Transcript for March 20th to 26th

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

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
Leo the Lion, some claim, fell from the moon.

PAUL
On the 20th, you’ll find Leo couched above the moon.

RACHEL
More specifically, you’ll see its brightest star Regulus directly above the moon.

PAUL
Regulus is considered the heart of Leo the Lion.

RACHEL
What about that brighter star to the left of Regulus?

PAUL
It’s not actually a part of Leo; it’s the planet Jupiter.

RACHEL
Each night, the moon moves further east.

PAUL
Therefore, it’s not surprising to see that on the 21st it passes Jupiter.

RACHEL
The pair will create an attractive sight.

PAUL
The moon is nearly full, so your binoculars will only show a few oval craters along the left edge of the moon.

RACHEL
You’ll also see one bright crater near the bottom of the moon that stands out like a sore thumb.

PAUL
And seeing it should remind you of the navel on a navel orange.

RACHEL
This crater’s name is Tycho and it’s named after a 17th century Danish astronomer

PAUL
Scientists believe its 109 million years old based on rocks collected by the Apollo astronauts.

RACHEL
Speaking of the moon, it’s full on the morning of the 23rd.

PAUL
And it just so happens that the moon is passing through Earth’s shadow.

RACHEL
This means we get to see a lunar eclipse.

PAUL
Unfortunately, the moon doesn’t pass directly through the central core of Earth’s shadow.

RACHEL
The center of Earth’s shadow is called the umbra while the outer rim is called the penumbra.

PAUL
The umbra is darkest because no sunlight directly reaches this part of Earth’s shadow.

RACHEL
The penumbra is not as dark as the umbra because the sun’s disk is not completely blocked there.

PAUL
This results in some sunlight reaching this portion of Earth’s shadow.

RACHEL
Which is why the moon is not quite as dark as when its in the penumbra.

PAUL
The best time to see this lunar eclipse is around 6:00 AM on the 23rd.

RACHEL
You’ll find the moon in the low west at that time.

PAUL
And only the bottom half of the moon will be darkened.

RACHEL
Hey, there’s a bright star on the moon’s right side late on the evening of the 24th.

PAUL
The star’s name is Spica and it’s the lucida of Virgo the Maiden.

RACHEL
Spica is the easiest part of Virgo to identify.

PAUL
That’s because the rest of the constellation contains fainter stars and is sparsely populated.

RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the third week of March. Next week the moon will help you find star clusters that you can see in binoculars.

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.