Idaho Skies Transcript for September 10th and 11th

PAUL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for September 10th and 11th. We’re your hosts, Paul…

RACHEL
…and Rachel.

PAUL
The moon was new on the 8th.

RACHEL
That means it will can reappear as early as the 11th.

PAUL
Quick, what else if visible in the low west these evenings?

RACHEL
Why it’s Venus, the Evening Star.

PAUL
Since Venus and the moon are both traveling along the ecliptic, the moon passes close to Venus on the 11th.

RACHEL
To see this pairing between the three-day old moon and Venus, look in the low west-southwest at around 8:45 PM.

PAUL
At first, you might only notice Venus, on account of its brightness.

RACHEL
The moon will be a very thin crescent to the right of Venus.

PAUL
Binoculars might help you see the crescent moon, but please wait until after the sun has set.

RACHEL
There’s another bright star near Venus.

PAUL
But this one is located to the upper left of Venus.

RACHEL
Care to guess what this is?

PAUL
If you said Jupiter, you’d be correct.

RACHEL
The moon is so thin that binoculars can’t show much of its surface detail.

PAUL
And Venus is still too small to show a phase.

RACHEL
But the moons of Jupiter are visible though binoculars.

PAUL
Ganymede and Io will be visible on the left.

RACHEL
And Europa and Callisto on the right.

PAUL
They’ll appear as stars forming a straight line with Jupiter.

RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the 10th and 11th of September.

PAUL
Be sure to follow us on Twitter @IdahoSkies for this week’s event reminders and sky maps.

For Idaho Skies this is Paul…

RACHEL
…and Rachel.

PAUL
Dark skies and bright stars.