Transcript: August Week 5

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

RACHEL
..Rachel..

KRIS
..And Kris

PAUL
This week we’re recording at Bruneau Dunes State Park

AUDIENCE
CHEERS

The first American spacecraft to visit another planet was launched on August 27, 1962.

KRIS
That spacecraft, Mariner 2, was a back up for Mariner 1.

RACHEL
And that was a good thing. Soon after launch, the booster rocket for Mariner 1 began to veer off course and had to be destroyed.

KRIS
Mariner 2 weighed 444 pounds, stood 10 feet tall, and was 16 feet wide across its solar array.

PAUL
For unknown reasons one of the arrays failed on its approach to its target, Venus.

RACHEL
Fortunately sunlight is more intense near Venus. So its one remaining solar array generated enough electricity for the spacecraft.

KRIS
After a 3-1/2 month flight, Mariner 2 passed nearly 22 thousand miles from Venus.

RACHEL
Mariner 2 was a flyby spacecraft. So it didn’t land on or go into orbit around Venus.

KRIS
The spacecraft collected data on the atmosphere, radiation, and magnetic field of Venus.

RACHEL
Mariner 2 confirmed that Venus was one hot planet. It also discovered that Venus had no magnetic field or trapped belts of radiation.

KRIS
Mariner 2 continued to explore the interplanetary medium until it failed on January 3, 1963.

RACHEL
Mariner 2 is still out there, flying circles around the sun.

PAUL
The moon is full on the 28th.

KRIS
What makes this full moon so great is that is passes nearly though the center of earth’s shadow.

RACHEL
In other words, we’re going to see a total lunar eclipse this month.

KRIS
The moon will begin to darken around 2:30 AM on the 28th.

RACHEL
The maximum eclipse occurs at 4:30 and it ends at 6:30 AM.

PAUL
The moon could glow a brilliant coppery orange at maximum eclipse.

KRIS
Or if the earth’s atmosphere is too cloudy or hazy, the full moon could turn dark charcoal gray and nearly fade from sight.

RACHEL
If you have a telephoto lens, cable release, and a camera tripod, you should try photographing the eclipse.

KRIS
You’ll need to bracket your exposures. So take several pictures with different exposure settings.

RACHEL
Photographing an eclipse is not a time to be efficient with film. So get lots of exposures and change the settings and focus each time.

PAUL
The solar system got a whole lot bigger 15 years ago on the 30th.

KRIS
It was on August 30, 1992 that David Jewitt and Jane Luu discovered the first Kuiper Belt Object.

RACHEL
Object 1992 QB1 orbits the sun at almost twice the distance of Pluto.

KRIS
At such a great distance, a year on QB1 is 290 years long.

RACHEL
Kuiper Belt Objects like QB1 where ejected into the deep freeze of our solar system by the giant gas planets during the formation of the solar system.

PAUL
And there they remain until their orbits are perturbed by gravity or a collision.

KRIS
If a Kuiper Belt Object is ejected into the inner solar system it will become a comet as the sun melts it away.

RACHEL
It turns out though that QB1 was not the first Kuiper Belt Object to be discovered.

KRIS
That honor goes to Pluto which was discovered in 1930.

RACHEL
By the way, astronomers estimate that QB1 is only 100 miles across.

KRIS
That’s Idaho Skies for the last week of August. Join us next month for the space and astronomy news for Idaho and beyond. For Idaho Skies this is Kris…

PAUL
..Paul..

RACHEL
.. and Rachel.

Our sound engineer this month was Paul Molinari.

Idaho Skies is a production of NearSys and Boise Community Radio.

AUDIENCE
Dark skies and bright stars.

PAUL
Now here’s Bob Niemeyer to tell us about the Bruneau Dunes State Park.

BOB
Bruneau Dunes Observatory offers the opportunity for the general public to view the heavens through Idaho’s largest astronomical telescope. We’re open every Friday and Saturday night from March through November. Call the park at 366-7919 for times as they vary with sunset. We hope to see you here.

Transcript: August Week 4

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

RACHEL
..Rachel..

KRIS
..And Kris

PAUL
The moon reaches the perfect phase, first quarter, on the 20th.

RACHEL
It’s a great time to go moon watching with your telescope or binoculars.

