found a crater or meteorite fragments at Tunguska because the destruction of the meteor was total.

PAUL
What people did find however was the remains of a forest with its trees knocked over in a pattern radiating away from the center of the explosion.

RACHEL
Events like Tunguska occur naturally on Earth.

PAUL
And they point out the need to monitor the skies regularly for approaching extraterrestrial threats.

RACHEL
Earth reaches aphelion at 8:00 PM on the 3rd.

PAUL
Aphelion is the point in Earth’s orbit farthest from the sun.

RACHEL
On the 3rd, Earth will be 94.5 million miles from the Sun.

PAUL
It would take nearly 144 years to traverse that distance in a car traveling at 75 miles per hour.

RACHEL
It would take over 3.1 million gallons of gas if the car had a gas mileage of 30 miles per gallon.

PAUL
It’s the 960th anniversary of the Crab Nebula supernova on July 4th.

RACHEL
A supernova marks the end of the massive star’s life.

PAUL
And when it explodes, people can see bright star appear in the sky where once there was none.

RACHEL
Chinese astronomers reported that the new star remained visible for a year before finally fading out of sight.

PAUL
Today we understand that some supernova explosions lead to the formation of a rapidly rotating neutron star or pulsar.

RACHEL
The neutron star then makes the expanding as cloud of the supernova glow brightly.

PAUL
And that’s what astronomers see today when they look up at where Chinese astronomers reported a guest star 960 years ago.

RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the last week of June. Join us next month for the space and astronomy events for Idaho.

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

RACHEL
and Rachel.

PAUL
Dark skies and bright stars.

Transcript for June 22 to 28

RACHEL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for the fourth week of June. We’re your hosts, Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul
.

RACHEL
Some of our listeners know that Aries represents the ram with the Golden Fleece in Greek mythology.

PAUL
Have you ever wanted to know how to find the constellation of Aries the Ram?

RACHEL
Well, at 4:00 AM on the 22nd the constellation is located just above the moon.

PAUL
Aries appears as the small 3-star constellation with a squat triangular shape sitting above the moon.

RACHEL
The triangle has a base several times wider than the moon and it points nearly straight up.

PAUL
Pluto’s first moon was discovered 36 years ago on the 22nd.

RACHEL
For 48 years after Pluto’s discovery, the outermost world remained an enigma to astronomers.

PAUL
That changed however when astronomer Jim Christy discovered that Pluto had a satellite.

RACHEL
The new satellite was named Charon, after the ferryman of the dead.

PAUL
The gravitational interaction between Pluto and Charon and a fortunate set of eclipses taught astronomers a lot about Pluto.

RACHEL
For one, they learned that Pluto had a diameter of 1,400 miles.

PAUL
Charon’s orbit told astronomers that Pluto must consists of a large rocky core and thinner coating of ice.

RACHEL
Since Charon’s discovery, astronomers have discovered four other satellites orbiting this distant world.

PAUL
All five satellites have densities close to that of water.

RACHEL
Therefore, it’s known that they are predominately composed of ice.

PAUL
It’s most likely the five satellites formed as the result of a collision between Pluto and another icy body.

RACHEL
There were a lot of these collisions during the formation of the solar system and our moon is most likely a product of one.

PAUL
The moon makes a call on Venus, the Morning Star on the 24th.

RACHEL
At 5:00 AM, look very low in the east for this attractive pair.

PAUL
Their distance apart is a scant two degrees, so they will fit well together in your binoculars.

RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the fourth week of June. Be sure to listen in next week to learn about the Tunguska event.

PAUL
Be sure to follow us on Twitter at Idaho Skies for this week’s event reminders and sky maps.

For Idaho Skies this is Paul...

RACHEL
and Rachel
.

RACHEL
Dark skies and bright stars.

This month look for the star Alkaid, the star at the end of the Big Dipper’s handle. Astronomers refer to Alkaid as Eta Ursae Majoris and in Arabic the name means “the leader”. Its name is a reference to the star representing the lead daughter (the three stars of the handle are sisters) at a funeral bier. If you know someone who is 104 years old this year, then Alkaid is his or her birthday star. The light of Alkaid you see tonight left in 1910.

Alkaid is a hot star. It’s about four times hotter then the sun and 700 times brighter. It’s hotter and brighter because it has a mass six times greater than our sun’s. The star’s greater mass is crushing its core with a force greater than the sun’s force. That extra compression heats up the core and increases its rate of fusion. On the down side, the star will burn out far sooner than our sun.

The Big Dipper is not a constellation (a pattern of stars officially recognized by professional astronomers). It’s an asterism or popular pattern of stars. The Big Dipper is actually part of a much larger constellation called Ursa Major, the Big Bear. The dipper portion of Ursa Major represents just the bear’s body and a very long tail. The rest of Ursa Major is fainter and is not as well known. However, in dark skies you can make out three legs, head, and snout of the bear.

June Overview
● The length of the day stops getting longer by the 21st of the month. Our day in Idaho lasts13 hours and 17 minutes on the first and is only 21 minutes longer on the 30th. For the rest of the year, the nights begin growing longer at the expense of the length of the day.
● A thin crescent moon is visible on the night of the 1st. In binoculars, you should be able to see Earthshine. A second opportunity to observe earthshine occurs in the morning starting the 22nd as the moon approaches Venus.
● Venus remains very low in the east. You’ll need to look an hour before sunrise (in other words, around 5:00 AM) to see it.
● Mars is located in the southwest after dark and appears as a yellow-orange star. The moon makes a close passage to the planet on the 7th.
● This is your last month to observe Jupiter in the evening. Look for the bright planet low in the west-northwest. The moon appears close to Jupiter on the 1st.
● June is Saturn’s month. The pale yellow-white planet appears in the southern sky after darkness sets. The moon passes close to Saturn and the wide double star Zubenelgenubi on the 9th.
● Summer begins on the 21st at 4:51 AM.

