Transcript: 18 - 24 April

PAUL

Welcome to Idaho Skies on Radio Boise. This is the second week of April. We’re your hosts, Paul..

RACHEL

..Rachel..

KRIS

..And Kris

PAUL

We have two space anniversaries and a full moon this week.

RACHEL

The 12th is the anniversary of humanity’s first, brief step into the vastness of space with the launch of Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.

KRIS

Yuri’s spacecraft was launched from a secret Soviet space port on April 12th 1961. However, his launch was not announced until 25 minutes later, when the Soviets could verify he was actually orbiting the earth.

PAUL

His Vostok 1 spacecraft made a single orbit around the earth before firing its retro rocket and returning to earth.

KRIS

Since Vostok’s recovery parachute wasn’t very large, Yuri ejected from his spacecraft before it landed.

RACHEL

There were a total of six Vostok flights, and one of them carried the first woman into space. Another 20 years passed before the second woman traveled into space.

KRIS

Yuri never flew into space again. This hero of the Soviet Union died March 1968 in a jet crash while training for his second flight.

PAUL

The world honors Gagarin’s accomplishment on the 12th with a celebration called Yuri's Night.

RACHEL

You can find more information about Yuri’s Night at its website, www.yurisnight.net

PAUL

Can you believe it, the Space Shuttle is 25 years old!

KRIS

On April 12th, 1981, the first Space Shuttle was launched into space.

RACHEL

Onboard the Columbia were astronauts John Young and Bob Crippen.

KRIS

This was the first launch for Crippen but the fourth for Young.

RACHEL

While the Space Shuttle will never be as productive as promised, it has carried important payloads like the Hubble Space Telescope and the Galileo spacecraft.

PAUL

The moon is full at noon on the 13TH. The full moon of April is often called the Grass or Egg Moon.

KRIS

Tonight if you look at the full moon with your binoculars, your eyes will be overwhelmed by bright moon light.

PAUL

But remember, moonlight is just reflected sunlight.

RACHEL

And although it appears very bright, the moon is very dark. Only 7% of the sunlight shining on it is reflected from the surface.

KRIS

That makes its one of the poorest reflectors in the solar system and as dark as asphalt.

RACHEL

The moon appears bright only because it’s relatively large in our sky and very close. If instead of the moon, a brighter Saturnian satellite like Enceladus orbited earth, we’d be blinded looking at the moon.

PAUL

On the night of the 17TH, Mars passes less than 1 degree from the star cluster, M-35.

RACHEL

M-35 is a star cluster in the constellation Gemini. It’s a nice star cluster for your binoculars.

KRIS

Mars will be the pale orange star one-third of the way above the western horizon.

RACHEL

Put your binoculars on Mars and you’ll find M-35 just to the lower left of Mars. Both will easily fit within the field of view of your binoculars.

KRIS

You’ll need dark skies to see M-35 well, so go to a city park to look for this star cluster.

PAUL

That’s Idaho Skies for the second week of April. Join us next week when we’ll tell you when to look for April’s meteor shower. For Idaho Skies this is Paul.

KRIS

..Kris..

RACHEL

.. and Rachel.