KRIS
You’ll see the most lunar detail if you look along the boundary between day and night.

RACHEL
Astronomers call that boundary the terminator.

KRIS
At the terminator the shadows are long because the sun is just beginning to rise.

PAUL
Hey! I’m looking at the moon now and I see little points of light just inside the dark of the moon!

RACHEL
Those pin points of light are mountain peaks.

KRIS
These mountain tops are so high that the sun is beginning to rise over them while the mountain bottom is still in darkness.

PAUL
The moon and Antares put on a show on the night of the 21st.

RACHEL
Look low in the south and you’ll find the red giant star Antares two degrees to the upper right of the moon.

KRIS
Even higher is the more brilliant planet Jupiter.

RACHEL
All three should just fit within the field of view of your binoculars.

KRIS
Look carefully at Jupiter with your binoculars and you may see tiny stars next to the planet.

PAUL
You’ll certainly see them in a small telescope with a magnification as small as 15 power.

RACHEL
Remember that last week marked the 130th anniversary of the discovery of the satellites of Mars.

KRIS
Well the four Jovian satellites you can see were discovered 268 years earlier in 1609.

RACHEL
Their discoverer was none other than Galileo.

PAUL
Didn’t Galileo invent the telescope?

KRIS
Actually the telescope’s inventor was either Zacharias Janssen or Hans Lippershey.

RACHEL
However Galileo was one of the first people to turn the newly invented telescopes to the heavens.

KRIS
And he was the first to write about his discoveries and their implications.

RACHEL
For instance, he discovered that the Milky Way was not a cloud but actually an uncountable number of faint stars.

KRIS
Galileo’s discovery of satellites in orbit around Jupiter showed that satellites could orbit another planet without being left behind as the planet orbited the earth or sun.

RACHEL
He saw that Venus ran through an entire sequence of phases. And that was proof that Venus orbited the sun and not the earth as was believed by most astronomers at the time.

KRIS
Speaking of Venus, it’s one of our topics next week.

RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the fourth week of August. Next week we’ll tell you about the great total eclipse in store for Idaho.

For Idaho Skies this is Rachel…

KRIS
..Kris..

PAUL
.. and Paul.

Transcript: August Week 3

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

RACHEL
..Rachel..

KRIS
..And Kris

PAUL
Remember Vostok 3 from last week?

KRIS
Well Vostok 4 was launched one day later on August 12th 1962.

RACHEL
Ukrainian cosmonaut Popovich was onboard Vostok 4.

KRIS
After his close passage to Vostok 3, Popovich went on to make earth observations.

PAUL
One of those observations was of thunderstorms in the Gulf of Mexico.

RACHEL
Like a careful observer, Popovich reported his observation to the ground.

KRIS
And ground control mistook his communication as a request to return to earth because of space sickness.

RACHEL
You see, the second cosmonaut, Titov, suffered from severe space sickness on his flight.

KRIS
To prevent the United States from discovering this fact, Popovich was given the code word, “observing thunderstorms” to mean I’m suffering from space sickness and need to return to earth ASAP.

RACHEL
Popovich only stayed in orbit for three days before ground control brought him back for his space sickness.

KRIS
His Vostok 4 returned to earth a few minutes after Vostok 3.

PAUL
The second moon of Mars was discovered by Asaph Hall 130 years ago on the 17th.

RACHEL
That was six days after his discovery of Deimos, the first discovered moon of Mars.

KRIS
This larger and innermost moon of Mars is named Phobos which means fear.

PAUL
The two satellites of Mars are captured asteroids. So they did not form together with Mars.

RACHEL
Both have been battered over time and are no longer spherical in shape. Not only are they battered, they’re also tiny.

KRIS
Phobos measures eight miles across at its widest and Deimos only five.

RACHEL
Phobos is so close to Mars that it orbits the planet in just a third of a day.

KRIS
That’s so quick that Phobos rises in the west and sets in the east. Or backwards from our own moon.

RACHEL
Phobos orbits closer to Mars than any other natural satellite orbits its planet.

KRIS
Because of this, it’s been suggested that Phobos would make a great outpost for astronauts going to and leaving Mars.

RACHEL
But going for a walk on Phobos could be difficult.

KRIS
With very little surface gravity, it will be nearly impossible to get enough traction on its surface to stand up and walk.

