Idaho Skies Transcript for the week of December 16th

PAUL

Welcome to Idaho Skies for the week of December 16^th. We’re your hosts, Paul…

STEPHEN

…and Stephen.

PAUL

This week marks the beginning of the Ursid meteor shower. Haven’t hear of it? Well, not many people have. It’s a weak shower that only produces ten meteors per hour on average. Its parent body is comet Tuttle. And as this comet approaches the sun, the sun’s heat vaporizes the comet’s surface to release fine dust that can becomes meteors.

STEPHEN

Astronomers know that the Ursids can produce over 100 meteors per hour on occasion. That’s because the gravitational pull of Jupiter concentrates the meteor stream in places. When this is going to occur, astronomers can’t accurately predict. Therefore, it might be worth your while to look for this meteor shower occasionally this week. 

PAUL

Listeners observing this shower need to identify meteors originating from the north. Specifically, from the brightest star in the bowl of the Little Dipper. That star’s name is Kochab. Kochab is slightly fainter than its more famous brethren, Polaris on the other end of the Little Dipper.   

STEPHEN

On the morning of the 17^th, stargazers will find the nearly third quarter moon close to the star Regulus. That’s the brightest star in Leo the Lion. Then late on the night of the 18^th, you can use your binoculars to observe the craters long the terminator of the half full moon. So there are two lunar events that you can enjoy this week.

PAUL

That’s Idaho Skies for the week of December 16^th.  

STEPHEN

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

For Idaho Skies this is Stephen…

PAUL

…and Paul.

STEPHEN

Dark skies and bright stars.