Transcript: October Week 3

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

RACHEL
..Rachel..

KRIS
..And Kris

PAUL
Once upon a time, we only knew of four terrestrial planets, the asteroid belt, four gas giants, oddball Pluto, and a hidden reservoir of comets.

KRIS
Well, 30 years ago on October 18, 1977 the American astronomer Charles Kowal changed that.

RACHEL
He announced the discovery of a celestial body orbiting between Saturn and Uranus.

KRIS
Kowal proposed that his newly discovered object be named Chiron.

RACHEL
Later, astronomers discovered other objects like Chiron between the orbits of Saturn and Neptune.

KRIS
These objects, call Centaurs, are icy bodies and they’re in unstable orbits.

RACHEL
In time, the gas giants will either eject the Centaurs into the depths of the solar system or into the inner solar system.

KRIS
Because their orbits are unstable, they could not have originated in this region of the solar system.

RACHEL
Most likely then, they’re refugees from the Kuiper Belt.

KRIS
Chiron measures 120 miles across, or ten times larger than the nucleus of comet Halley.

RACHEL
Its size means Chiron will become a fantastically large and bright comet if it’s sent into the inner solar system.

PAUL
Yeah!

KRIS
On the other hand, it could also be a very dangerous object should it be sent on a collision course with earth.

PAUL
Rats.

RACHEL
But have no worry. Over the length of a human life time, the Centaurs pose no risk to Earth.

PAUL
From the 20th until early November, the Zodiacal Light is visible an hour of more before sun rise.

KRIS
Since the moon is at first quarter, it sets well before morning so its light doesn’t interfere with the faint Zodiacal Light.

RACHEL
Autumn mornings are good times to look for this light. The interplanetary dust that creates the Zodiacal Light tilts at its greatest vertical angle when viewed from Earth’s northern hemisphere.

KRIS
That steep angle lets if rise is highest above the eastern horizon.

PAUL
While observing the Zodiacal Light, be on the look out for the Orionid meteor shower.

RACHEL
It peaks on the night of the 20th and morning of the 21st.

KRIS
Typically 20 meteors per hour are visible from this shower.

RACHEL
The best time to watch it is after the moon sets at 2:20 AM.

KRIS
Meteoroids in the Orionid meteor shower have an orbit similar to another meteor shower, the Eta Aquarids which peak in May.

RACHEL
That’s because both meteor showers are debris from the tail of comet Halley.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the third week of October. Next week our show will discuss the first spacecraft to visit another planet and the extra large Hunter’s moon.

For Idaho Skies this is Paul…

KRIS
..Kris..

RACHEL.. and Rachel.

Transcript: October Week 2

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

RACHEL
..Rachel..

KRIS
..And Kris

PAUL
Last week was the 50th anniversary of the Space Age.

RACHEL
It all began with the launch of Sputnik 1 by the Soviet Union.

KRIS
Sputnik 1 was a polished aluminum sphere two foot diameter.

RACHEL
It contained batteries, two radio transmitters, and four antennas.

KRIS
Sputnik’s two radio frequencies of 20 and 40 MHz were selected so amateur radio operators around the world to hear the satellite’s beep-beep.

PAUL
Sputnik 1 was a surprisingly heavy satellite with a weight of 184 pounds.

RACHEL
The Soviets launched it with an R-7 ICBM.

KRIS
The R-7 missile put Sputnik 1 into a 134 by 583 mile orbit.

RACHEL
Sputnik 1 remained in orbit for three months until atmospheric drag brought it down on January 4, 1958.

KRIS
The successful launch of Sputnik 1 ignited the space race between the Soviet Union and United States.

RACHEL
It was a race that lead to Neil Armstrong stepping on the moon’s surface less than 12 years later.

PAUL
The first person to launch a liquid fueled rocket was born 125 years ago, last week.

KRIS
Beginning in 1907, Robert Goddard experimented with rocket propulsion.

RACHEL
To achieve altitudes higher than those current possible, Goddard realized that a liquid fueled rocket, with its higher energy and speed, was needed.

PAUL
His experiments led to the first liquid fueled rocket launch on March 16, 1926.

KRIS
The location was his aunt’s farm in Auburn, Massachusetts.

RACHEL
From Goddard’s humble rocket, the Germans developed the V-2 missile and the Soviets developed the R-7 ICBM.

PAUL
The Outer Space Treaty was ratified 40 years ago on the 10th.

KRIS
The treaty’s goal is to promote the peaceful use and exploration of outer space.

PAUL
To that end, it requires countries to do several things, like…..

RACHEL
Explain the nature of their space exploration.

KRIS
Protect earth and celestial bodies from contamination.

RACHEL
Render assistance to astronauts in need.

KRIS
And not deploy nuclear weapons in space and on other celestial bodies.

RACHEL
Countries with missile delivered nuclear weapons…

PAUL
Like the United States and Soviet Union.

RACHEL
…get around the Outer Space Treaty by flying their nuclear weapons on ballistic trajectories that never enter into earth orbit.

KRIS
Oh well, the treaty is still a good start.

RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the second week of October. The discovery of the first Centaur, the Zodiacal light, and a meteor shower are our topics next week.

For Idaho Skies this is Rachel.

KRIS
..Kris..

PAUL
.. and Paul.