Idaho Skies Transcript for April 16th and 17th

RACHEL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for April 16th and 17th. We’re your hosts, Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
Last month on the 18th, the two day old moon passes very close to Venus.

PAUL
So it’s not surprising that about a month later the moon does it again.

RACHEL
On the night of the 17th, the waxing crescent moon will appear to the left of the Evening Star.

PAUL
To see them, look in the low west at around 8:45 PM.

RACHEL
Venus will be easy to see, since it’s the brightest star in the sky.

PAUL
And the moon will appear as a very thin crescent, much thinner than most people ever see.

RACHEL
The pair are so close together that both can be seen at the same time in binoculars.

PAUL
However, the moon’s thin crescent shape means you won’t be able to see any craters.

RACHEL
And of course, you won’t see Venus as anything other than a star in binoculars.

PAUL
But binoculars will help you see earthshine covering the moon’s dark portion.

RACHEL
Since both the moon and Venus are planetary bodies, they don’t emit any light of their own.

PAUL
So instead, stargazers see them by reflected sunlight.

RACHEL
In the case of earthshine, we’re seeing that sunlight after it’s reflected off of Earth.

PAUL
The moon is a very dark body; only 7% of the sunlight shining on it is reflected.

RACHEL
But Earth reflects roughly 30% of the sunlight shining on it on account of its clouds.

PAUL
And some of that 30% reflects towards the moon.

RACHEL
And we can see some of that 30% illuminating the dark portion of the moon during earthshine.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the 16th and 17th of April.

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.