Idaho Skies Transcript for May 17th, 18th, and 19th

PAUL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for May 17th, 18th, and 19th. We’re your hosts, Paul...

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

BRING DOWN MUSIC
PAUL
On our last show, we mentioned that there was a cluster of galaxies residing in Virgo.
   
RACHEL
Galaxy clusters consist of hundreds to over a thousand galaxies bound together by their mutual gravity. The combined mass of all the stars inside a galaxy cluster can equal one quadrillion times the mass of our sun. From one end to the other, they can stretch tens of millions of light years across.
 
PAUL
Greater than the mass of all the stars in all the galaxies of a galaxy cluster is the gas trapped between them. Galaxy clusters have almost ten times as much gas than stars. Massive black holes inside the centers of the galaxies heat the gas until it emits x-rays.

RACHEL
Did you know that galaxy clusters are not the largest structures in the universe? Galaxy clusters combine with others to create superclusters. Let’s start with our puny little Milky Way galaxy. It’s only 100,000 light years across. It belongs to the Local Group of 54 galaxies, including the Andromeda Galaxy.

PAUL
Our Local Group is an outlying member of the Virgo Cluster. The Virgo Cluster on the other hand is just but a part of the Laniakea Supercluster. Our Local Group of 54 galaxies only spans 2% of the Laniakea Supercluster’s 500 million light year diameter. Astronomers estimate that there are 100,000 galaxies in the Laniakea Supercluster. 

RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the 17th, 18th, and 19th of May.

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.

RACHEL
Dark skies and bright stars.