Idaho Skies Transcript for October 11th and 12th

RACHEL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for October 11th and 12th. We’re your hosts, Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
Looking for Gemini?

PAUL
Stargazers will find the Twins to the left of the moon early morning of the 11th.

RACHEL
And above the moon the next day.

PAUL
Gemini appears as two parallel rows of stars in the low east.

RACHEL
The Twins appear horizontal now that they’re rising, but they’ll appear vertical when the set in the west.

PAUL
The twins’ names are Castor and Pollux.

RACHEL
The constellation is one of the original 48 constellations described in the 2nd century by astronomer Ptolemy.

PAUL
And it’s one of the constellations of the Zodiac.

RACHEL
Being a part of the Zodiac means the sun, moon, and planets occasionally pass through Gemini.

PAUL
The constellation is home to a bright star cluster called M-35.

RACHEL
M-35 is barely visible without optical aid under really dark skies.

PAUL
And much easier to see with binoculars even in less than stellar skies. Get it, stellar skies?

RACHEL
Um, yeah. Anyways, one of the better meteor showers appears to originate from Gemini.

PAUL
The shower is called the Geminids and its peak intensity is on the night of December 13th and 14th.

RACHEL
Fortunately, the moon will appear as a thin crescent on the night of the 13th.

PAUL
Meaning stargazers will see plenty of meteors from this stellar meteor shower in 2017. Get it?

RACHEL
Anyways, stargazers could see up to 120 meteors (per hour) from this shower.

PAUL
So keep listening and we’ll remind you about this shower on Idaho Skies.

RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the 11th and 12th of October.

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.