Idaho Skies Transcript for January 12th, 13th, and 14th

PAUL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for January 12th, 13th, and 14th. We’re your hosts, Paul...

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
Stargazers going outside early in the morning will be able to see earthshine, Mercury, and Saturn this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

RACHEL
They’ll also be able to see that Mercury is rapidly approaching the sun.

PAUL
So let’s start on Friday morning at about 7:15 AM.

RACHEL
Stargazers will find the thin crescent moon low in the southeast.

PAUL
And even lower and slight left of the moon will be two planets, Saturn and Mercury.

RACHEL
Mercury and Saturn will be nearly side by side with Mercury being the slightly brighter of the two.

PAUL
Their distance apart will be one degree, or about 1/7th the distance across a binocular’s field of view.

RACHEL
On Saturday morning, stargazers will find the Moon closer to the planets, but now Mercury will be slightly below Saturn.

PAUL
Then on Sunday, the moon will form a straight line with Mercury and Saturn.

RACHEL
Stargazers will also notice that the distance between Mercury and Saturn is significantly wider than it was two days earlier.

PAUL
The reason for the change is the dramatic decrease in the elevation Mercury over two days.

RACHEL
Two days by the way is a bit more than 2% of a Mercurian year, or more than a week of an Earth year.

PAUL
The moon will be an incredibly thin crescent on the 14th.

RACHEL
Because the moon will only be two days from new.

PAUL
That’s younger and thinner than most people have ever seen the moon.

RACHEL
So enjoy watching the Moon, Mercury, and Saturn this weekend.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the 12th, 13th, and 14th of January.

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

For Idaho Skies this is Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
Dark skies and bright stars.