Transcript for June 1 - 7

Paul
Welcome to Idaho Skies for the first week of June. We’re your hosts, Paul...

RACHEL
... and RACHEL

Paul
Jupiter is approaching the western horizon this month.

RACHEL
So if you want to observe Jupiter before its no longer visible, you only have another three weeks.

Paul
What’s the best reason for observing Jupiter?

RACHEL
It’s the moons.

Paul
Jupiter’s four largest moons are visible through a small telescope and even through binoculars.

RACHEL
When you watch Jupiter, you’ll notice that the arrangement of its moons changes every night.

Paul
The best night to go Jupiter watching is on the first.

RACHEL
That’s when Jupiter will appear to the right of the crescent moon.

Paul
The Beehive star cluster is an attractive binocular object and it’s visible from the Treasure Valley.

RACHEL
To find it, look for the moon on the 2nd.

Paul
That night, the moon is 9 degrees below the Beehive star cluster.

RACHEL
So to see the cluster, scan two binocular fields of view above the moon.

Paul
When you see it, the cluster will remind you of bees swarming around their beehive.

RACHEL
The moon is just below the constellation of Leo the lion on the night of the 4th.

Paul
Leo represents the Nemean Lion of Greek mythology.

RACHEL
In one of the myths of its creation, the Nemean Lion arrived on Earth after falling from the moon

Paul
So what’s that bright star in Leo?

RACHEL
It’s Leo’s alpha star, Regulus.

Paul
This star represents the heart of Leo.

RACHEL
If you know someone who is 79 years old this year, then Regulus is their birthday star.

Paul
That means the light you see tonight left Regulus in the year they were born.

RACHEL
The moon is also first quarter on the 4th.

Paul
So while you’re gazing at Regulus, use your binoculars to scan the straight edge of the moon.

RACHEL
The straight edge is properly referred to as the terminator and it’s the boundary between lunar day and night.

Paul
Lunar craters are most visible along the southern extent of the terminator and lunar seas and mountains are most visible along its northern extent.

RACHEL
Finally, you can use the moon to locate Mars this week.

Paul
Mars is the bright orange star to the moon’s left on the evening of the 7th.

RACHEL
But save your binoculars, you need a pretty descent telescope to see any Martian surface features.

Paul
That’s Idaho Skies for the first week of June. Next week we celebrate the first images returned form the surface of Venus.

RACHEL
Be sure to follow us on Twitter at Idaho Skies for this week’s event reminders and sky maps.

For Idaho Skies this is RACHEL...

Paul
...and Paul
.

RACHEL
Dark skies and bright stars.

Transcript for 25 - 31 May

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

PAUL
…and Paul.

RACHEL
The waning crescent moon forms a wonderful pair with brilliant Venus on the morning of the 25th.

PAUL
You’ll want to go outside at around 5:00 AM in order to see them.

RACHEL
The moon and Morning Star will be located in the low east-northeast.

PAUL
Their separation is less than 2 degrees.

RACHEL
Two degrees is the separation between two fingers when viewed from your outstretched hand.

PAUL
Two degrees of separation means they both fit neatly within the field of view of your binoculars.

RACHEL
Our innermost planet, Mercury reaches its greatest distance from the sun on the 25th.

PAUL
That evening the separation between Mercury and the sun is 23 degrees.

RACHEL
Unfortunately, for Idahoans, the average path of the planets across the sky tilts strongly towards the south.

PAUL
That’s because Idaho is located so far north of the equator.

RACHEL
As a result of the tilt, Mercury only appears nine degrees above the west-northwest horizon at 10:00 PM.

PAUL
Still, that’s the highest above the horizon and farthest from the sun that Mercury appears this year.

RACHEL
So if you’d like to see this elusive planet, you’ll have to search for it between 9:12 PM when the sun sets and 11:10 PM when Mercury sets.

PAUL
Around 10:15 would be best, when the sky is dark but Mercury isn’t too close to the horizon.

RACHEL
You won’t be able to miss Mercury; it’s the brightest star just above the west-northwest horizon.

PAUL
A two day old moon passes between Mercury and Jupiter on the evening of the 30th.

RACHEL
At two days old, the moon will be a thin sliver of a crescent.

PAUL
Look very low in the west just as its getting dark to find this trio.

RACHEL
Jupiter will jump out first as the brightest star in the west.

PAUL
Mercury and the moon are located below Jupiter and slightly to its right.

RACHEL
Jupiter and Mercury form a side by side pair.

PAUL
Mercury is the right partner of this pair.

RACHEL
The next day, the moon passes just below Jupiter.

PAUL
They’ll be just a bit too wide to be seen together in binoculars.

RACHEL
The moon and Jupiter are perfect binocular objects.

PAUL
That’s because lunar craters and some mountains are easy to see in binoculars.

RACHEL
As are the largest satellites of Jupiter.

PAUL
For your best views, prop your binoculars on a steady object.

RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the last week of May. Join us next month for the space and astronomy events for Idaho.

