Transcript for September 6 - 12

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

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
The waxing crescent moon is located above Orion the Hunter on the morning of the 6th.

RACHEL
Orion is an impossible to miss constellations because of its size and overall brightness.

PAUL
In fact, after the Big Dipper, people are most familiar with Orion the Hunter.

RACHEL
When you go out to observe Orion, be sure to look for a row of three stars crossing the center.

PAUL
That’s Orion’s Belt and below it is a short vertical line of stars representing his sword.

RACHEL
Your binoculars will show that the center star of his sword is fuzzy and impossible to focus into a pin point like other stars.

PAUL
That’s because this is the Great Orion Nebula and not a star.

RACHEL
Instead, it’s a massive star forming region in our galaxy.

PAUL
In a small telescope, it takes on a cloudy appearance almost like cirrus clouds.

RACHEL
The moon, Venus, and two star clusters have a celestial meet up early on the 9th.

PAUL
Go outside between 5:00 and 5:30 AM and brilliant Venus will draw your attention to the low east.

RACHEL
You’ll find a thin crescent moon above Venus.

PAUL
Through your binoculars, you should see Earthshine on the dark portion of the moon.

RACHEL
Now scan to the left of the moon and you’ll run right into the Beehive star cluster, one of the nicest star clusters for binoculars.

PAUL
The distance between the moon and Beehive star cluster is just over a binocular field of view.

RACHEL
That means as the moon leaves the right side of your binoculars, the Beehive enters the left side.

PAUL
The other star cluster is M-67 and it’s between Venus and the moon, but closer to Venus.

RACHEL
In fact, if you place Venus at the bottom of your binocular’s field of view, the star cluster will appear nearly in the center of your binoculars.

PAUL
Did you know that Venus is now a binocular object?

RACHEL
That’s right. Normally it’s just a bright pin point of light through binoculars.

PAUL
However, if you let the morning sky get a bit brighter, you’ll reduce the glare of Venus and see that it has a crescent shape.

RACHEL
Holding the binoculars steady against a fence post or other structure will help you see its crescent shape.

PAUL
The only time you can see a crescent Venus through binoculars is when it’s approaching inferior conjunction.

RACHEL
Inferior conjunction is when either Mercury or Venus pass between Earth and the sun.

PAUL
And when Venus approaches inferior conjunction, it’s at its closest to Earth and we see mostly its dark side.

RACHEL
That means it appears at its largest and is crescent in shape.

PAUL
It was after seeing the complete range of Venusian phases that Galileo became convinced of the Copernican Hypothesis.

RACHEL
The Copernican Hypothesis states that the sun and not Earth is the center of the solar system.

PAUL
If you didn’t get enough of Venus, then be sure to look for it on the morning of the 10th.

RACHEL
That’s when the moon is even closer to Venus.

PAUL
But don’t forget to also look for Earthshine on the moon.

RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the second week of September. Next week we’ll talk about Saturn and the moon.

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.