Transcript for June 28th to July 4th

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

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
Saturn appears to the moon’s lower right after dark on the 28th.

PAUL
Saturn is not a particularly bright planet, but it sure is attractive through a small telescope.

RACHEL
You can see the planet’s rings if you have a small telescope or even a good spotting scope.

PAUL
Use a magnification of at least 25 power.

RACHEL
Saturn is located close to the constellation of Scorpius the Scorpion this summer.

PAUL
The rest of the constellation is located to the left of Saturn.

RACHEL
Its brightest star is Antares and it’s the orangish star located to the lower left of the moon.

PAUL
Did you know that Antares is over 9,000 times larger than Saturn is?

RACHEL
Even though they both appear star-like to our eyes.

PAUL
Two bright stellar beacons, Jupiter and Venus, appear very close together after sunset on the 29th.

RACHEL
They’re only ½ of a degree apart.

PAUL
Which is also the apparent diameter of the moon.

RACHEL
Get a look at Jupiter and Venus soon because they’ll be too close to the sun in another two or three weeks.

PAUL
The moon has neighbors late on the night of the 30th and morning of July 1st.

RACHEL
Its neighbors are star clusters and nebulae and you can see them through binoculars.

PAUL
Scan the region to the moon’s left, both higher and lower, for fuzzy patches and small star clusters.

RACHEL
Hey, I see a teapot of stars when I star gaze this region without binoculars.

PAUL
That’s right. The teapot-shaped pattern of stars is a part of the constellation of Sagittarius the Archer.

RACHEL
Sagittarius represents the centaur Chiron

PAUL
Chiron was not a violent centaur like the others mentioned in Greek mythology.

RACHEL
He was also known as a good archer, which is how he is represented in the night sky

PAUL
So why is Chiron commemorated in the sky?

RACHEL
That’s because he took the place of Prometheus, who Zeus was punishing for giving fire to humanity.

PAUL
Chiron offered to take the place of suffering Prometheus because a poisoned arrow had injured him.

RACHEL
Since Chiron was immortal and couldn’t die, the wound caused him endless agony with no hope for an end to that suffering.

PAUL
So Zeus, the king of the Greek gods, placed him in to the heavens to honor his sacrifice.

RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the last week of June. Join us next month for the space and astronomy events for Idaho.

PAUL
Be sure to read our blog for additional information. It’s at idahoskies.blogspot.com.

For Idaho Skies this is Paul...

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
Dark skies and bright stars.