Transcript: April Week 1

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

RACHEL
..Rachel..

KRIS
..And Kris

PAUL
The moon is full on the second at eleven AM.

KRIS
Since the moon is at apogee tomorrow, this month’s full moon is the smallest full moon of 2007.

RACHEL
Hey! Here’s a simple astronomy experiment that you can perform.

KRIS
Try taking a photograph of the full moon tonight. Then compare that photograph to a photograph of the full moon taken on the night of the year’s largest full moon.

PAUL
The largest full moon of 2007 is the perigean full moon of November 24th.

RACHEL
To do this experiment properly, you’ll need to use the same camera and camera lens for both photographs.

KRIS
You’ll also need to use a camera tripod and cable release.

RACHEL
The tripod and cable release will ensure the camera remains still during the exposure.

PAUL
Bracket your exposures. That means you need to take several pictures using different exposure times. That way you’re sure to get a well exposed picture.

KRIS
When you compare the size of the moons in both photographs, you’ll see a noticeable difference in their sizes.

RACHEL
By the way, the full moon in April is often called the Egg Moon.

PAUL
The moon reaches the apogee of its orbit on the third at three AM.

KRIS
The moon’s apogee, or greatest distance from earth, this month is 252 thousand, 400 miles.

RACHEL
Did you know that a stack of dollar bills tall enough to reach the moon would be worth four trillion dollars?

KRIS
That’s one third of our gross domestic product or half our national debt.

PAUL
Speaking of the moon, look for it on the morning of the third as you head to work.

RACHEL
You’ll see that the star Spica, the brightest star of Virgo, is just three degrees to the moon’s upper left.

KRIS
For reference, an angle of three degrees is an angle six times greater than the moon’s diameter.

PAUL
If you can get up early on Saturday morning, April seventh, you’ll find the moon near another star, Antares.

RACHEL
Antares is the lucida of the constellation Scorpius. Did you know that Antares means rival of Mars?

KRIS
The Greek name for their god of war is Ares. And Antares comes from anti-Ares, or rival of Mars.

RACHEL
The star Antares is the rival of Mars because like Mars, it’s a bright orange star.

KRIS
You’ll want to go out around 4:30 AM to see the moon near the rival of Mars, Antares.

PAUL
The moon is a guide again on the eighth. As the moon rises, the brilliant planet Jupiter is located above it.

RACHEL
So if you’re not certain where Jupiter is located, here’s your chance to find it.

KRIS
That’s Idaho Skies for the first week of April. Next week we’ll tell you about Astronomy Day, a pairing between the Evening Star and the Seven Sisters, and Apollo 16.

For Idaho Skies this is Kris

RACHEL
..Rachel..

PAUL
.. and Paul.