Idaho Skies Transcript for March 1st and 2nd

PAUL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for March 1st and 2nd. We’re your hosts, Paul...

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
The moon appears very close to Mars and Uranus on March 1st.

RACHEL
Mars is the yellowish-orange star to the right of the thin crescent moon.

PAUL
And Uranus is the faint star two degrees below Mars.

RACHEL
For a sense of scale, two degrees is only half the distance between the moon and Mars.

PAUL
This means that the moon, Mars, and Uranus can be seen at the same time in binoculars.

RACHEL
By placing the moon on the left edge of your binocular view, Mars will appear just past half way across the view.

PAUL
And Uranus will appear one quarter of the way across the view below Mars.

RACHEL
The moon’s travels will lead stargazers to the asteroid Ceres on the 2nd.

PAUL
Ceres is a bright asteroid, but it requires a pair of binoculars to see.

RACHEL
To see the largest asteroid, aim your binoculars at the moon on the 2nd.

PAUL
Then shift your view until the moon appears on the left edge of your view.

RACHEL
One-third of the way across your view in the 4 o’clock angle is a faint star.

PAUL
That star is Ceres.

RACHEL
For confirmation, Ceres is flanked with two brighter stars to its right.

PAUL
They create a triangle pointing back towards the moon.

RACHEL
Finally, don’t forget that Comet Encke is still visible.

PAUL
Just look for a fuzzy star four degrees below Venus.

RACHEL
Or about half way down the field of view of binoculars.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the 1st and 2nd of March.

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

For Idaho Skies this is Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
Dark skies and bright stars.