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

RACHEL
and Rachel.

PAUL
Dark skies and bright stars.

RACHEL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for the fourth week of May. We’re your hosts, Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
Hey, Mercury’s making its best appearance for the year beginning this week.

PAUL
Begin looking for Mercury on the evening of the 18th.

RACHEL
The solar system’s smallest planet climbs higher above the western horizon for the next seven days.

PAUL
And it remains well placed for observation for another week after that.

RACHEL
Your best view is on the 25th when Mercury is at its highest above the horizon. PAUL Mercury’s not the only planet that won’t visible for long.

RACHEL
After being visible for six months, Jupiter is finally approaching the sun. PAUL It will disappear from our view in another five or six weeks.

RACHEL
As it approaches the sun, Jupiter gets closer to the climbing Mercury.

PAUL
Their closest approach is on the evening of the 24th.

RACHEL
That evening, look for bright Jupiter low in the west and fainter Mercury lower in the northwest.

PAUL
Mercury and Jupiter will be the brightest two stars between the west and northwest.

RACHEL
Their distance apart will be about the width of your outstretched fingers.

PAUL
There’s a possibly strong new meteor shower for us to watch on Saturday night the 24th.

RACHEL
The reason is that Comet LINEAR 209P is passing through the inner solar system again this May.

PAUL
Comet LINEAR is named after the automated telescope that discovered it, Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research.

RACHEL
LINEAR 209P is a faint comet with a short orbital period

PAUL
It’s so faint that it’s not visible in telescopes with lenses or mirrors larger than eight inches across.

RACHEL
Its orbital period is among the shortest of any known comet, five years.

PAUL
When first discovered, astronomers thought it was an asteroid rather than a comet.

RACHEL
A month later astronomers caught this asteroid developing a tail.

PAUL
There exists a chance that Earth will pass through the dust from its tail on May 24th.

RACHEL
If this does indeed happen, meteors from this shower will appear from the low north.

PAUL
This means it’s a good idea to observe north of Idaho City.

RACHEL
The moon is a waning crescent that night, so it won’t rise until 4:00 AM.

PAUL
Since the comet has recently past Earth, we might pass through a dense stream of rocky material left over from the comet.

RACHEL
If so, this could be a shower wonderfully filled with streaking meteors.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the fourth week of May. Next week the two innermost planets put on a show for Idahoans.

RACHEL
Be sure to follow us on Twitter at Idaho Skies for this week’s event reminders and sky maps. For Idaho Skies this is Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
Dark skies and bright stars.

Idaho Skies Transcript for May 11 - 17

RACHEL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for the third week of May. We’re your hosts, Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
The moon’s located to Spica’s upper right on the night of the 11th.

PAUL
It’s the brightest star in the rather dim constellation of Virgo.

RACHEL
Spica is the 16th brightest star in the sky and it’s located in a portion of the sky devoid of other bright stars.

PAUL
The name Spica comes from the Latin for a sheaf of wheat.

RACHEL
The primary reason we can see Spica is at a distance of 262 light years is that it’s a pretty bright star.

PAUL
From Spica, the sun is invisible except in a very large telescope.

RACHEL
Spica has a companion star that orbits it in only four days.

PAUL
That very short orbital period tells astronomers that the stars orbit so closely together.

RACHEL
They’re so close together that their mutual gravity pulls them into a football shape.

PAUL
Look for Saturn after sunset on the 13th.

RACHEL
The moon appears a scant four degrees from the ringed planet.

PAUL
Four degrees is less than the distance your three middle fingers span from your outstretched hand.

RACHEL
Saturn is the creamy yellow-white star to the moon’s left.

PAUL
Your eyes and binoculars won’t show any detail.

RACHEL
But a small telescope or spotting scope is powerful enough to show its rings and largest satellite Titan.

PAUL
While observing Saturn, take notice of a star even closer to the moon on its right side.

RACHEL
This is the wide double star Zubenelgenubi.

PAUL
A pair of binoculars, if held steady, shows that it’s actually two stars.

RACHEL
It’s possible that those with good eyesight can see Zubenelgenubi as two stars without optical aid.

PAUL
Do you want to learn how to identify the constellation of Scorpius the Scorpion?

RACHEL
The moon passes close to the scorpion’s northern claw on the morning of the 15th.

PAUL
The heart of Scorpius (Antares) is located to the moon’s lower left.

RACHEL
You’ll find them due south at 2:00 AM.

PAUL
The rest of the scorpion’s body is the curved chain of stars.

RACHEL
The chain forms an 'S' and goes south and east of Antares.

PAUL
The scorpion’s body ends in a close pair of stars called the stinger.

RACHEL
And please, the constellation is called Scorpius and not Scorpio.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the third week of May. Next week Earth may pass through a thick stream of dust from comet LINEAR. If so, we could be in for a treat.

RACHEL
Be sure to follow us on Twitter at Idaho Skies for this week’s event reminders and sky maps. For Idaho Skies this is Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
Dark skies and bright stars.

Transcript for May 4 - 10

RACHEL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for the second week of May. We’re your hosts, Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
A bright star appears to the lower left of the moon on the night of the 4th.

PAUL
This is the 8th brightest star and many people don’t know its name.

RACHEL
It’s called Procyon and it’s the brightest star of Canis Minor, the Little Dog.

PAUL
Procyon is a close by star at only 11.5 light years away.

RACHEL
Its closeness to Earth is one reason it appears so bright.

