Idaho Skies Transcript for February 6th and 7th

PAUL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for February 6th and 7th. We’re your hosts, Paul...

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
Can you picture Orion batting a ball over his head?

RACHEL
Well, it will be easier on the night of the 6th.

PAUL
That’s because the gibbous moon will appear above the constellation.

RACHEL
Be sure to spend a little time scanning the sword of Orion.

PAUL
His sword is the two stars below the middle of his belt.

RACHEL
The bottom star appears a little fuzzy in binoculars.

PAUL
And as a larger swirling cloud in telescopes.

RACHEL
This fuzzy cloud is the Orion Nebula, a region of glowing dust and gas some 1300 light years away.

PAUL
As we speak, stars are forming inside this cloud.

RACHEL
In fact, the Hubble Space Telescope has shown that some are surrounded by dusty donuts.

PAUL
These are the places where planets form around new stars.

RACHEL
The moon passes through the feet of Gemini the Twins on the 7th.

PAUL
This makes the night of the 7th a great time to learn how to identify this constellation.

RACHEL
Gemini is topped by two bright stars.

PAUL
However, they appear to the left shortly after the constellation has risen.

RACHEL
The brighter star is named Pollux and the slightly fainter one is Castor.

PAUL
The names come from the mythological names of the Gemini Twins.

RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the 6th and 7th of February.

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

For Idaho Skies this is Paul...

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
Dark skies and bright stars.