Idaho skies Transcript for October 2nd and 3rd

RACHEL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for October 2nd and 3rd. We’re your hosts, Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
The moon is near two astronomical targets on the night of the 2nd.

PAUL
The first one is the star Fomalhaut, and you don’t need binoculars to see it.

RACHEL
The second is more difficult, because it’s Neptune.

PAUL
Fomalhaut is the lonely star below the moon on the 2nd.

RACHEL
It’s the brightest star of Piscis Austrinus, or the constellation of the Southern Fish.

PAUL
Star maps depict the Southern Fish as swallowing the water that Aquarius is pouring from his jar.

RACHEL
The constellation is not very bright, but its lucida, Fomalhaut is the 18th brightest star in the sky.

PAUL
Fomalhaut is a young star; astronomers in fact estimate that it’s only 200 million years old.

RACHEL
The star also has an honor related to exoplanets.

PAUL
That’s right; it’s the first star to have one of its planets photographed by telescope.

RACHEL
It takes a telescope like the Hubble to photograph this exoplanet, which astronomers have named Dagon.

PAUL
Now unlike Fomalhaut, you’ll need binoculars to see Neptune.

RACHEL
So drive to a dark sky location outside of town and aim your binoculars at the moon at around 9:00 PM.

PAUL
You’ll see a star 5 degrees, or 2/3rds of the way across your binoculars, to the moon’s left.

RACHEL
That star is just above Neptune.

PAUL
The distance between that brighter star and Neptune is about half the diameter of the moon.

RACHEL
Be patient, Neptune is faint and your eyes need time to adapt to the dark.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the 2nd and 3rd of October.

RACHEL
Be sure to read our blog at idahoskies.blogspot.com for additional information.

For Idaho Skies this is Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
Dark skies and bright stars.