PAUL
Like its even brighter neighbor Sirius, a white dwarf companion star orbits Procyon.

RACHEL
The white dwarf companion of Procyon is very difficult to observe and requires a very good telescope.

PAUL
May’s meteor shower peaks on the night of the 6th and morning of the 7th.

RACHEL
The dust making up the Eta Aquarids meteor shower originated in the tail of Halley’s Comet.

PAUL
And when Earth passes through the orbit of its dust, we see meteors as the dust burns up in the upper atmosphere.

RACHEL
Unfortunately, the Eta Aquarids are not one of the best showers.

PAUL
We only expect to 12 meteors per hour from this shower.

RACHEL
Even worse, the moon is above the horizon at sunset and its light will wash out some of the shower.

PAUL
Fortunately, the moon sets by 3:30 AM.

RACHEL
So you’ll still have several hours before sunrise to observe this shower.

PAUL
You can easily find Leo the Lion on the night of the 7th.

RACHEL
That night the moon is placed just below Leo.

PAUL
If you follow the terminator of the moon straight up, you’ll run right into Regulus, the brightest star in Leo.

RACHEL
The rest of Leo is above Regulus and also to its left.

PAUL
Saturn reaches opposition on the 10th.

RACHEL
This means Saturn rises at around 8:40 PM and shines it’s brightest for the year.

PAUL
The planet’s rings are tipped wide open with respect to Earth.

RACHEL
They’re visible with modest optical aid beyond a pair of binoculars.

PAUL
An easy way to find Mars is to wait until the moon passes on the night of the 10th.

RACHEL
Mars is the yellowish-orange star to the moon’s upper left that night.

PAUL
Just beyond Mars is a fainter star in Virgo named Porrima.

RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the second week of May. Next week the moon passes close to Spica, a bright star surrounded by a sea of darkness.

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

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
Dark skies and bright stars.

This month look for the star Denebola, the "Tail of the Lion". Denebola lies 36 light years away, so if you were born in 1978, then Denebola is your birthday star this year. Denebola is the 3rd brightest star in the Zodiac, so it’s very visible from town.

Denebola is young in star years. At 400 million years old, it’s less than 1/10th the sun’s age. It’s more massive than the sun and therefore hotter. Denebola has a surface temperature around 15,000 degrees F, making it white hot. The star is 1.5 times larger in diameter and rotates faster than the sun to boot. Together, its increased temperature and size means Denebola emits 12 times as much energy as the Sun. Some of this energy is absorbed by a disk of dust surrounding the star and re-emitted within the infrared region of the spectrum. We can’t see the disk around Denebola, but astronomers can infer its presence from the star’s excess infrared radiation. Perhaps there are planets forming around Denebola or planets are battering each other to pieces.

May Overview

* By the end of May, the sun rises 19 minutes earlier and sets 32 minutes later. The length of our day increases by 51 minutes over the course of the month.
* Mercury gives its best display for the year this month. Look for it in the west after sunset during the second half of May.
* Venus is the Morning Star this month.
* Mars remains high in the sky all the while fading in brightness as Earth pulls farther away from it.
* Jupiter is approaching closer to the west horizon every night and will disappear from the evening sky by the end of June.
* Saturn reaches opposition this month and is at its brightest for the year.
* The Eta Aquarids meteor shower peaks on the night of the 6th and morning of the 7th.
* There’s a chance we could observe a new meteor shower on the night of the 23rd and morning of the 24. This could also be a nice shower and well worth your time to observe.

Transcript for April 20 - 26

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

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
The Lyrid meteor shower peaks on the morning of the 22nd.

PAUL
Unfortunately, this is also the same night that the moon reaches third quarter phase.

RACHEL
Rats. This means the moon’s light will interfere with many of the fainter meteors.

PAUL
However, it has been a while since we’ve had a good meteor shower.

RACHEL
Oh yeah, so you may want to take a chance observing this shower anyways.

PAUL
Meteors from the Lyrid shower will originate in the northeast after midnight.

RACHEL
That’s because the northeast sky is where the orbits of the Lyrid meteor shower and Earth intersect.

PAUL
Meteor showers follow specific orbits around the sun that closely matches their parent.

RACHEL
Just what is the parent of a meteor shower?

PAUL
It’s a comet. Meteors are the dust given off by comets as they approach the warm sun.

RACHEL
So if our listners decide to observe the meteor shower, what should they do?

PAUL
Get inside a warm sleeping bag and look up.

RACHEL
You should see some Lyrids streaking across the sky overhead if you observe long enough.

PAUL
Be sure however to observe the shower from a dark location.

RACHEL
Do you drive to work early in the morning?

PAUL
If so, look in the low east on the morning of the 25th.

RACHEL
There you’ll see the slender crescent moon and the Morning Star side by side.

PAUL
The Morning Star is Venus.

RACHEL
You can’t miss Venus; it’s the brightest star in the sky and it’s located just below the moon.

PAUL
Look for them again the next morning, the 26th.

RACHEL
You’ll find that the moon has moved to the left of Venus.

PAUL
However, both the moon and Venus will still be close enough to form an interesting pair.

That’s Idaho Skies for the last week of April. Join us next month for the space and astronomy events for Idaho.

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

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
Dark skies and bright stars.

Transcript of April 13 - 19

RACHEL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for the third week of April. We’re your hosts, Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
There are some great astronomical opportunities this week.

