Friday, February 7, 2020

Idaho Skies Transcript for the week of February 10th


PAUL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for the week of February 10th. We’re your hosts, Paul…

STEPHEN
…and Stephen.

PAUL
Tiny Mercury makes an appearance this week. Few people have seen this elusive planet because it never appears very far above the horizon. This week however, the planet reaches its highest elevation above the western horizon. The planet can be quite bright, so it’s not difficult to see, if you know where to look.   

STEPHEN
Use Venus as your guide. Go outside at 7:00 PM and look for Venus, or the Evening Star. It’s the brightest object in the west-southwest, so you can’t miss it. Mercury, which is closer to the sun, is located to the lower right of Venus. Mercury is the only object appearing below Venus and at a point due west above the horizon.  

PAUL
Mercury is a small rocky world with a diameter of 3,000 miles. That makes it a bit larger than the moon and less than half the size of the Earth. Without an atmosphere, the surface of Mercury is pummeled with meteoroids. Its surface is so cratered than it easy to mistake Mercury for the moon. 

STEPHEN
Mercury was first visited by the Mariner 10 spacecraft in 1974. The 1,000-pound spacecraft didn’t carry enough propellant to slow down. That means Mariner 10 flew past Mercury collecting data and pictures. However, Mariner 10 was in orbit around the sun, so the spacecraft was able to visit Mercury two additional times.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the week of February 10th.  

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.

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