Idaho Skies transcript for April 28th, 29th, and 30th

PAUL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for April 28th, 29th, and 30th. We’re your hosts, Paul...

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
Hey! It’s time to look for earthshine after dark.

RACHEL
Stargazers will be able to see earthshine beginning the 28th.

PAUL
And it should remain visible until the end of the month.

RACHEL
Earthshine, for people who have never looked for it, is the faint illumination of the dark portion of the moon.

PAUL
It’s also known as ashen light.

RACHEL
Earthshine is sunlight, but it’s reflected off of Earth before it illuminates the dark portion of the moon.

PAUL
It’s bright enough to be seen without optical aid as a faint illumination on the dark portion of the moon.

RACHEL
However, a pair of binoculars will help you see it more clearly.

PAUL
In fact, with binoculars, it’s likely you’ll see some dark patches in the earthshine.

RACHEL
The dark patches are lunar maria, or the lava seas that give us the man on the moon.

PAUL
Don’t forget to aim your binoculars at Venus, or the Morning Star.

RACHEL
For the next week or two, Venus will remain close enough to the sun to show a phase in binoculars.

PAUL
After that, Venus will travel too far from the sun and Earth to show a phase except in the telescope.

RACHEL
Did you know that Jupiter and Venus are the only planets to show any kind of detail in binoculars?

PAUL
Except in Jupiter’s case, binoculars only show the (planet’s) four largest satellites.

RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the 28th, 29th, and 30th of April.

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.