Idaho Skies Transcript for August 20th and 21st

RACHEL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for August 20th and 21st. We’re your hosts, Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
After dark, the waxing gibbous moon is perched to the upper right of a teapot.

PAUL
That teapot is the constellation of Sagittarius the Archer.

RACHEL
Sagittarius is more than just eight stars forming a teapot shape, but those eight are the easiest part to recognize.

PAUL
The moon’s glare will make it difficult to see, but the Milky Way looks like steam coming out of the teapot’s spout.

RACHEL
And that steam is passing up and behind the moon.

PAUL
The pale yellow star just to the moon’s left is Saturn, the most distant planet known to ancient cultures.

RACHEL
If you have a spotting scope or even small telescope, you can get a glimpse of Saturn’s magnificent rings.

PAUL
Your telescope will need a magnification of at least 25 power, however.

RACHEL
While they can’t help you with Saturn, binoculars will show you the star clusters and nebulae near the moon.

PAUL
So in dark skies, scan the region to the moon’s upper left for small fuzzy clouds.

RACHEL
Some of them will even contain a sprinkle of stars.

PAUL
Look especially for the globular star cluster, M-22.

RACHEL
To find it, draw a line from the bottom of the moon to Saturn.

PAUL
Then extend that line two times farther.

RACHEL
In your binoculars, you’re looking for a perfectly circular fuzzy spot.

PAUL
That hazy spot is actually a city of over 100,000 stars spanning 100 light years across.

RACHEL
Like other globular clusters, it’s old. Some 12 billion years old in fact.

PAUL
And its one of the solar system’s closest globular clusters at only 11,000 light years away.

RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the 20th and 21st of August.

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.