Transcript for October 12th and 13th

RACHEL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for October 12th and 13th. We’re your hosts, Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
Hey, Neptune is within binocular shot of the moon on the night of the 12th.

PAUL
Here’s how you can see the 8th planet through binoculars.

RACHEL
First, you need a location with dark skies. So leave town.

PAUL
In dark skies, point your binoculars at the moon.

RACHEL
Then look for a triangle of stars below and left of the moon.

PAUL
The two brightest stars of this triangle are below the moon and to the upper left of the moon.

RACHEL
The third member of the triangle is to the lower left of the moon and only about half as bright the other two.

PAUL
That faint star is Neptune.

RACHEL
You’ll find a star map on our twitter account, @IdahoSkies.

PAUL
Neptune has only been visited by one spacecraft so far, Voyager 2.

RACHEL
Images from Voyager 2 showed Neptune to be a beautiful blue world.

PAUL
The moon’s above a bright star on the 12th.

RACHEL
That star is much closer to the horizon than the moon.

PAUL
And it’s the only bright star in this dim portion of the sky.

RACHEL
In fact, stargazers might even say it’s a solitary star.

PAUL
The star is named Fomalhaut has it has a history of being called the Solitary One for this very reason.

RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the 12th and 13th of October.

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.