Transcript for May 31 to June 6

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

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
Just after dark on the 1st, you’ll observe Venus in a line with the brightest two stars of Gemini the Twins

PAUL
The stars are named Castor and Pollux.

RACHEL
You’ve probably heard of them before, Castor and Pollux are the twins of Greek mythology.

PAUL
Let Venus show you how to identify Castor and Pollux.

RACHEL
Start by looking in the low west for brilliant Venus.

PAUL
You’ll find the twin stars forming a line on the moon’s right.

RACHEL
Pollux is the brightest of the pair.

PAUL
Later on the 1st, you’ll see the moon and Saturn meet up near Scorpius the Scorpion.

RACHEL
Saturn will be a slightly yellow star located to the moon’s right.

PAUL
The bright star below the moon is orangish Antares, the heart of Scorpius the Scorpion.

RACHEL
After midnight of the 2nd...

PAUL
...actually that’s early morning of the 3rd...

RACHEL
...you can use the moon to find a nice star cluster for your binoculars.

PAUL
Greek astronomer Claudius Ptolemy of Alexandria described this star cluster in the second century AD.

RACHEL
However, it would another 1,500 years before the telescope was invented.

PAUL
Therefore, Ptolemy only identified the star cluster as a little cloud or nebula.

RACHEL
You can find Ptolemy’s little cloud by locating a horizontal pair of stars directly below the moon.

PAUL
The pair represents the stinger of Scorpius and they’re close together.

RACHEL
Place the stinger at the bottom center of your binoculars and then scan to the left.

PAUL
Soon after the stinger leaves your binoculars on the right, the star cluster enters your binoculars on the upper left.

RACHEL
The star cluster will fill about 1/3rd of your binocular’s view.

PAUL
Hey, Venus reaches its greatest distance from the sun on June 6th.

RACHEL
That places the planet at nearly its highest above the horizon after it gets dark.

PAUL
And it’s so high that it won’t set until after midnight.

RACHEL
If you look at Venus through a small telescope before the sky gets dark, you’ll notice that Venus is only half full.

PAUL
And as the weeks pass, the planet will grow larger and thinner.

RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the first week of June. Next week we’ll discuss Venus even further.

PAUL
Be sure to follow us on Twitter at Idaho Skies for this week’s event reminders and sky maps.

For Idaho Skies this is Paul...

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
Dark skies and bright stars.