Transcript for June 16 - 22

RACHEL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for the third week of June. We’re your hosts, Rachel…

PAUL
…and Paul.

RACHEL
The moon is first quarter on the 16th.

PAUL
That means it’s time to dust off your old pair of binoculars and take a gander at the moon.

RACHEL
Craters are noticeable in your binoculars, especially in the southern half of the moon.

PAUL
Your best lunar views come from bracing your arms on something sturdy, like a tree or fence.

RACHEL
That way the shaking in your arms will not blur the view.

PAUL
On the 18th, the moon sits between the star Spica and the planet Saturn.

RACHEL
Spica is closer to the moon while Saturn is farther away.

PAUL
You’ll be able to see either the moon and Spica together in binoculars or the moon and Saturn together, but not all three simultaneously.

RACHEL
When you observe Saturn, you’ll see that the star Kappa Virginis in the constellation Virgo is close to Saturn’s upper right.

PAUL
But they’re not close in space. Saturn is 76 light minutes away while Kappa Virginis is 224 light years away.

RACHEL
So the light you see from Saturn only left an hour and fifteen minutes ago while the light of Kappa Virginis left in the year 1789.

PAUL
Thirty years ago on the 18th, the United States launched the first American woman into Earth orbit aboard the Space Shuttle.

RACHEL
Sally Ride was 32 years old when she traveled to space and she still remains the youngest American to travel into space.

PAUL
Sally spent a total of two weeks in space during her two Space Shuttle flights. Both of her flights were on board the Space Shuttle Challenger.

RACHEL
Sally was not the first woman in space, however. She was preceded into space by Soviet cosmonauts Valentina Tereshkova in 1963 and Svetlana Savitskaya in 1982.

PAUL
This week Venus is rising higher above the horizon and Mercury is approaching the horizon.

RACHEL
So the two inner planets cross paths once again on the evening of June 20th.

PAUL
Mercury will be to the lower left of brighter Venus.

RACHEL
They’ll be close enough together that both will be visible together in your binoculars.

PAUL
Begin looking for the pair of planets by 10:00 PM, after the sun has set.

RACHEL
While you’re searching for Venus and Mercury, you may notice there are two stars above and to the right of Venus.

PAUL
These are the brightest two stars of Gemini, Pollux and Castor.

RACHEL
Summer in the northern hemisphere begins late on the evening of the 20th.

PAUL
That means on the 20th, daylight lasts it’s longest for the year.

RACHEL
In Boise, our first day of summer will be 15 hours and 23 minutes long.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the third week of June. Next week we’ll discuss the full moon, its proximity to Earth, and what effect this will have on us.

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.