PAUL
To begin with, Earth passes its closest to Mars on the 14th.

RACHEL
That night bright orange Mars appears above the full moon.

PAUL
The moon is full on the night of the 14th and morning of the 15th.

RACHEL
Many Americans name April’s full moon the Egg Moon.

PAUL
However, this year’s Egg Moon is a bit different from usual

RACHEL
That’s because it turns a shade of orange, like nearby Mars.

PAUL
This month’s lunar eclipse begins around 11:30 PM on the 14th.

RACHEL
That’s when a darkening should appear on the left edge of the moon.

PAUL
The moon will continue drifting deeper into Earth’s shadow over the next hour and 45 minutes.

RACHEL
By then, the moon will glow somewhere between a deep red and a light orange.

PAUL
Wait. If the moon is passing though Earth’s shadow, why is glowing at all?

RACHEL
Well, Earth does block direct light from the sun, but Earth’s atmosphere bends and refracts red light from the sun.

PAUL
This refraction results in the moon’s illumination by all of the sunsets occurring along the rim of Earth.

RACHEL
The exact shade of the moon depends on the clarity of Earth’s atmosphere at the time of the eclipse.

PAUL
You can continue to observe the eclipse until 4:00 AM on the morning of the 15th.

RACHEL
Try recording the eclipse with your digital camera.

PAUL
You’ll need to attach your camera to a tripod in order to keep the camera motionless long enough for the exposure.

RACHEL
Set the camera’s optical zoom to its maximum magnification and manually focus the camera on infinity.

PAUL
Record several images in a row and vary the shutter speed each time.

RACHEL
The bright double star, Zubenelgenubi appears to the moon’s left on the night of the 15th and morning of the 16th.

PAUL
Zubenelgenubi is the star to the moon’s lower left.

RACHEL
Saturn is the brighter star and farther away to the moon’s left.

PAUL
Your binoculars show that Zubenelgenubi is actually a pair stars.

RACHEL
On the morning of the 17th, Saturn is just above the moon.

PAUL
It will be very close, just twice the moon’s apparent diameter away.

RACHEL
A small telescope shows Saturn’s rings and you don’t need very much magnification.

PAUL
Yep. Just 25 power is enough to begin seeing the rings.

RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the third week of April. Next week we’ll be observing the Lyrid meteor shower and Venus.

PAUL
Be sure to follow us on Twitter at Idaho Skies for this week’s event reminders and sky maps.

For Idaho Skies this is Paul...

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
Dark skies and bright stars.

Transcript for April 6-12

RACHEL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for the second week of April. We’re your hosts, Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
Got Jupiter?

PAUL
Jupiter is the brightest star above the moon’s upper right on the evening of the 6th.

RACHEL
In a pair of binoculars, you should be able to detect two of its moons, Callisto and Europa.

PAUL
You’ll need to hold the binoculars really steady, so prop them up on something like a car, fence, or tree branch.

RACHEL
Callisto will be the star farthest from Jupiter’s right.

PAUL
Smaller Europa is located about half way between Callisto and Jupiter.

RACHEL
The remaining Galilean satellites are too close to Jupiter to see through binoculars.

PAUL
So to see them, you’ll get your telescope out.

RACHEL
The moon is first quarter on the 6th. PAUL This is an excellent time to observe it in binoculars or small telescope.

RACHEL
One of the larger and brighter star clusters is located near the moon on the evening of the 8th.

PAUL
It’s called the Beehive and the ancients used it to predict the weather.

RACHEL
The star cluster is still visible to the unaided eye, but you’ll need to go south of Boise for sufficiently dark skies.

PAUL
However, don’t worry if you’re stuck in town.

RACHEL
You can still it through your binoculars.

PAUL
To observe it, center your binoculars on the moon and follow its terminator going north.

RACHEL
The star cluster is just three degrees above the moon.

PAUL
If you place the moon at bottom of your binocular’s field of view, the Beehive will appear near the center.

RACHEL
Mars reaches opposition on the 8th.

PAUL
At opposition, outer planets like Mars are located opposite of the sun in our sky.

RACHEL
Planets at opposition are also at their closest to Earth.

PAUL
This means Mars is now at its brightest for 2014.

RACHEL
And we mean bright.

PAUL
Mars will be as bright as the brightest star, Sirius.

RACHEL
There are two major differences between Mars and Sirius. First, Mars won’t twinkle like Sirius.

PAUL
And second, Mars is distinctly orange in color rather than white like Sirius.

RACHEL
A very large and diffuse star cluster is located above the moon on the 12th.

PAUL
The star cluster is called Melotte 111.

RACHEL
Mel 111 is so large that it will fill your binoculars with a scattering of stars.

PAUL
To see it, place the moon at the bottom of binocular’s field of view.

RACHEL
At top of your field of view is the tip of a large inverted "V" shaped star cluster.

PAUL
For your best views, head out of town.

RACHEL
And be sure to raise your binoculars high enough to move the moon out of sight.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the second week of April. Next week the full moon turns orange as it passes through Earth’s shadow.

RACHEL
Be sure to read our blog for additional information. It’s at idahoskies.blogspot.com.

For Idaho Skies this is Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
Dark skies and bright stars.

Transcript for March 31 - April 5

PAUL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for the first week of April. We’re your hosts, Paul...

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
The moon is one of the most recognizable astronomical objects.

RACHEL
It’s attracted the attention of humans because of its brightness and ever changing shape.

PAUL
The moon again attracts our attention on the first of the month.

