Transcript for February 2 - 8

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

RACHEL
… and Rachel.

PAUL
Do you own a telescope with quality optics, a sharp focus, and steady stand?

RACHEL
Then you should be able to use it to observe the shadows cast by Jupiter’s satellites.

PAUL
Your opportunity this month begins early on the morning of the 6th.

RACHEL
The shadow of Callisto, Jupiter’s second largest satellite appears at 1:25 AM near the bottom of Jupiter.

PAUL
It appears at the bottom of Jupiter because telescopes invert images.

RACHEL
You’ll be able to watch the shadow drift across the face of Jupiter until 4:30 AM.

PAUL
Jupiter is the bright star high in the west at 1:30 AM.

RACHEL
An event easier to observe event involving Earth’s moon takes place on the evening of the 6th.

PAUL
That’s when the moon passes the Pleiades star cluster.

RACHEL
The moon then passes the Hyades star cluster the next night.

PAUL
Get you binoculars out for the 7th, since the moon will be just edging into the Hyades.

RACHEL
Novelist Jules Verne was born 186 years ago on the 8th.

PAUL
He’s considered one of the fathers of the science fiction genre.

RACHEL
Jules Verne is probably the third most translated author in the world.

PAUL
Many of the elements from his story, From the Earth to the Moon match those in the Apollo 11 mission to the moon.

RACHEL
For example, in Verne’s novel and Apollo 11, the United States launched the first manned vehicle to the moon.

PAUL
Verne’s spacecraft closely resemble the Apollo 11 spacecraft in size and shape.

RACHEL
Both spacecraft carried a crew of three.

PAUL
Both Verne’s spacecraft and Apollo 11 were launched from Florida.

RACHEL
Both spacecraft returned to Earth by splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.

PAUL
Now there were a few problems with Verne’s depiction.

RACHEL
First off, Verne’s spacecraft was launched using a giant cannon.

PAUL
A cannon capable of propelling a spacecraft to the moon would crush and flatten its crew.

RACHEL
The second problem in Verne’s story is that he thought his astronauts would only experience weightlessness at the gravitational midpoint between the moon and Earth.

PAUL
That’s where the gravities of Earth and the moon would be equal and opposite in direction.

RACHEL
In reality, the Apollo 11 astronauts experience weightlessness the entire journey because they are traveling just as fast as the spacecraft.

PAUL
Still, Verne’s story, From the Earth to the Moon is a reasonable science fiction for the middle of the 19th century.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the first week of February. Next week, the moon helps you locate a very nice star cluster using your binoculars.

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.