Transcript for January 24th to 30th

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

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
Late on the 25th, you’ll find the star Regulus above the moon.

RACHEL
Regulus is the alpha star of Leo the Lion and it has a faintly yellow-orange tint to it.

PAUL
However, it’s actually two pairs of stars orbiting each other.

RACHEL
Two pairs?

PAUL
That’s right, four stars in total.

RACHEL
Hey, Regulus is also 79 light years away.

PAUL
So if you know someone who is 79 years old, then Regulus is his or her birthday star this year.

RACHEL
The primary star of the Regulus star system is 3.5 times more massive than the sun.

PAUL
What’s really weird about it is that it spins once on its axis in just 16 hours.

RACHEL
When you compare that to the sun, which rotates on its axis once per month, you’ll realize just how much faster this massive star spins on its axis.

PAUL
In fact, if it rotated 2.5 hours faster, the star would fling itself apart.

RACHEL
Because of its rapid spin, Regulus is significantly flattened at its poles and bulges at its equator.

PAUL
This makes the poles of the star five times brighter than its equator.

RACHEL
You’ll find two nice binocular objects paired up late on the night of the 27th.

PAUL
They’re the moon and Jupiter.

RACHEL
The pair is only 3.5 degrees apart, or close enough together to seen at the same time in a pair of binoculars.

PAUL
Jupiter, which appears as the bright star just above the moon, will have a slightly creamy color.

RACHEL
And it won’t twinkle like the other stars.

PAUL
Point your binoculars at Jupiter and you’ll see two or three of its largest satellites forming a line with Jupiter.

RACHEL
The satellite at the bottom of the line is Callisto, a world larger than our moon.

PAUL
The next one up and very close to Jupiter is Io.

RACHEL
It’s a world of frequent volcanic eruptions.

PAUL
In fact, there are more ongoing eruptions on Io than on Earth.

RACHEL
The last satellite, which is located above Jupiter, is named Ganymede.

PAUL
Ganymede, like Callisto, is a large satellite and also very icy.

RACHEL
What about that star appearing to the lower right of the moon on the morning of the 30th?

PAUL
Why that’s Spica, the brightest star of Virgo the Maiden.

RACHEL
Spica and the moon will be very close together on the morning of the 30th.

PAUL
The pair is so close that you can see both together at the same time in binoculars.

RACHEL
It’s sad that the rest of Virgo isn’t as eye catching as its brightest star.

PAUL
But hey, this is still a good time to learn how to identify this star.

RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the fourth week of January. The moon passes very close to Mars and a double star next week.

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.