Idaho Skies Transcript for October 20th, 21st, and 22nd

RACHEL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for October 20th, 21st, and 22nd. We’re your hosts, Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
The moon returns to the evening sky on the 22nd.

PAUL
Look for a very thin crescent barely above the west-southwest horizon at 8:15.

RACHEL
Wait, what’s that pale star I see to the left of the moon?

PAUL
Why it’s Saturn, the solar system’s sixth planet.

RACHEL
Many listeners will recall Saturn was in the news last month.

PAUL
That’s because the Cassini spacecraft ended its mission by entering the planet’s atmosphere.

RACHEL
What a sad loss of a functioning spacecraft.

PAUL
It was necessary to prevent the school bus-sized spacecraft from possibly crashing into Titan or Enceladus in the future.

RACHEL
Before the arrival of Cassini, Titan was a cloud covered world with a mysterious surface.

PAUL
And Enceladus was a tiny icy world.

RACHEL
Because of Cassini, we now know that Titan is a world with a hydrological cycle and large seas of hydrocarbons.

PAUL
And that Enceladus has a liquid ocean beneath its frozen crust that produces geysers.

RACHEL
Because of the discoveries of Cassini, the possibly of finding new lifeforms in the solar system has increased.

PAUL
And for that reason, it’s important to protect these two moons from contamination by Cassini.

RACHEL
Therefore, the Jet Propulsion Lab targeted Cassini to fly into the atmosphere of Saturn.

PAUL
There it burned up like a meteor.

RACHEL
And that was an end fit for a world-class discoverer.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the 20th, 21st, and 22nd of October.

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.