Transcript for the Third Week of April

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

RACHEL
…and Rachel.

PAUL
The moon is at first quarter on the 18th.

RACHEL
That’s the moon’s prefect phase. The shadows cast by the sun rising above the moon’s terminator make craters and mountains more visible.

PAUL
In your binoculars, you may notice there is a mountain range in the upper-right quadrant of the moon.

RACHEL
That’s the Caucasus Mountains, named after the mountain range located between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea.

PAUL
On the moon, they surround the western edge of the Sea of Serenity and are 19,000 feet high in places.

RACHEL
That means some of the lunar peaks that you can see in your binoculars are 50% taller than Mount Borah.

PAUL
April 20th is Astronomy Day.

RACHEL
Astronomy Day is the day that astronomy enthusiasts bring astronomy to the general public.

PAUL
At the Discovery Center of Idaho, the Boise Astronomical Society will set up a telescope for solar viewing.

RACHEL
The telescope will have a filter to make it safe to look at sunspots.

PAUL
The Herrett Center is also planning activities

RACHEL
The museum opens early at 10 AM and visitors can take part in several make and take activities, like water bottle rockets.

PAUL
You can watch four shows at the Faulkner planetarium.

RACHEL
Later that evening, there will be a star party at the Herrett center. Visitors will be able to look through a variety of telescopes and see the moon and Saturn.

PAUL
The events at DCI and the Herrett Center are weather dependent. If the sky is cloudy, the telescope events will be cancelled.

RACHEL
The Lyrid meteor shower peaks on the night of the 21st and 22nd.

PAUL
Meteoroids are the remains of comet tails. They travel in orbits that closely follow their parent comet.

RACHEL
The comet’s orbit becomes filled with meteoric dust, called a meteor stream.

PAUL
When the meteor stream crosses Earth’s orbit, there is potential for a meteor shower.

RACHEL
In truth, many potential meteor showers never create meteors. That’s because Earth is located in the wrong place in its orbit when the meteor stream crosses its orbit.

PAUL
When the Earth and the meteor stream intersect, we observe meteors. The meteors appear to radiate from one point in the sky.

RACHEL
That point is called the meteor’s radiant and is usually named after the constellation in which it occurs.

PAUL
The radiant of the Lyrids appears beneath the bright star Vega in the constellation of Lyra.

RACHEL
The radiant of the Lyrid meteor shower rises by 8:00 PM. However, the moon is a waxing gibbous that night.

PAUL
Since the moon won’t set until after 4:00 AM, your best view of the meteor shower won’t occur until very early on the morning of the 22nd.

RACHEL
You might see as many as ten swift meteors per hour from this shower.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the third week of April. Next week we’ll tell you about albedo, or the reflectivity of the planets. We’ll also tell you where you can find Saturn. 

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…

RACHEL
and Rachel.

PAUL
Dark skies and bright stars.