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.