RACHEL
Also its surface is coated in a layer of dust over 300 feet thick.

KRIS
Because of the satellite’s irregular shape and the tidal forces of Mars, the surface gravity on Phobos can vary by 400%!

RACHEL
In other words, you would be four times heavier at some places of Phobos than on others.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the third week of August.
Join us next week to hear about mountains above the lunar terminator and Galileo’s use of the telescope.

For Idaho Skies this is Paul…

RACHEL
..Rachel..

KRIS.. and Kris.

Transcript: August Week 3

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

RACHEL
..Rachel..

KRIS
..And Kris

PAUL
Remember Vostok 3 from last week?

KRIS
Well Vostok 4 was launched one day later on August 12th 1962.

RACHEL
Ukrainian cosmonaut Popovich was onboard Vostok 4.

KRIS
After his close passage to Vostok 3, Popovich went on to make earth observations.

PAUL
One of those observations was of thunderstorms in the Gulf of Mexico.

RACHEL
Like a careful observer, Popovich reported his observation to the ground.

KRIS
And ground control mistook his communication as a request to return to earth because of space sickness.

RACHEL
You see, the second cosmonaut, Titov, suffered from severe space sickness on his flight.

KRIS
To prevent the United States from discovering this fact, Popovich was given the code word, “observing thunderstorms” to mean I’m suffering from space sickness and need to return to earth ASAP.

RACHEL
Popovich only stayed in orbit for three days before ground control brought him back for his space sickness.

KRIS
His Vostok 4 returned to earth a few minutes after Vostok 3.

PAUL
The second moon of Mars was discovered by Asaph Hall 130 years ago on the 17th.

RACHEL
That was six days after his discovery of Deimos, the first discovered moon of Mars.

KRIS
This larger and innermost moon of Mars is named Phobos which means fear.

PAUL
The two satellites of Mars are captured asteroids. So they did not form together with Mars.

RACHEL
Both have been battered over time and are no longer spherical in shape. Not only are they battered, they’re also tiny.

KRIS
Phobos measures eight miles across at its widest and Deimos only five.

RACHEL
Phobos is so close to Mars that it orbits the planet in just a third of a day.

KRIS
That’s so quick that Phobos rises in the west and sets in the east. Or backwards from our own moon.

RACHEL
Phobos orbits closer to Mars than any other natural satellite orbits its planet.

KRIS
Because of this, it’s been suggested that Phobos would make a great outpost for astronauts going to and leaving Mars.

RACHEL
But going for a walk on Phobos could be difficult.

KRIS
With very little surface gravity, it will be nearly impossible to get enough traction on its surface to stand up and walk.

RACHEL
Also its surface is coated in a layer of dust over 300 feet thick.

KRIS
Because of the satellite’s irregular shape and the tidal forces of Mars, the surface gravity on Phobos can vary by 400%!

RACHEL
In other words, you would be four times heavier at some places of Phobos than on others.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the third week of August.
Join us next week to hear about mountains above the lunar terminator and Galileo’s use of the telescope.

For Idaho Skies this is Paul…

RACHEL
..Rachel..

KRIS..
and Kris.

Transcript: August Week 2

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

RACHEL
..Rachel..

KRIS
..And Kris

PAUL
The Southern Iota Aquarid meteor shower peaks on the night of the 6th and morning of the 7th.

RACHEL
Normally around 8 meteors per hour are visible from this shower.

KRIS
But there’s a problem this year and it’s the moon.

RACHEL
That’s right. The moon is at third quarter and it won’t set until around sunrise. So its light will interfere with your meteor watching.

KRIS
But have no fear, there’s another shower just around the corner.

PAUL
The third Russian cosmonaut, Nikolayev, was blasted into earth orbit 45 years ago on the 11th.

RACHEL
His spacecraft was named Vostok 3.

PAUL
What makes this flight so special?

KRIS
It’s significant because the next day Vostok 4 was launched.

RACHEL
And this marks the first time that more than one human was in space at the same time.

KRIS
The flight was a propaganda victory for the Soviet Union, but it was not the rendezvous that the Soviets made it out to be.

RACHEL
The Vostok space capsules could not change their orbits. So Vostok 3 and 4 just flew past one another.

