Idaho Skies Transcript for August 29th and 30th

PAUL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for August 29th and 30th. We’re your hosts, Paul...

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
Stargazers should be on the look out for two planets on the 29th and 30th.

RACHEL
First is Saturn. It’s the brightest star in the low south after it gets dark.

PAUL
You’ll know its Saturn because its cream color and it doesn’t twinkle like the other stars.

RACHEL
If you’re observing from dark skies, you’ll notice there’s a teapot shaped constellation to the lower left of Saturn.

PAUL
Best of all, there are several star clusters and nebulae to Saturn’s lower right.

RACHEL
So point your binoculars at Saturn and then scan the lower right side of your view for fuzzy nebulae.

PAUL
The second planet to look for is more difficult, it’s Uranus, or the next planet beyond Saturn.

RACHEL
It’s visible in binoculars, that is, if you know where to look.

PAUL
Fortunately, the moon is an excellent guide on the 30th.

RACHEL
So get out from under the lights and aim your binoculars at the waning gibbous moon after it gets dark.

PAUL
Uranus is just less than six degrees away from the moon, so you can see both the moon and Uranus together in most binoculars.

RACHEL
Begin by placing the moon at the bottom right of your binoculars, preferably in the 5 o’clock position.

PAUL
Uranus will be the brightest star just over ¾ of the way across your binocular view.

RACHEL
And it will be located at the 11 o’clock position, if you keep the moon at the 5 o’clock position.

PAUL
Uranus is an ice giant planet that’s four times wider than Earth.

RACHEL
It’s 19 times farther away from the sun than Earth, so pretty cold there.

PAUL
Astronomers have discovered 27 satellites of Uranus and have given them names from the works of William Shakespeare and Alexander Pope.

RACHEL
So the planet has moons with names like Miranda and Oberon.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the 29th and 30th of August.

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.