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.