Idaho Skies Transcript for April 7th, 8th, and 9th

RACHEL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for April 7th, 8th, and 9th. We’re your hosts, Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
The moon swims pass Leo the Lion by the evening of the 8th.

PAUL
Actually, on that night the moon is below Leo’s tail.

RACHEL
Wait, Leo doesn’t have a tail.

PAUL
Well, in the ancient past, Leo had a tail that ended in a tuft.

RACHEL
Oh I see. And that tuft is the star cluster named Mel-111.

PAUL
That’s right. However today, that star cluster is the hair of Queen Berenices and not a lion’s tail.

RACHEL
Have you tried looking at Mel-111 through binoculars?

PAUL
Yes I have. The star cluster is so large that it spanned the view of my binoculars.

RACHEL
That means that the cluster isn’t packed densely with stars, like some other clusters.

PAUL
That’s because the cluster’s relatively close to the sun and because its stellar members are escaping from one another.

RACHEL
To find Mel-111, draw a line from the moon and straight up to the bright star above the moon.

PAUL
That star’s name is Denebola, by the way.

RACHEL
Then go the same distance above Denebola and shift slightly to the left, or east.

PAUL
Aim your binoculars there and you’ll see a star cluster of star that appears as an upside down “Y”.

RACHEL
And you’ll see around 40 stars scattered through out your binocular view.

PAUL
And Mel-111 is visible without binoculars, but just as a hazy spot in dark skies.

RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the 7th, 8th, and 9th of April.

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

For Idaho Skies this is Paul...

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
Dark skies and bright stars.