Transcript for October 31st and November 1st

RACHEL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for October 31st and November 1st. We’re your hosts, Rachel…

PAUL
…and Paul.

RACHEL
Stargazers should be looking for Saturn this now.

PAUL
That’s because it leaves the evening sky this month and won’t be visible again for a few months.

RACHEL
How can stargazers find Saturn?

PAUL
Well, they’ll find it in the low west-southwest, as it’s getting dark.

RACHEL
Saturn appears as a pale yellow-white star.

PAUL
It’s one of the brightest stars in this region of the sky…

RACHEL
…although it’s far dimmer than brilliant Venus.

PAUL
Saturn is named after the father of Jupiter, the king of the Roman pantheon of gods.

RACHEL
The planet is 36,000 miles across, or four and a half times larger than Earth.

PAUL
Its rings are five times wider than the planet or 180,000 miles across.

RACHEL
And they are incredibly thin at less than a mile thick.

PAUL
That means that when a sheet of paper is scaled to the size of Saturn’s rings…

RACHEL
…that sheet of paper is ten times thicker than the rings.

PAUL
The rings consist of a swarm of snow balls, some nearly a mile across.

RACHEL
How old are Saturn’s rings? I mean, are they as old as the solar system or are we just lucky to see them today?

PAUL
Computer simulations indicate that they formed around 100 million years ago.

RACHEL
And probably from the collision of two moons or when a single moon got too close the Saturn’s strong gravity.

PAUL
That means the early dinosaurs would have seen a Saturn with more moons and no rings.

RACHEL
Sure, that is if the dinosaurs knew how to build a telescope.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the 31st of October and 1st of November.

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

For Idaho Skies this is Rachel…

PAUL
…and Paul.

RACHEL
Dark skies and bright stars.