RACHEL
That’s when you’ll find its very thin crescent in the low west shortly after sunset.

PAUL
The moon will only be two and a half days old.

RACHEL
That’s a younger moon than most people have seen.

PAUL
To observe the young crescent moon, you’ll need to begin searching shortly after sunset and as the sky is beginning to darken.

RACHEL
That’s because by the time the sky gets completely dark, the moon will have already set.

PAUL
Your binoculars will make it much easier to find this astronomical treat.

RACHEL
However, please do not begin searching with binoculars until after the sun has set.

PAUL
The moon passes through the edge of the Hyades star cluster on the night of the 3rd.

RACHEL
The stars in the Hyades star cluster represent the five daughters of Atlas, the Titan of Greek mythology.

PAUL
The cluster is only 152 light years away.

RACHEL
That puts it closer to Earth than any other star cluster.

PAUL
This is the major reason why the cluster appears so large in our sky.

RACHEL
Telescopes detect hundreds of stars in this cluster.

PAUL
However, we can only see about two dozen through binoculars.

RACHEL
Take a peek with your binoculars and you’ll discover that the Hyades star cluster appears much larger than the moon.

PAUL
The moon and Hyades make a nice photographic target for your digital camera.

RACHEL
You’ll need an exposure several seconds long in order to record images of the stars in your picture.

PAUL
To record an image several seconds long means you’ll need to attach your camera to a camera tripod.

RACHEL
Unfortunately, the exposure will over-expose the moon.

PAUL
However, since the moon is crescent shaped, the picture may show signs of Earthshine on the moon.

RACHEL
Earthshine is the faint illumination of the dark portion of the moon.

PAUL
This faint light comes from sunlight reflecting off Earth.

RACHEL
It’s bright enough however to show markings on the moon.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the first week of April. Next week the moon points us at two very nice star clusters.

RACHEL
Be sure to follow us on Twitter at Idaho Skies for this week’s event reminders and sky maps.
For Idaho Skies this is Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
Dark skies and bright stars.

April's Star

This month look for the star Dubhe, the alpha star of the constellation Ursa Major or the Big Dipper. On April evenings, when the Big Dipper is upside-down and pouring water into the Little Dipper, Dubhe is the lower left star in the bowl of the Big Dipper. Dubhe, which is Arabic for “The Bear” is 124 light years away. The light you see tonight left the star in 1890.

Dubhe is a multiple star system consisting of two pairs of stars orbiting each other. Dubhe A and Dubhe B are the star pair we see in the Big Dipper. Dubhe B and A are orbiting each other at a distance a little greater than the distance between the Sun and Uranus. At 124 light years away, Dubhe A and B are too close together to allow most telescopes to see them as separate stars. The second pair of stars is Dubhe C and Dubhe D and they too are also too close together for telescopes to see as separate stars. They orbit the A and B pair at a distance of 1 trillion miles. This means light takes two months to travel the distance between the A and B pair and the C and D pair.

Dubhe A is an orange star, that’s 30 times larger and 300 times brighter than our sun. It’s an old star and its core is fusing helium ash into carbon and oxygen. Outside of its core lies a shell of fusing hydrogen. Unlike Earth, the helium inside Dubhe sinks downwards in the core. That’s because helium is heavier than the hydrogen from where it originated.

Dubhe is one half of the Pointer Stars in the Big Dipper, the other star being the star above it. Follow the Pointers and you’ll run into Polaris, the brightest and closest star to the north celestial pole.

Idaho Skies Transcript for 23 to 29 March

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

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
On the morning of the 27th, you can see the crescent moon close to the Morning Star, Venus.

PAUL
The moon will be three days from new, so it will appear as a very thin crescent.

RACHEL
The distance between the crescent moon and Venus will be three degrees, or roughly the width of three fingers in your outstretched hand.

PAUL
That means the pair will also fit very nicely within the view of a pair of binoculars.

RACHEL
You’ll need to go outside at 5:30 AM to see alignment between Venus and the moon.

PAUL
Be sure to search the low east-southeast horizon.

RACHEL
If you have a camera and tripod, you might want to take a picture of this astronomical event.

PAUL
You’ll need a tripod in order to hold the camera steady during the exposure.

RACHEL
The exposure time could be a second or more long.

PAUL
This also means you’ll want to use a cable release to trigger the camera’s shutter rather than trying to push the shutter button by hand.

RACHEL
A cable release is a flexible steel cable that creates a second shutter button that’s not attached directly to the camera.

PAUL
That way, any shaking that comes from pushing the shutter button isn’t transferred to the camera itself.

RACHEL
To increase your chances of a great picture, try taking several pictures with different camera settings.

PAUL
The second new moon of March occurs on the 30th.

RACHEL
The second full moon has been traditionally called the Blue Moon for several decades at least.

PAUL
So what should we call the second new moon of the month?

RACHEL
Phil Plait of the website Bad Astronomy mentions calling it the Black Moon.

PAUL
You might try looking for the 33 hour old moon on March 31st.

RACHEL
You’ll need a low and clear western horizon.

PAUL
That should make the parking lot at Bogus Basin an ideal location.

RACHEL
Start scanning along the western horizon beginning at 7:55 PM.

PAUL
The moon will only be five degrees above the horizon, so the ground and moon will appear within the field of view of the binoculars.

RACHEL
The moon will set by 8:20.

PAUL
Good luck finding this very young moon

RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the last of March. Join us next month for the space and astronomy events for Idaho.

