Idaho Skies Transcript for May 15th and 16th

RACHEL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for May 15th and 16th. We’re your hosts, Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
The evening sky during spring is devoid of bright stars.

PAUL
In fact, the only event this week involving the moon and bright stars occurs on the 15th when the gibbous moon appears above Spica. Spica is the brightest star of Virgo the Maiden. The star is a giant binary star 250 light years away. To be visible that far away, it must be 20,000 times brighter than the sun.

RACHEL
The mythology of Virgo associates her as a goddess of either harvest or of justice. So it’s not surprising that her brightest star, Spica is named after an ear of grain. And as a goddess of justice, it’s not surprising that her neighboring constellation is Libra the Scales.

PAUL
Our listeners won’t see very many stars surrounding Spica. Although Virgo is a large constellation, it’s filled with widely-spaced dim stars. The reason why this region of the sky is so blank is that points up through the North Pole of the Milky Way galaxy. That means we’re looking though less galactic volume during spring nights.

RACHEL
On the other hand, with fewer stars comes less obscuring gas and dust. As a result, astronomers can see more galaxies in this region of the sky. For example, the Virgo Cluster is a gravitationally-bound cluster of over 1,000 galaxies. Its center lies 53 million light years away.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the 15th and 16th of May.

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.