Idaho Skies Transcript for November 13th and 14th

RACHEL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for November 13th and 14th. We’re your hosts, Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
Venus and Jupiter are in the process of switching places.

PAUL
Venus has been the Morning Star for months now.

RACHEL
Jupiter was an evening object last summer.

PAUL
At the end of summer, Jupiter approached too close to the sun for Idahoans to see.

RACHEL
Actually, the fault was with Earth, and not in our stars.

PAUL
That’s because Earth travels much faster as it orbits the sun.

RACHEL
So from our perspective, we left Jupiter in the dust.

PAUL
Or at least the sun’s glare.

RACHEL
Now that Jupiter has rounded the sun, it’s reappeared in our morning sky.

PAUL
Again, it’s really due to Earth’s orbital speed being so fast that we’re gaining on Jupiter again.

RACHEL
Since Venus orbits the sun faster than Earth, we can’t keep up.

PAUL
Which makes Venus slowly sink lower and lower in our morning sky.

RACHEL
On the morning of the 13th you’ll see Jupiter just a third of a degree away from Venus.

PAUL
One third of a degree is less than the apparent diameter of the moon.

RACHEL
Or less than 1/20th of a binoculars’ field of view.

PAUL
Since they’re so close, how can a stargazer tell one apart from the other?

RACHEL
Easy, Venus will appear much brighter than Jupiter.

PAUL
Keep an eye on this pair; they’re moving rapidly relative to each other.

RACHEL
That means each morning you’ll easily see the increasing distance between these two planets.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the 13th and 14th of November.

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.