Idaho Skies Transcript for December 15th, 16th, and 17th

PAUL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for December 15th, 16th, and 17th. We’re your hosts, Paul...

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
On December 15th 1612, German astronomer Simon Marius became the first person to observe Andromeda galaxy through a telescope.

RACHEL
Through his telescope, Marius discovered that the fuzzy spot grew brighter towards its center.

PAUL
He thought it was best described as looking like a candle shining through horn.

RACHEL
Little did Marius realize he was observing a great island of stars.

PAUL
In fact, it wasn’t until 1864 that a spectroscope was able to detect that the Andromeda nebula actually emitted light like a star and not a gas.

RACHEL
This was the clue astronomers needed to understand that Andromeda was actually a collection of stars so far away that they couldn’t be seen individually.

PAUL
One hundred years ago, astronomers began arguing whether or not Andromeda was what they called an island universe.

RACHEL
Being an island universe meant it wasn’t a star cluster within our galaxy, but actually a distant city of stars like the Milky Way.

PAUL
And by 1925, astronomers had the measurements they needed to prove that Andromeda was so far away that it had to be a galaxy like our own Milky Way.

RACHEL
And you can see this galaxy with binoculars.

PAUL
At 7:50 PM, point your binoculars straight up.

RACHEL
Just two degrees lower in the south will appear an oblong and fuzzy cloud.

PAUL
For a sense of scale, binoculars have a field of view of 7.5 degrees.

RACHEL
The fuzzy cloud is the Andromeda Galaxy, which is 2.5 million light years away.

PAUL
If you make this observation outside of town, you can see the galaxy with just your eyes.

RACHEL
And it you can’t make the observation exactly at 7:50 on the 15th, don’t worry.

PAUL
That’s because Andromeda will just appear slightly more towards the west if you look later.

RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the 15th, 16th, and 17th of December.

PAUL
Be sure to follow us on Twitter @IdahoSkies for this week’s event reminders and sky maps.

For Idaho Skies this is Paul...

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
Dark skies and bright stars.