Transcript for May 3 - 9

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

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
Earth passes through the thickest part of a meteor stream on the 5th.

PAUL
Its debris left behind by the famous Comet Halley.

RACHEL
Astronomers call the meteor shower the Eta Aquarids.

PAUL
Why Eta Aquarids?

RACHEL
Because where the stream of debris intersects Earth’s orbit appears to be near the star Eta Aquarid.

PAUL
The meteor shower reaches peak performance after midnight.

RACHEL
And in clear dark skies, one can expect to see about ten meteors per hour.

PAUL
While not a specular rate, it’s a substantial improvement over the seven meteors per hour we see between meteor showers.

RACHEL
Now for the bad news.

PAUL
The moon is full on May 3rd.

RACHEL
That means moonlight will strongly interfere with this shower all night.

PAUL
Still, any meteors you observe will tend to be brighter and leave long trails.

RACHEL
Look for Eta Aquarid meteors to originate from the southeast.

PAUL
Everyone’s favorite planet is the bright star located to the lower left of the moon on the morning of the 5th.

RACHEL
You’ll know you’re looking at Saturn because it won’t twinkle like other stars.

PAUL
And because it will have a slight yellow tint.

RACHEL
Saturn doesn’t show any detail in binoculars, but a small telescope or even spotting scope will show its rings.

PAUL
Saturn’s rings are amazing.

RACHEL
They’re only between 30 and 3,000 feet thick

PAUL
And they’re 180,000 miles across.

RACHEL
That means relative to a sheet of paper, Saturn’s rings are 100 times thinner.

PAUL
The reason we see them is because they consist of reflective ice particles.

RACHEL
Look for Saturn’s rings, you only need a telescope with 25 or greater magnification.

PAUL
Mercury reaches its greatest distance from the sun on the evening of the 7th.

RACHEL
And here’s how to find it.

PAUL
Look low in the northwest at 10:00 PM and locate brilliant Venus.

RACHEL
Below and to the right of Venus and closer to the horizon is little Mercury.

PAUL
Don’t confuse the star Aldebaran for Mercury

RACHEL
Aldebaran is located almost directly below Venus and a bit lower than Mercury.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the first week of May. Next week’s topic is the satellites of Pluto.

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.