Transcript for April 19 to 25

RACHEL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for the fourth week of April. We’re your hosts, Rachel... 

PAUL
 ...and Paul.

 RACHEL
Like all stars, Aldebaran, the alpha star of Taurus the Bull is moving closer to the western horizon every night. 

PAUL
Since Venus is a planet, it’s moving away from the horizon every night.

RACHEL
That is at least until June when Venus begins passing between Earth and the sun.

PAUL
Therefore, it’s not surprising to hear that these two celestial objects cross paths on occasion. 

RACHEL
You’ll find Venus on the outskirts of the Hyades star cluster and therefore close to Aldebaran on the evening of the 20th.

PAUL
When you go out to see them, be sure to look for the young and very thin crescent moon close to the horizon.

RACHEL
Two days later, Aldebaran, the moon, the Pleiades, and Venus form a compact grouping.

PAUL
The grouping is so small that you can just about cover them with your outstretched hand on the 21st. 

RACHEL
That’s a bunch of binocular objects for the choosing and you don’t have to scan the rest of the sky to see them.

PAUL
Mercury has traveled its greatest distance away from the sun and is now inching its way back. 

RACHEL
Before long, it will be too close to the horizon and sun to be visible in the evening.

PAUL
On its way back to the sun, the innermost planet passes close to Mars on the 22nd.

RACHEL
Mercury is brighter than Mercury, so you can’t confuse them.

PAUL
At 8:30 PM on the 22nd, scan the sky close to the horizon and to the lower right of Venus.

RACHEL
The first star you’ll find is Mercury.

PAUL
Mars will be the fainter star located to the lower left of Mercury.

RACHEL
It’s been three months since we’ve had the opportunity to watch a meteor shower and quite frankly, we’re overdue.

PAUL
During the last week of April, the Lyrid meteor shower picks up its level of activity.

RACHEL The meteor shower reaches its peak activity on the night of the 22nd and morning of the 23rd.

PAUL
Meteors from this shower will appear to originate from the northeast and become more numerous after midnight.

RACHEL
Fortunately, this year the moon is a thin crescent on the 22nd and it therefore sets before midnight. 

PAUL
On the down side, this is not one of the best meteor showers of the year.

RACHEL
You can only expect to see some ten meteors per hour from this shower.

PAUL
But hey, since our last meteor shower occurred in January, the Lyrids aren’t bad.

RACHEL
The Beehive star cluster is one of the nicest star clusters for binocular viewing.

PAUL
This star cluster is easy to see, but it’s located in a rather blank part of the sky.

RACHEL
So it’s really helpful to have the moon show you its location.

PAUL
On the 25th, scan straight up along the moon’s terminator or the boundary between lunar day and night, until you run into the cluster.

RACHEL
The star cluster will look like a sprinkling of diamond dust in your binoculars.

PAUL There’s another, smaller star cluster nearby called M-67.

RACHEL
And you’ll be able to find this star cluster by keeping in mind that Jupiter, M-67, the moon, and the Beehive star cluster form a square.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the fourth week of April. Next week we’ll compare two blue-white stars that the moon passes.

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.