Idaho Skies Transcript for September 5th and 6th

PAUL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for September 5th and 6th. We’re your hosts, Paul…

RACHEL
…and Rachel.

PAUL
Morning stargazers will find the Beehive star cluster near the moon on the 6th.

RACHEL
The Beehive is the best astronomical object in Cancer the Crab.

PAUL
And it’s one of Earth’s closest open star clusters.

RACHEL
The crab is a dim constellation and its two center stars are its most noticeable part.

PAUL
Primarily because of their proximity to each other.

RACHEL
But just barely noticeable, you’ll need to leave the city for dark country skies to see these stars.

PAUL
The northern star of this stellar pair is named Asellus Borealis.

RACHEL
And the southern is named Asellus Australis.

PAUL
Asellus by the way means donkey colt in Latin.

RACHEL
And the two stars represented two donkeys feeding at a manager between them.

PAUL
The manager in this case, was a small nebulous patch that the ancients saw between the two stars.

RACHEL
Galileo was the first to turn an astronomical telescope to this hazy spot in 1609.

PAUL
And he was surprised to discover that it consisted on some 40 stars.

RACHEL
To find the Beehive star cluster yourself, aim your binoculars at the moon on the morning of the 6th.

PAUL
Which will be a very thin crescent in the low east at 5:00 AM.

RACHEL
Then shift your binoculars towards the lower left of the moon until it just disappears from the binocular view.

PAUL
The Beehive will pop into view in the 7 o’clock position.

RACHEL
Be sure to count the number of stars you can see.

PAUL
Can you see 40 stars like Galileo?

RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the 5th and 6th 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.