KRIS
But their launches were accurate enough for the two spacecraft to pass within three miles of each other.

RACHEL
And that’s close enough that the cosmonauts talked to each other over their radios.

KRIS
Vostok 3 returned to earth on August 15, 1962 after spending four days n orbit.

PAUL
The first satellite of Mars was discovered 130 years ago on the 11th.

RACHEL
Astronomer Asaph Hall was using the US Naval Observatory’s 26 inch telescope in 1877 when he found a tiny spark of light near Mars.

KRIS
The moon he discovered was named Deimos and it is the outermost and tiniest Martian satellite.

RACHEL
Deimos is one of the sons of the Greek god of war and his name means terror.

PAUL
Finally, a great meteor shower!

KRIS
The year’s best meteor shower takes place on the night of the 11th and morning of the 12th.

RACHEL
The Perseids are a very dependable shower with many bright meteors. And since it occurs on warm August nights, it’s the ideal meteor shower to watch.

KRIS
Best of all, the moon is close to new on the 11th and 12th.

RACHEL
Therefore there’s no moonlight to interfere with your observations.

KRIS
So lie out on a lawn chair after midnight and look straight up.

RACHEL
Perseids will be the meteors that appear to originate from the northwest.

KRIS
But closer to morning this point of origin, which astronomers called the radiant, will be almost overhead.

RACHEL
Good meteor watching.

KRIS
That’s Idaho Skies for the second week of August. Next week we’ll talk about the space flight of Vostok 4 and the fear that’s in orbit around Mars.

For Idaho Skies this is Kris.

PAUL
..Paul..

RACHEL
.. and Rachel.

Transcript: August Week 1

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

RACHEL
..Rachel..

KRIS
..And Kris

PAUL
The Alpha Capricornid meteor shower peaks on the morning of the 2nd.

KRIS
Unfortunately the moon was recently full, so its bright light will wash out many of the meteors we can see from this shower.

RACHEL
But have no fear; we’ll have a far better meteor shower next weekend.

PAUL
Forty years ago on the 2nd the last Lunar Orbiter spacecraft was launched.

KRIS
To prepare for the upcoming moon landings, NASA first needed to locate some promising landing zones for the astronauts.

RACHEL
To find these safe and promising sites they launched spy satellites to the moon, the Lunar Orbiters.

KRIS
There were five Lunar Orbiter missions and every one of them was successful.

RACHEL
Along with taking pictures, the Lunar Orbiters measured radiation and micrometeoroids near the moon.

KRIS
The 850 pound Lunar Orbiter 5 took over 800 pictures of the lunar surface. In some pictures objects as small as six feet were visible.

PAUL
Let’s go from the moon to Mars. If the weather cooperates, the next Mars mission will leave earth this Friday the third.

RACHEL
It’s called the Phoenix lander and it was built by the University of Arizona.

KRIS
Phoenix is targeted for a landing at the Martian North Polar Region.

RACHEL
There it will study the history of water on the Martian surface and its ability to support life on the red planet.

PAUL
Why did the University of Arizona name this lander Phoenix?

KRIS
Perhaps it’s because Phoenix is the capital of Arizona.

RACHEL
That’s not the reason. It’s named Phoenix because it was built from spares from the last lander targeted for the Martian artic.

KRIS
That lander appears to have had a design flaw that shut off its rocket engines before it had a chance to touchdown.

RACHEL
When sensors detected the snap of its landing legs deploying, the shock triggered the spacecraft computer into thinking it had landed.

KRIS
And that told its computer to shut down its landing rockets.

RACHEL
Once Phoenix lands, it will use its robotic arm to dig up and analyze samples of frozen Martian soil.

KRIS
You can read more about Phoenix at its website, phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu.

PAUL
On the morning of the 7th Mars and the Pleiades are close enough to be seen at the same time in a pair of binoculars.

RACHEL
This will be an attractive site that’s best seen around 4:00 AM. So you’ll need to get up early.

KRIS
Actually you’ll see three celestial objects together. There’s the Pleiades at the top, the moon to the left, and Mars to the right.

RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the first week of August. Join us next week to hear about Vostok 3 and the discovery of the first Martian Satellite.

For Idaho Skies this is Rachel

KRIS
..Kris..

PAUL
.. and Paul.