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

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
Dark skies and bright stars.

Transcript for March 16-22

PAUL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for the third week of March. We’re your hosts, Paul...

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
The moon glides between Mars and the star Spica on the morning of the 19th.

RACHEL
The trio will almost close enough together to be seen at the same time through a pair or binoculars.

PAUL
How can you tell the difference between the Mars and Spica?

RACHEL
Mars is the much brighter orange-colored star to the upper right of the moon.

PAUL
And Spica, which is the brightest star of Virgo, is pure white and located a little farther away to the moon’s left

RACHEL
Spring begins at 11:57 AM on the 20th.

PAUL
This moment in time is called the Vernal Equinox and it’s the moment when the sun stands directly overhead Earth’s equator.

RACHEL
For the last six months, Earth’s southern hemisphere has faced directly towards the sun.

PAUL
That means it’s been spring and summer for our friends in Australia.

RACHEL
Now it’s the northern hemisphere’s chance to enjoy some light and heat from the sun.

PAUL
Want to find Saturn?

RACHEL
Let the moon help you out.

PAUL
Saturn and the moon appear close together on the morning of the 21st.

RACHEL
They actually crossed paths at 8:18 PM on the 20th when the moon occulted Saturn

PAUL
Unfortunately for Idaho, this occurred while they were above the Atlantic Ocean and below our horizon.

RACHEL
Venus reaches its greatest distance from the sun on the morning of the 22nd.

PAUL
However, morning appearances of Venus occurring during March take place at a time when the planet’s orbit is very shallow with respect to the northern hemisphere’s horizon.

RACHEL
So although Venus will appear 46 degrees away from the sun, it’s only seven degrees above the horizon at 5:30 AM.

PAUL
The moon reaches the third quarter phase on the 23rd.

RACHEL
Third quarter is a half full moon, but this time it’s the eastern half that’s in sunlight.

PAUL
Like the first quarter moon, this is an excellent phase for observing the moon

RACHEL
However, you’ll need to go outside after midnight to see the moon.

PAUL
Be sure to focus your attention on the terminator, or boundary between day and night.

RACHEL
Look closely and you may notice there are small points of light on the dark portion of the moon.

PAUL
These will be easier to see through a telescope.

RACHEL
If you do see them, you’ll be seeing high mountain tops or crater peaks where sunrise has occurred hours before it occurs at the surface below.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the third week of March. Next week you have an opportunity to photograph an attractive pairing of the moon and Venus. 

RACHEL
Be sure to follow us on Twitter at Idaho Skies for this week’s event reminders and sky maps.

For Idaho Skies this is Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
Dark skies and bright stars.

Transcript for March 9 - 15

RACHEL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for the second week of March. We’re your hosts, Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
There’s a lunar occultation this week.

PAUL
The moon’s joining the occult?

RACHEL
No no, the moon’s covering up a star on the evening of the 10th.

PAUL
As the moon travels in its orbit around Earth, it occasionally passes between us and a star.

RACHEL
Astronomers call this event an occultation.

PAUL
The star is occulting a star in Gemini the Twins called Lambda Geminorum

RACHEL
The moon covers up Lambda along its dark edge.

PAUL
That’s along the right side of the moon.

RACHEL
Use your binoculars and scan along the bottom left of the moon shortly before 7:45 PM.

PAUL
You’ll want to identify Lambda Geminorum several minutes before it’s covered up by the dark edge of the moon.

RACHEL
The moon will cover up the star shortly after 8:00 PM.

PAUL
Because the occultation occurs on the dark edge of the moon, the star will disappear suddenly.

RACHEL
The reappearance of Lambda will be more difficult to observe.

PAUL
That’s because it occurs on the bright edge of the moon.

RACHEL
To observe it, watch the right side of the moon several minutes before 9:18 PM.

PAUL
Lambda reappears near the middle of the bright edge of the moon.

RACHEL
The moon is full on the 16th.

PAUL
The full moon is great for observing its lunar seas and maria.

RACHEL
However, it’s a bad for observing lunar craters and mountains.

PAUL
The one exception is the moon’s dark lunar craters.

RACHEL
These are old craters that became filled with lava.

PAUL
This only occurred in large craters that formed near the time of the moon’s birth.

RACHEL
That’s because craters younger than about 3.5 billion years were created after the moon’s core and mantle had cooled.

PAUL
As a result of the cooler lunar interior, there was no magma or liquid rock below the moon’s surface to fill the depressions created by the impacts.

RACHEL
Through binoculars, two dark craters are very prominent.

PAUL
Near the top of the moon is a 66 miles diameter crater named Plato.

RACHEL
And near the left edge of the moon is a dark crater named Grimaldi.

PAUL
Grimaldi is its 105 miles in diameter, a little bit more than the distance between Boise and Twin Falls.

RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the second week of March. Next week is the first day of spring. 

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

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
Dark skies and bright stars.

Transcript for March 2 - 8

PAUL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for the first week of March. We’re your hosts, Paul...

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
This week, let’s talk about the visible planets for March.

RACHEL
Sure, have you seen a bright star above the eastern horizon in the morning as you drive to work?

PAUL
It’s Venus, the Morning Star.

RACHEL
If you haven’t seen it yet, then look for the Morning Star low in the east-southeast.

PAUL
The best time is between 5:30 and 6:00 AM.

RACHEL
If you point a telescope at Venus, you can see that it’s half full.

