Transcript for November 15 to 21

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

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
You can easily locate the constellation of Capricornus the Sea-Goat on the 17th.

PAUL
It’s best however, if you’re away from city lights since Capricornus doesn’t contain very bright stars.

RACHEL
The way you’ll find it is by first locating the moon.

PAUL
It’s passing through the top of the constellation tonight and tomorrow.

RACHEL
And located on the right side of the constellation on the night of the 17th.

PAUL
The constellation is 50% wider than your extended thumb and fist when viewed from the end of your outstretched arm

RACHEL
And it looks a lot like a big Jack-o-Lantern grin.

PAUL
Later on the night of the 17th, Leo the Lion rises.

RACHEL
This is important because the Leonid meteor shower reaches its peak on the night of the 17th and morning of the 18th.

PAUL
Leonid meteors will appear to originate from Leo the Lion.

RACHEL
Because that’s the location of the point of intersection between the orbits of Earth and the Leonid meteor stream.

PAUL
The moon’s not even first quarter on the 17th, so its light won’t interfere with the shower.

RACHEL
Therefore, you can expect to see over a dozen meteors per hour from this shower under dark skies.

PAUL
Leonid meteors are the debris from a comet named Tempel-Tuttle.

RACHEL
Tempel-Tuttle?

PAUL
Yep, Tempel-Tuttle. It was discovered by astronomers Ernest Tempel and Horace Tuttle in late 1865 and early 1866.

RACHEL
Back then, astronomers couldn’t communicate their discoveries very quickly, so Tuttle was unaware that Tempel had discovered the comet the previous month.

PAUL
Comet Tempel-Tuttle orbits the sun once every 33 years.

RACHEL
And until recently, that meant every 33 years the Leonid meteor shower created a more intense meteor shower than on average.

PAUL
In fact, people were afraid it was the end of the world in 1833 because of the intensity of the shower.

RACHEL
It’s estimated over 1,000 meters per hour were visible.

PAUL
And in the dark night skies of 1833, a shower of that many meteors must have looked like the stars were literally falling out of the sky.

RACHEL
The Solitary One or Fomalhaut is the brightest star below the moon on the 19th.

PAUL
Fomalhaut is a star 25 light years away.

RACHEL
So the light you see tonight left in 1990.

PAUL
Fomalhaut is also a young star.

RACHEL
So young in fact that it’s still surrounded by the disk of dust and gas that it formed from.

PAUL
The Hubble Space Telescope shows there’s a large planet forming in the outer regions of this infant solar system.

RACHEL
Other planets are probably forming right now closer to the star.

PAUL
However, as they’re forming, the star’s ultraviolet radiation and solar wind are also blowing the dust and gas away.

RACHEL
So it’s a race against time.

PAUL
Perhaps there’s still time for Earth-like planets to form around Fomalhaut before it’s too late.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the third week of November. Get your binoculars out because the moon will help you find the Great Orion Nebula next week.

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

For Idaho Skies this is Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
Dark skies and bright stars.