Transcript for April 24th to 30th

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

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
Are you looking for Mars and Saturn?

RACHEL
You’ll find the red and ringed planets below the moon on the night of the 25th.

PAUL
Mars, appearing as a relatively bright orangish-red star, is located to the lower right of the moon.

RACHEL
Saturn appears as a creamy-white star and it’s located to the lower left of the moon.

PAUL
Don’t confuse Mars for Antares, however.

RACHEL
Mars is a planet while Antares is a red supergiant star.

PAUL
Mars and Antares have similar colors, but you’ll find Antares farther below Mars.

RACHEL
And Antares will be slightly fainter than Mars.

PAUL
Antares represents the heart of the constellation of Scorpius the Scorpion.

RACHEL
It’s a red supergiant, meaning it’s nearing the end of its life.

PAUL
Its core is filled with the helium formed by the hydrogen fuel it consumed during its stellar youth.

RACHEL
The pressure in the core of Antares is so high that the star is fusing this helium into heavier elements like carbon and oxygen.

PAUL
And as a result, hydrogen is fusing into helium in a shell surrounding its helium core.

RACHEL
The high temperature inside of Antares’ core has caused its outer layer to expand to an immense size.

PAUL
In fact, if Antares replaced our sun, the star’s surface would lie between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

RACHEL
In a few stellar years, Antares will no longer be able to produce enough heat to support its weight.

PAUL
When that occurs, the massive core of the star will collapse so fast that it will leave the outer shell of the star unsupported.

RACHEL
The iron core of the star will rebound slightly as the outer envelope of the star comes crashing down on the core.

PAUL
The result will be a supernova explosion so bright that it will be seen across a large portion of the universe.

RACHEL
And all that will be left of poor Antares is an expanding cloud of hot gas surrounding a neutron star or black hole.

PAUL
Adios muchachos.

RACHEL
On the night of the 25th, the moon passes just above Saturn.

PAUL
Saturn appears golden yellow in color and it will not twinkle like other stars.

RACHEL
Unlike Jupiter, there isn’t anything you can see on Saturn using binoculars.

PAUL
You’ll need at least a small telescope or spotting scope to see its set of rings.

RACHEL
A magnification of at least 25 power is needed.

PAUL
Saturn’s beautiful rings are made up of uncounted numbers of icy snowballs.

RACHEL
Some of these snowballs are larger than a beach ball.

PAUL
The thickness of the rings varies from 33 feet to about one half of a mile.

RACHEL
This means when scaled to a sheet of paper, the rings of Saturn are thinner (than paper).

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the fourth week of April. Next week, early birds can see Earthshine.

RACHEL
Be sure to read our blog for additional information. It’s at idahoskies.blogspot.com.

For Idaho Skies this is Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
Dark skies and bright stars.