Transcript: November 30th to December 5th

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

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
On the night of the 29th, you’ll find the brightest and the 8th brightest star near the moon.

PAUL
The stars have a lot in common besides being bright.

RACHEL
That’s right. Both are bright because they’re relatively close to the sun.

PAUL
Both have white dwarf companion stars.

RACHEL
And both belong to dog-related constellations.

PAUL
We call the stars Sirius and Procyon.

RACHEL
Sirius is the brightest star in the sky and it belongs to the constellation of Canis Major, or the Big Dog.

PAUL
Procyon is the eighth brightest star in the sky and belongs to the constellation Canis Minor, or the Little Dog.

RACHEL
You’ll find both Procyon and Sirius located to the right of the moon on the 29th.

PAUL
Procyon is the bright star only half as far away from the moon as Sirius.

RACHEL
Sirius and Procyon appear so bright because they’re among the stars closest to the solar system.

PAUL
That’s right. Sirius is the 5th closest star at 8.6 light years away.

RACHEL
And Procyon is the 10th closest star at 11.5 light years away.

PAUL
If you stay up late enough on December 2nd, you’ll find the third quarter moon parked next to Regulus, the heart of Leo the Lion.

RACHEL
Farther below and close to the eastern horizon is Jupiter disguised as a bright star.

PAUL
Don’t forget that the third quarter moon and Jupiter make great targets for your binoculars, spotting scope, and small telescope.

RACHEL
On the 4th after 3:00 AM, you’ll find that Jupiter and the moon are very close together.

PAUL
So close in fact that you can observe both at the same time in your binoculars.

RACHEL
Be sure to look closely at Jupiter with your binoculars because you’ll see its largest satellite, Callisto below Jupiter.

PAUL
More difficult to see because of its closeness to bright Jupiter is a second satellite, Europa.

RACHEL
It will be located above the planet in your binoculars.

PAUL
Listeners can see three morning planets forming a line on Saturday morning, December 5th.

RACHEL
The moon will be there to boot.

PAUL
Check them out after 5:00 AM, once they’ve all had a chance to clear the horizon.

RACHEL
...and before 7:00 AM when the dawn becomes too bright.

PAUL
You can’t miss Jupiter and Venus; they’re the two brightest star-like objects in the east.

RACHEL
However, you might mistake Mars for a star.

PAUL
To identify Mars, look below the moon for a vertical line of two stars.

RACHEL
The top star is just a star and its name is Porrima.

PAUL
The star at the bottom, which is slightly brighter and slightly yellowish, is Mars.

RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the first week of December. Next week presents several opportunities to observe the thin crescent moon and Earthshine. 

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.