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.