Transcript for October 24th and 25th

PAUL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for October 24th and 25th. We’re your hosts, Paul...

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
Start looking for earthshine for the next several mornings beginning the 24th.

RACHEL
Stargazers will find the moon in the low east as they drive to work.

PAUL
Binoculars make it easier to see sunlight reflecting off Earth illuminating the moon’s dark hemisphere.

RACHEL
But please, don’t use your binoculars while you drive.

PAUL
There’s a bright star above the moon on the 25th.

RACHEL
Its name is Regulus and it’s the brightest star of Leo the Lion.

PAUL
Did you know that Regulus is 79 light years away?

RACHEL
So if you know someone 79 years old this year, the light you see from Regulus left the year they were born.

RACHEL
Regulus appears as one star, but it’s actually two pairs of stars.

PAUL
This is to say it’s a multiple star system.

PAUL
Wait, explain that.

RACHEL
Regulus consists of two pairs of stars orbit each other.

PAUL
Oh, and then the pairs are orbiting each other.

RACHEL
That’s right, so it’s a double-double star.

PAUL
I wonder why it isn’t just four stars orbiting each other.

RACHEL
Because that creates unstable orbits that don’t last very long.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the 24th and 25th of October.

RACHEL
Be sure to follow us on Twitter at Idaho Skies for this week’s event reminders and sky maps.

For Idaho Skies this is Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
Dark skies and bright stars.