Idaho Skies Transcript for March 6th and 7th

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

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
The bright star Sirius is due south tonight at 8:30 PM.

RACHEL
Sirius is the brightest star in the sky and it’s white in color.

PAUL
Why white?

RACHEL
Good question. Let’s talk about star colors.

PAUL
Most listeners are familiar with the fact that cold flames are red and hotter ones are yellow.

RACHEL
The same is true with stars, but there are complications.

PAUL
First of all, objects with a temperature emit all the colors of the rainbow.

RACHEL
And they also emit colors we can’t see, like infrared and ultraviolet.

PAUL
The peak color that warm objects emit is based on its temperature.

RACHEL
That means cold objects like planets and failed stars emit most brightly in the infrared light.

PAUL
Warmer objects like cool stars emit most brightly in the red end of the electromagnetic spectrum.

RACHEL
While stars cooler than the sun emit most brightly in the orange.

PAUL
Hot objects like the sun emit most light between yellow and green.

RACHEL
The hottest stars emit the most of their light at the blue end of the spectrum.

PAUL
And even hotter objects like white dwarfs and neutron stars are brightest in ultraviolet and even x-rays.

RACHEL
But a star’s color is not solely based on the part of the spectrum that it emits the most light.

PAUL
So listen to the next Idaho Skies to learn about two complicating factors affecting star color.
 
RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the 6th and 7th of March.

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.