Idaho Skies Transcript for January 30th and 31st

RACHEL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for January 30th and 31st. We’re your hosts, Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
The month ends with the moon pulling along side of Venus and Mars.

PAUL
So after dark on the 31st, look high in the southwest for the crescent moon.

RACHEL
Venus and the moon will appear side by side.

PAUL
And they make for a bright pairing in the western evening sky.

RACHEL
Alas, poor Mars only appears as a medium-bright yellowish-orange star.

PAUL
And it’s located above the right horn of the crescent moon.

RACHEL
Mars and Venus appear close together in the sky...

PAUL
...but they’re not close together in space.

RACHEL
Mars is located on the other side of the solar system...

PAUL
...while Venus is located on our side of the solar system.

RACHEL
That means Mars is nearly four times farther away from Earth and Venus.

PAUL
If you have a telescope, point it at Venus before the sky gets too dark.

RACHEL
Be sure to look before dark because the brilliance of Venus makes it difficult to see the planet’s phase after the sky gets dark.

PAUL
In a telescope, Venus will appear in the first quarter phase, or half full.

RACHEL
The fact that Venus passes through the full compliment of phases is evidence that Venus orbits the sun.

PAUL
Galileo understood this and used it as one of his evidences that the planets orbit the sun and not Earth.

RACHEL
We’ll have more to say about Galileo this month, since his birthday’s in February.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the 30th and 31st of January.

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.