Transcript for September 20 - 26

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

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
Hey, the first quarter moon will help you find star clusters and nebulae with your binoculars on the 21st.

RACHEL
They’re located within the band of the Milky Way.

PAUL
To find them, scan your binoculars above and below the right side of the moon after it gets dark.

RACHEL
It’s best to do this in dark skies outside of town.

PAUL
The star clusters will appear as smudges surrounding a small sprinkle of stars.

RACHEL
The nebulae will just appear as smudges of light.

PAUL
While you’re observing these astronomical objects, you might notice that a star pattern resembling a tea pot is located below the moon.

RACHEL
This is the heart of the constellation of Sagittarius the Archer.

PAUL
And the stellar region around Sagittarius marks the location of the center of our galaxy.

RACHEL
Had enough hot weather?

PAUL
Then autumn begins on the 23rd at 2:21 AM.

RACHEL
At that moment, the sun will appear directly above the Earth’s equator.

PAUL
While this is a true statement, the reality is a bit more complicated.

RACHEL
That’s right. The sun does not actually move north and south of Earth’s equator.

PAUL
Yep, instead the tilt of Earth’s rotational axis points towards and away from the sun as we revolve around the sun in the course of a year.

RACHEL
If viewed from outside the solar system, you’d see that Earth’s north rotational axis always points towards Polaris, a fixed star.

PAUL
However, Polaris is not directly above the North Pole of the sun.

RACHEL
This means as Earth travels around the sun, Earth’s axis points in different directions relative to the sun.

PAUL
So when Earth’s rotational axis is perfectly vertical relative to the sun, it’s autumn in the northern hemisphere and spring in the southern hemisphere, or visa a versa.

RACHEL
Which also means the sun is directly above the equator.

PAUL
It also means that the boundary between day and night across Earth runs from pole to pole.

RACHEL
And that gives every location on Earth 12 hours of daylight.

PAUL
After today, our nights will grow longer in duration while the days in the southern hemisphere grow longer in duration.

RACHEL
Do you leave for work early in the morning?

PAUL
Then on Friday morning, the 25th, you’ll see three planets in the east combined with a relatively bright star.

RACHEL
What makes this even more appealing is that Mars and the bright star Regulus will be very close together.

PAUL
The other planets are Venus, which is the bright star above and to the right of Mars and Regulus.

RACHEL
And Jupiter, the bright star below and left of Mars and Regulus.

PAUL
A good time to see them is around 6:00 AM.

RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the fourth week of September. There’s a total lunar eclipse next week, so be sure to tune in for the details.

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.