Idaho Skies Transcript for January 24th and 25th

PAUL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for January 24th and 25th. We’re your hosts, Paul...

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
The moon reaches first quarter on the 24th.

RACHEL
So take a peek at the moon after dark.

PAUL
Before using your binoculars though, use just your eyes and look for a dark oval on the right edge of the moon.

RACHEL
This is Mare Crisium, or the Sea of Crises.

PAUL
This lunar sea is 345 miles across.

RACHEL
That’s 40 miles wider than Idaho but 120 miles shorter than Idaho is tall.

PAUL
Lunar seas like the Sea of Crises are lava-filled impact basins.

RACHEL
The impact creating this basin occurred between 3.9 and 4.5 billion years ago.

PAUL
Layers of molten rock, perhaps even miles thick, slowly filled with impact basin with sheets of lava.

RACHEL
Since this occurred after most planet-forming bodies had been swept up by the planets, there are very few large craters in the Sea of Crises.

PAUL
The Sea of Crises received its official name from Jesuit astronomer Giovanni Riccioli in 1651.

RACHEL
But at other times, this lunar sea was called the Caspian Sea and Brittania.

PAUL
There’s a crashed spacecraft in the Sea of Crises and it happened on the same day that the Apollo 11 astronauts set foot on the moon.

RACHEL
The Soviet Union sent the unmanned Luna 15 spacecraft to the moon in the hopes of returning a moon sample before the Americans.

PAUL
Unbeknownst to Soviet scientists and engineers, there was a mountain between Luna 15 and its landing site.

RACHEL
So as the Luna 15 was preparing to land, it ran head on into the side of a mountain.

PAUL
And turned into an expanding pile of expensive debris.

RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the 24th and 25th of January.

PAUL
Be sure to read our blog for additional information. It’s at idahoskies.blogspot.com.

For Idaho Skies this is Paul...

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
Dark skies and bright stars.