Idaho Skies Transcript for March 8th and 9th

RACHEL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for March 8th and 9th. We’re your hosts, Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
On the last Idaho Skies, we talked about how a star’s brightest color depends on its temperature.

PAUL
This leads many people to think that cool stars are always red and hot ones are always blue.

RACHEL
Unfortunately, it’s more complicated for at least two reasons.

PAUL
First, while cool stars emit lots of red light, they also emit some infrared and orange light.

RACHEL
Combining all the colors together, cool stars definitely appear red.

PAUL
In the case of hot stars, they emit mostly blue light.

RACHEL
But hot stars also emit ultraviolet, green, yellow, and even some orange and red light.

PAUL
That means for the most part, no hot stars appear blue-colored.

RACHEL
Instead, they look mostly white since they emit all the colors of the rainbow.

PAUL
But even cool stars can appear as white points of light in the night sky.

RACHEL
That’s because of the second complicating factor, our color receptors.

PAUL
The color receptors in our retina are called cones.

RACHEL
Our black and white receptors, called rods, are more sensitive to light than cones.

PAUL
That means the rods are more sensitive to the faint light of stars.

RACHEL
And as a result, we’re more likely to perceive stars in just black and white rather than in color.

PAUL
However, binoculars and telescopes gather more light than our eyes and make star appear brighter.

RACHEL
And that can help make star colors more apparent.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the 8th and 9th of March.

RACHEL
Be sure to read our blog for additional information. It’s at idahoskies.blogspot.com.

For Idaho Skies this is Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
Dark skies and bright stars.