Transcript for October 5 - 6

PAUL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for October 5th and 6th. We’re your hosts, Paul...

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
Mars is currently the closet planet to Earth.

RACHEL
One benefit is that skygazers can easily watch Mars change its position relative to the stars.

PAUL
In fact, Mars changes its position in the evening sky more quickly than any planet this month.

RACHEL
So tonight, look for Mars in the low south.

PAUL
It appears with a pale orangish tint.

RACHEL
The planet is located at the top of the teapot-shaped portion of Sagittarius.

PAUL
Your binoculars will show that Mars has a companion star for the next three nights.

RACHEL
The star’s name is Kaus Borealis and it’s the top star of the teapot.

PAUL
On the night of the 5th, Mars is just to the right of Kaus.

RACHEL
Then on the 6th, Mars is just below Kaus.

PAUL
And on the 7th, Mars is just to the left of Kaus.

RACHEL
This is a great chance to detect the motions of a planet in just three days.

PAUL
By the way, Mars was first visited by a spacecraft on July 14th, 1965.

RACHEL
The spacecraft was the American Mariner 4.

PAUL
And it was the first spacecraft to return an image of another planet.

RACHEL
Unfortunately, it only returned images covering 4% of the Martian surface.

PAUL
And that 4% was among the more boring regions of Mars.

RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the 5th and 6th of October.

 PAUL
Be sure to follow us on Twitter @IdahoSkies for this week’s event reminders and sky maps.

For Idaho Skies this is Paul...

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
Dark skies and bright stars.