Idaho Skies Transcript for August 31st and September 1st and 2nd

RACHEL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for August 31st and September 1st and 2nd. We’re your hosts, Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
On the 31st, observant stargazers will notice there’s a star above Venus.

PAUL
The Evening Star will still be bright, but very close to the west-southwest horizon.

RACHEL
And above it will be a white spark otherwise known as Spica.

PAUL
Spica is the brightest star of Virgo the Maiden.

RACHEL
Spica, like the rest of the stars, is drifting closer to the western horizon every day.

PAUL
That motion is the result of Earth revolving around the sun.

RACHEL
Looking down from the North Pole, Earth goes counter-clockwise around the sun.

PAUL
Which makes the stars slowly drift farther westward each night.

RACHEL
Recall that there are 360 degrees in a full circle.

PAUL
And that it takes the earth 365.24 days to orbit the sun.

RACHEL
That means that the stars appear to drift about one degree farther westward every day.

PAUL
And since there are 24 hours in a day, the stars rise and set about four minutes earlier each night.

RACHEL
So Spica will disappear in another two weeks.

PAUL
And then reappear in the eastern morning sky at the end of October.

RACHEL
Speaking of morning skies, the moon makes a close passage to the Hyades star cluster on September 2nd.

PAUL
The moon will be at the last quarter phase; therefore, this will make a great target for your binoculars.

RACHEL
You’ll need to go outside at around a little after midnight to observe this duo.

PAUL
Be sure to look along the straight edge boundary between day and night where craters are most visible.

RACHEL
And then see count how many stars you can see in the Hyades. 

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the 31st of August and the 1st and 2nd of September.

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.