Star Gazing for May 29th to June 4th

Regulus is the bright star to the moon's right on the night of May 31st

Jupiter is the bright yellowish star to the moon's right. It won't twinkle like the white spark, Spica.

Remember that most 7X50 binoculars have a field of view of 7.5 degrees. You're looking for the second star above Venus and that it's the third brightest star in your field of view.

Idaho Skies Transcript for June 2nd, 3rd, and 4th

RACHEL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for June 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. We’re your hosts, Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
Venus, the Morning Star this month, reaches greatest western elongation on the 3rd.

PAUL
Greatest elongation means the planet appears at is at its greatest angular distance from the sun.

RACHEL
It also means the position of Venus won’t appear to change significantly for the next three weeks.

PAUL
Venus isn't the only planet boldly standing out this week.

RACHEL
Because stargazers will find a bright star with pale yellow tint next to the moon on the night of the 3rd.

PAUL
The star is Jupiter, the mightiest planet in the solar system.

RACHEL
Jupiter is mighty; it has a diameter 11 times larger than Earth.

PAUL
And a mass over 300 times greater.

RACHEL
I find a mass 300 times greater than Earth's surprisingly low.

PAUL
How do you mean?

RACHEL
Well, a diameter 11 times greater than Earth's means a volume over 1,200 times greater than Earth's.

PAUL
Oh, and you're surprised the mass is only 300 times greater than Earth's and not 1,200 times greater.

RACHEL
That's right. Jupiter seems to be awfully light for such a large planet.

PAUL
The reason why is that Jupiter is mostly hydrogen and helium and not silicate rock and iron like Earth.

RACHEL
I see, so it's just a matter of different compositions between Jupiter and Earth.

PAUL
Yep. Jupiter is more like the sun than terrestrial planets like Earth.

RACHEL
Which is why Jupiter is called a failed star.

PAUL
That's right. If it had ten times more mass, Jupiter would fuse hydrogen and shine like a second star.

RACHEL
Then Earth would experience roughly six months of nights where it wasn’t truly dark.

PAUL
And such may be the case on some of the exoplanets astronomers have discovered.

RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th of June.

PAUL
Be sure to read our blog for additional information. It’s at idahoskies.blogspot.com.

For Idaho Skies this is Paul...

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
Dark skies and bright stars.

Idaho Skies Transcript for May 31st and June 1st

PAUL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for May 31st and June 1st. We’re your hosts, Paul...

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
On the 31st, the moon passes below Leo the Lion.

RACHEL
That means the bright star to the moon’s right is Regulus, the brightest star in Leo.

PAUL
Regulus is called Alpha Leonis by astronomers on account that it’s Leo’s brightest star.

RACHEL
It's a star nearly four times more massive than the sun.

PAUL
That extra mass puts the star’s hydrogen core under more heat and pressure than is found in the sun's core.

RACHEL
Since heat and pressure are the two factors driving fusion, Regulus lives like a rock star and is 288 times brighter than the sun.

PAUL
That's why it appears so bright when it's 79 light years away.

RACHEL
From a point at Regulus, our puny sun is invisible.

PAUL
In fact, a stargazer would need at least a pair of binoculars to see it.

RACHEL
Hey! Can you see the backwards question mark of stars above Regulus?

PAUL
They represent the back of the head and mane of Leo.

RACHEL
It might help you see Leo’s mane if you knew that you’re looking at the side of Leo.

PAUL
And that Leo is sitting down like the Sphinx of Egypt.

RACHEL
Stargazers will find the moon at the first quarter phase on the night of the 1st.

PAUL
First quarter, or when the moon appears half full, is among the best phases to go moon watching.

RACHEL
So get your binoculars out and scan along the lunar terminator or boundary between day and night.

PAUL
With steady binoculars, you'll be able to count dozens of craters.

RACHEL
The largest crater stargazers can see is named Clavius and it’s visible in the extreme south of the moon.

PAUL
The crater is 137 miles across, or about the distance between Nampa and Twin Falls.

RACHEL
It’s was also the location of the moon base on 2001: A Space Odyssey.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the 31st of May and 1st of June.

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

For Idaho Skies this is Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
Dark skies and bright stars.

Idaho Skies Transcript for May 29th and 30th

RACHEL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for May 29th and 30th. We’re your hosts, Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
The moon passes through Cancer the Crab on the 29th.

PAUL
Unfortunately, Cancer is a fairly faint constellation.

RACHEL
In fact, from town the constellation is all but invisible.

PAUL
And from the country, it's not much more visible.

RACHEL
What stands out the most about Cancer in dark skies are two stars flanking a small fuzzy spot.

PAUL
But don’t let the fuzzy nature of that spot fool you.

RACHEL
It’s actually the most impressive sight in Cancer, the Beehive star cluster.

