Transcript for March 24 - 30

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

RACHEL
…and Rachel.

PAUL
Leo the Lion sits on top of the moon all night on the 24th.

RACHEL
Leo’s brightest star is Regulus and it’s almost directly above the moon.

PAUL
Leo’s mane looks like a backwards question mark.

RACHEL
Regulus is the base of the question mark.

PAUL
The second brightest star of Leo is Denebola and it marks the location of Leo’s tail.

RACHEL
This star is 36 light years away and located directly east of the moon. If you were born in 1976, then Denebola is your birthday star this year.

PAUL
The moon is between Spica and Saturn late on the 28th.

RACHEL
You’ll need to go outside at 11:00 PM or later to see them.

PAUL
You can tell the difference between Saturn and Spica because Saturn is to the moon’s left and Spica is to the moon’s right.

RACHEL
In addition, Saturn is brighter than Spica and will not twinkle.


PAUL
If you’re up and about at 3:00 AM or later on the morning of the 31st, then look for the star marking the scorpion’s heart. It’s just below the moon.

RACHEL
Antares and the moon are almost close enough together that they can be seen at the same time in your binoculars.

PAUL
This star is one of the largest in the Milky Way galaxy. If it replaced the sun, its surface would reach to the orbit of Mars.

RACHEL
Astronomers call Antares a red giant and it is nearing the end of its life. Fusion reactions inside the star are consuming the last traces of its nuclear fuel.

PAUL
Before long in stellar years, Antares will have a large iron core. Iron is an element that gravity cannot fuse to produce energy.

RACHEL
With an iron core, Antares will be unable to support its immense weight with the heat of fusion. The star will collapse on itself and explode.

PAUL
The supernova explosion should be visible across a good portion of the universe.

RACHEL
The energy released in the explosion will create elements heavier than iron. This is only possible because of the excess energy generated in a supernova explosion.

PAUL
While massive stars like Antares explode in supernovae, less massive stars like the sun do not.

RACHEL
In another five billion years, the sun will no longer have enough hydrogen to support its weight through fusion.

PAUL
Rather than exploding, the sun will eventually shrink into a hot sphere of gas supported by the repulsion of electrons.

RACHEL
The sun will turn into a white dwarf star the size of Earth.

PAUL
Over billions of years, the white dwarf sun will cool until it no longer shines in visible light.

RACHEL
If the sun were more than two and a half times heavier, it could collapse into a sphere too massive for electrons to support.

PAUL
A star too heavy to become a white dwarf but too light to become a black hole turns into a neutron star.

RACHEL
In these stars, the electrons and protons in atoms are crushed into neutrons.

PAUL
A neutron star is so dense that a teaspoon weighs ten million tons.

RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the last week of March. Next month we’ll discuss the astronomical events that Idahoans can enjoy during the month of April.

PAUL
Follow us on Twitter at Idaho Skies for this week’s event reminders and sky maps.

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.