PAUL
It’s easier to see the phase of Venus if you wait until the sky is brightening.

RACHEL
That’s because Venus is so bright that its glare makes seeing any shape difficult.

PAUL
So wait until the middle of dawn, before the sun rises to observe Venus.

RACHEL
Mars is approaching opposition.

PAUL
Opposition occurs when a planet is opposite the sun in the sky from Earth’s perspective.

RACHEL
So during March, you can expect the planet to continue growing brighter.

PAUL
In fact, we can expect Mars to grow as bright as Sirius, the brightest star in the sky.

RACHEL
However, while Sirius is white, Mars will be noticeably orange-yellow in color.

PAUL
Mars rises at 10 PM by start of month and by sunset at end of month.

RACHEL
To see it, look for it in the east-southeast after dark.

PAUL
Jupiter is high in the south at the beginning of the month.

RACHEL
It’s getting slightly smaller and fainter this month.

PAUL
Why?

RACHEL
That’s because Earth travels much faster around the sun.

PAUL
Oh, so we’re pulling away from Jupiter then.

RACHEL
That’s right and you can’t miss Jupiter, it’s the brilliant yellow-white star high in the west.

PAUL
Saturn, the most distant planet you can see, is visible in the morning skies all during March.

PAUL
It rises after midnight at the beginning of the month and by 10:30 PM at the end of the month.

RACHEL
Look for Saturn low in the east-southeast.

PAUL
It’s the creamy white star and it doesn’t twinkle like the other stars.

RACHEL
For additional help locating it, Saturn is also the brightest star below orange-yellow Mars.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the first week of March. Next week, you can watch the moon cover up a star.

RACHEL
Be sure to follow us on Twitter at Idaho Skies for this week’s event reminders and sky maps.

For Idaho Skies this is Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
Dark skies and bright stars.

March's Constellation

This month look for the stars Castor and Pollux, the two brightest stars in Gemini the Twins. Since Castor (Alpha Geminorum) is a little fainter than Pollux (Beta Geminorum), Gemini is one of the few constellations in which the brightest star is not its alpha star. Caster is 52 light-years away and Pollux is 34 light-years away. If you were born in 1962 Castor is your birthday star this year and if you were born in 1980 Pollux is your birthday star this year.

Castor is an interesting star. Through a good telescope, it’s seen as two nearly identical stars with orbital periods of around 400 years. Currently, they are at their closest together with respect to Earth and the gap between them will widen over the coming decades. There’s a third much fainter companion to the south of the main pair that’s a red dwarf star called Castor C. Using spectroscopes, astronomers can detect the light of companion stars around all three stars. Therefore, Castor is reality three double stars in orbit around each other.

Gemini is nearly straight overhead by 8:30 PM at the beginning of March. Use binoculars or a small telescope to look for the galactic cluster M-35 in the right foot of Gemini. The galactic cluster appears as a small sprinkle of stars in binoculars and looks even better through a small telescope.    

Transcript for February 16-22

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

RACHEL
…and Rachel.

PAUL
The 18th is the 84th anniversary of Clyde Tombaugh’s discovery of Pluto.

RACHEL
Clyde was a Kansas farm boy with an interest in astronomy.

PAUL
The astronomers at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona were so impressed with his work that they invited him to join their staff.

RACHEL
His task was to take photographs of the sky in search of a 9th planet in our solar system.

PAUL
This required Clyde to take and search hundreds of photographs through the Observatory’s 13 inch telescope.

RACHEL
Each photograph contained thousands of star images and one of those stars could be the planet he was seeking.

PAUL
Clyde searched for the unknown planet by comparing two photographs of the same star field taken several days a part.

RACHEL
If the photographic plates contained an image of the 9th planet, the planet would shift in position while the stars remained stationary.

PAUL
On the 18th of February, he found one star that turned out to be Pluto.

RACHEL
Today astronomers have cataloged over a thousand Pluto-like bodies in the frozen depths of our solar system.

PAUL
The 19th is the 541st anniversary of Nicolas Copernicus' birth.

RACHEL
The public knows Copernicus for his model of a sun-centered solar system.

PAUL
Copernicus was not the first person to propose the heliocentric model.

RACHEL
That’s right, some ancient Greeks and Arabs had done the same centuries prior.
Copernicus was fortunate in proposing this model when many learned people were more willing to accept a sun centered solar system.

PAUL
On the 19th, Mars and the star Spica pose together with the moon.

RACHEL
Spica will be noticeably whiter in color and below the moon.

PAUL
Mars will have a more yellow color and appear to the moon’s left.

RACHEL
If you have the free time, go outside at 3:00 AM on the 21st.

PAUL
You’ll find the moon low in the southeast sandwiched between the star Zubenelgenubi and the planet Saturn.

RACHEL
Zubenelgenubi is the brightest star to the moon’s right and a pair of binoculars will show that this is a double star.

PAUL
Saturn is brighter and located farther away to the moon’s left.

RACHEL
And a small telescope will show Saturn’s rings and brightest satellite, Titan.

PAUL
Titan will appear three ring diameters away from Saturn to its lower left through your telescope.

RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the third week of February. The moon forms an attractive grouping with Venus, the Morning Star next week. 

PAUL
Be sure to follow us on Twitter at Idaho Skies for this week’s event reminders and sky maps.

For Idaho Skies this is Paul…

RACHEL
and Rachel.

PAUL
Dark skies and bright stars.