PAUL
And it's easy to find on the 29th because the moon passes within four degrees of it.

RACHEL
That's so close that you'll be able to both the moon and the Beehive together in binoculars.

PAUL
So on the 29th aim your binoculars at the moon...

RACHEL
...and then shift them towards the right.

PAUL
Just as the moon leaves the lower left of the binoculars, you’ll find a tight bundle of stars in the middle of your binoculars.

RACHEL
Stargazers will want to steady their binoculars on something solid...

PAUL
...like a car, tree, or fencepost.

RACHEL
That's because with a steady view, eyes can detect fainter stars.

PAUL
Since star clusters contain more faint stars than bright stars, there'll be more stars to fill the cluster if you can see the fainter stars.

RACHEL
With steady binoculars and reasonably dark skies, stargazers may be able to count around 24 stars in this cluster.

PAUL
And what stargazers see is similar to what Galileo saw in 1609 with his telescope.

RACHEL
The cluster was actually one of the first astronomical objects Galileo saw with the newly invented telescope.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the 29th and 30th of May.

RACHEL
Be sure to read our blog at idahoskies.blogspot.com for additional information.

For Idaho Skies this is Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
Dark skies and bright stars.

Waning Crescent Moon

I caught a glimpse of the waning crescent moon as I headed to work this morning.

Idaho Skies Transcript for May 26th, 27th, and 28th

PAUL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for May 26th, 27th, and 28th. We’re your hosts, Paul…

RACHEL
…and Rachel.

BRING DOWN MUSIC

PAUL
Sally Ride, the first American woman to travel into space, was born on May 26th, 1951.

RACHEL
Before her flight in the Space Shuttle, only two other women had traveled into space.

PAUL
They were Valentina Tereshkova…

RACHEL
…and Svetlana Savitskaya.

PAUL
Both were Russians, by the way.

RACHEL
And Valentina’s flight was probably just a political stunt by the Soviet Union to beat the United States in space firsts.

PAUL
Sally was selected as a scientist astronaut in 1978.

RACHEL
Her first of two flights occurred when she spent six days onboard the Challenger in June 1983.

PAUL
It was the 7th Space Shuttle flight and the mission deployed two communication satellites.

RACHEL
Sally was one of the Challenger’s mission specialists.

PAUL
And as such, she used the Shuttle’s robotic arm to retrieve experiments deployed from the Shuttle’s cargo bay.

RACHEL
Unfortunately, Sally died in 2012 at an all too young age.

PAUL
Hey stargazers, the moon will be nearly three days old on the 27th.

RACHEL
So seeing it on the evening of the 27th won’t set a record for its earliest sighting.

PAUL
Still, the thin crescent moon will be an attractive sight, especially through binoculars.

RACHEL
Stargazers should also start looking for earthshine illuminating the dark portion of the moon.

FADE IN MUSIC

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the 26th, 27th, and 28th of May.

RACHEL
Be sure to follow us on Twitter at Idaho Skies for this week’s event reminders and sky maps.

For Idaho Skies this is Rachel…

PAUL
…and Paul.

RACHEL
Dark skies and bright stars.

Idaho Skies Transcript for May 24th and 25th

RACHEL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for May 24th and 25th. We’re your hosts, Rachel…

PAUL
…and Paul.

BRING DOWN MUSIC

RACHEL
Hey! It’s Towel Day on the 25th!

PAUL
Towel Day? That sounds like something from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

RACHEL
It is. On May 25th, 1971, Douglas Adams was traveling through Innsbruck, Austria.

PAUL
And there he got the idea to write a book about hitchhiking through the Milky Way galaxy.

RACHEL
Why a hitchhiking story?

PAUL
Because he was carrying a copy of Ken Welsh’s Hitchhiker’s Guide to Europe.

RACHEL
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a classic piece of literature with a certain category of human beings.

PAUL
To the rest of the human population, it’s probably best described as a cult classic.

RACHEL
The novel describes the adventures of one human of the British persuasion, Arthur Dent and his friend, Ford Prefect.

PAUL
By the way, Ford Prefect is from the planet Betelgeuse 5.

RACHEL
One of the pieces of advice given by the Hitchhiker’s Guide is to always know where you towel is.

PAUL
Adams felt that a well organized person would always know where his towel was.

RACHEL
So according to the Guide, having a towel indicates that the hitchhiker must also be in possession of a multitude of other useful items, like a spacesuit.

PAUL
And therefore non-hitchhikers are more likely to lend the hitchhiker anything that he or she may have inadvertently lost.

RACHEL
Like a spacesuit.

PAUL
So don’t forget you towel.

RACHEL
And Don’t Panic.

FADE IN MUSIC

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the 24th and 25th 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.