Transcript June 7th to 13th

PAUL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for the second week of June. We’re your hosts, Paul...

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
What’s the bright star in the west after dark?

RACHEL
It’s Venus, the Evening Star.

PAUL
This week Venus approaches closer and closer to the Beehive star cluster.

RACHEL
They’re at their closest on the evening of the 12th.

PAUL
Find the Beehive by looking left of Venus with your binoculars.

RACHEL
Each night you’ll see the Beehive closer to Venus.

PAUL
Through binoculars, you’ll see over a dozen stars in the cluster.

RACHEL
And once you see it, you’ll know why people call it the Beehive star cluster.

PAUL
The Space Age has allowed astronomers to determined that Venus is one hellish planet

RACHEL
It’s even worse than Mercury, which has a surface temperature of 800 degrees Fahrenheit.

PAUL
Venus is hotter with a surface temperature of 860 degrees because of its dense atmospheric cloak of carbon dioxide.

RACHEL
Both Earth and Venus developed atmospheres of carbon dioxide after their birth.

PAUL
However, Earth’s carbon dioxide was safely trapped inside of the ocean and rocks like limestone.

RACHEL
Venus on the other hand formed 26 million miles closer to the sun than Earth.

PAUL
And that extra solar heating eventually evaporated its oceans away.

RACHEL
Without oceans, heat from the sun eventually released Venus’ trapped carbon dioxide.

PAUL
Which has created an atmosphere 90 times denser than the Earth’s.

RACHEL
Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that prevents the escape of surface heat into space

PAUL
So even though the clouds of Venus reflect most of the sun’s light, very little heat can actually escape the planet’s atmosphere once it reaches the surface.

RACHEL
In fact, its surface temperature is high enough to melt lead.

PAUL
So it was surprising when 40 years ago on the 8th, the Soviet Union launched the first successful Venus landers.

RACHEL
Venera 9 and 10 spend just short of an hour returning data from the surface of Venus.

PAUL
Including images of its rocky surface.

RACHEL
The amount of sunlight reaching the surface of Venus was surprisingly high.

PAUL
And onboard instruments indicated that the surface was basaltic, like Craters of the Moon.

RACHEL
After an hour on the surface, high heat and pressure fried the Venera landers and their electronics.

PAUL
So today, they lie on the surface slowly eroding away due to exposure to caustic gas and high heat.

RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the second week of June. Some people say that Christopher Columbus proved the world wasn’t flat, but the Greeks knew that almost 2,000 years earlier.

 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.