Idaho Skies Transcript for February 10th to 12th

PAUL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for February 10th, 11th, and 12th. We’re your hosts, Paul...

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
The moon rises in a weak eclipse on the 10th.

RACHEL
By weak eclipse, we mean a penumbral eclipse.

PAUL
A penumbral eclipse is one in which the moon only passes though the lighter outer rim of Earth’s shadow.

RACHEL
It will be dark enough to see the eclipse by 7:00 PM and the eclipse ends at 7:30.

PAUL
Therefore, stargazers won’t have much time to observe this event.

RACHEL
Binoculars will definitely be helpful in seeing the subtle shading of Earth’s shadow on the upper portion of the moon.

PAUL
Stargazers will see a bright star below and left of the moon.

RAHCEL
Which star it is?

PAUL
Why it’s Regulus, the brightest star in Leo the Lion.

RACHEL
Isn’t Regulus, like Aldebaran, is called a royal star?

PAUL
Yes it is, and there are a total of four royal stars.

RACHEL
The other two are Antares and Fomalhaut.

PAUL
The ancient Persians regarded these four stars are guardians of their respective quadrants of the sky.

RACHEL
One person responsible for bringing these stars and their function to our attention was the Persian prophet Zarathustra.

PAUL
Thus Spoke Zarathustra.

RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the 10th, 11th, and 12th 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.