Idaho Skies Transcript for October 23rd and 24th

RACHEL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for October 23rd and 24th. We’re your hosts, Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
The crescent moon resides within the center of the Milky Way on the evening of the 24th.

PAUL
This region of the sky points towards the center of our Galaxy.

RACHEL
Since this is the direction of the dense core of the Milky Way galaxy, it’s rich in stars.

PAUL
It’s also loaded with star clusters and nebulae.

RACHEL
There are two types of star clusters, galactic and globular.

PAUL
Galactic star clusters contain everywhere from hundreds to thousands of stars.

RACHEL
The stars within a single star cluster formed at roughly the same time from a single cloud of dust and gas.

PAUL
And they tend to be young, only a few hundred millions years old.

RACHEL
Globular star clusters are the polar opposite.

PAUL
They’re several times larger than galactic star clusters and can contain up to a million stars.

RACHEL
And they tend to be old, as much as ten billion years old.

PAUL
Galactic star clusters are native to the Milky Way.

RACHEL
Globular star clusters on the other hand may be the cores of small galaxies captured by the Milky Way long ago.

PAUL
So on the night of the 24th, search above and below the moon with binoculars.

RACHEL
You’re looking for hazy spots mixes within the star clouds you’ll see in this region of the sky.

PAUL
Small irregularly shaped fuzzies with a scattering of stars are galactic star clusters.

RACHEL
Whereas round and tiny spots are most likely globular star clusters.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the 23rd and 24th 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.