Transcript: March week 4

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

RACHEL
..Rachel..

KRIS
..And Kris

PAUL
On the 26th, the moon reaches the apogee of its orbit.

KRIS
Non-circular, or what astronomers call elliptical orbits like the moon’s have a closest point and farthest point.

RACHEL
Astronomers call the farthest point of an orbit the apogee if it’s an orbit around the earth

KRIS
The suffix gee of the word apogee means earth.

PAUL
Gee.

RACHEL
No. apogee.

KRIS
This month’s lunar apogee is 251,700 miles from the center of the earth.

PAUL
Do you want someone to point out the star Antares to you?

RACHEL
Then get up early on the 27th to see the moon do just that.

KRIS
Antares, the red giant lucida of Scorpius the Scorpion will be 1-1/2 degrees, or three lunar diameters, to the upper right of moon.

RACHEL
Antares is a big star. It’s 800 times larger than our sun.

KRIS
If it replaced the sun in our solar system, its surface would reach as far as Jupiter’s orbit.

RACHEL
Per square inch, our sun emits more light than Antares.

KRIS
However, since Antares is so big, its combined output is 90,000 times brighter than our sun.

PAUL
Antares is an example of what happens to large stars when they grow old.

RACHEL
Their cores grow so hot they begin to fuse elements heavier than hydrogen.

KRIS
As a result, their outer surfaces expand tremendously.

RACHEL
Antares has expanded so much that its outer layer is more like a hot vacuum.

PAUL
The moon reaches last quarter phase on the 29th.

KRIS
Now that the weather is finally getting comfortable again, tonight would make a great time to go moon watching.

RACHEL
Be sure to focus your attention on the long shadows at the lunar terminator, or straight-edged boundary between day and night.

KRIS
That’s where you’ll see the most detail in the lunar terrain.

RACHEL
You’ll see the greatest amount of lunar craters in the south of the moon.

PAUL
Astronomers call this region the southern highlands.

KRIS
It represents a very old part of the moon.

RACHEL
It was heavily bombarded 3.8 billion years ago.

KRIS
Since the end of the late heavy bombardment, there’s been no resurfacing of the southern highlands.

RACHEL
This is unlike the northern part of the moon where you find lots of maria, or lunar seas.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the last week of March. Our sound engineer this month was Paul Molinari. Join us next month for the space and astronomy news for Idaho and beyond.

For Idaho Skies this is Paul…

KRIS
..Kris..

RACHEL
.. and Rachel.

Transcipt: March Week 3

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

RACHEL
..Rachel..

KRIS
..And Kris

PAUL
Fifty years ago on the 17th, the United States launched the Vanguard satellite.

RACHEL
Three months earlier, the original Vanguard booster exploded at lift-off in front of millions on television.

KRIS
The second booster launch was successful and Vanguard became our second satellite in earth orbit and the fourth in the history of the space age.

RACHEL
The Vanguard booster was so good at launching small satellites into orbit that Vanguard is still in orbit today.

PAUL
The now defunct Vanguard is a six inch aluminum sphere with six antennas and six tiny solar cells.

KRIS
Because of atmospheric drag that exists even 2,000 miles above the earth, Vanguard will return to earth’s atmosphere in 240 years.

RACHEL
One of Vanguard’s most interesting discoveries is that the world is not round like a sphere, but is more pear-shaped.

PAUL
On the evening of the 17th, you can use the moon to find the Beehive star cluster.

KRIS
To the moon’s right and 5-1/2 degrees away, you’ll see a star cluster larger than the moon’s diameter.

RACHEL
The angular distance between the moon and the Beehive is nearly the distance across your binoculars field of view.

KRIS
So once you have the moon in sight, turn your binoculars to the right until the moon is close to the left edge of the field of view.

RACHEL
Then you’ll see a scattering of stars on the right that will remind you of a swarm of bees.

PAUL
On the 18th, the moon leads you to Regulus and Saturn.

KRIS
From the moon to Saturn spans an angle of 5-1/2 degrees, or less than the field of view of your binoculars.

RACHEL
Regulus is the lucida, or brightest star of Leo the Lion and is 77 light years away.

KRIS
Saturn will appear star-like and yellow in your binoculars.

PAUL
The Vernal Equinox occurs on the 19th at 10:48 PM.

RACHEL
That’s the beginning of Spring in the northern hemisphere.

KRIS
If you could see the earth’s equator projected into space, the sun would be sitting on it today.

RACHEL
And from today until the first day of autumn, the sun will be north of the earth’s equator.

KRIS
As a consequence, we’ll enjoy days that are longer than the night.

PAUL
Beginning on the evening of the 23rd, the Zodiacal Light is visible in the west after it gets dark.

RACHEL
The Zodiacal Light appears as a faint triangle of light reaching half way up to the zenith.

KRIS
The light is actually sunlight, but reflected from dust orbiting between earth and the sun.

RACHEL
The source of this dust is asteroid collisions and comet tails.

KRIS
The dust is constantly being replenished.

RACHEL
The Zodiacal Light will remain visible for the next two weeks before evening moonlight begins interfering.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the third week of March. Next week our two topics are the moon and Antares.

For Idaho Skies this is Paul…

RACHEL
..Rachel..

KRIS
.. and Kris.

Transcript: March Week 2

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

RACHEL
..Rachel..

KRIS
..And Kris

PAUL
The star cluster M-35 is easy to find on the night of the 10th because of Mars.

KRIS
Mars is the bright yellow-orange star in Gemini and is high overhead in the southwest.

RACHEL
Mars is less than two degrees above the cluster.

KRIS
For reference, two degrees is about the same angle as the width of two of your fingers if viewed from your outstretched hand.

RACHEL
Two degrees is also less than one-third of your binocular’s field of view.

KRIS
If you place Mars in the center of your binoculars then you’ll see the M-35 star cluster as a fuzzy spot most of the way towards the bottom.

RACHEL
The cluster will be easier to see if you move brighter Mars out of your binoculars.

PAUL
Also occurring on the 10th, the moon is at perigee.

KRIS
Gee.

RACHEL
No perigee, or the moon’s closest distance from earth this month.

KRIS
The distance between the centers of the earth and the moon is 227,600 miles today.

RACHEL
While that’s a significant distance compared to the distances we travel on earth, it’s just peanuts compared to the rest of the solar system.

KRIS
Why even the distance across the sun’s equator is nearly four times greater than the moon’s distance from earth.

PAUL
Half way up in the west on the evening of the 12th, you’ll see the moon near the Pleiades.

RACHEL
Their distance apart is five degrees, or 10 lunar diameters.

KRIS
That’s close enough that both the moon and Pleiades will fit within your binoculars.

RACHEL
To the moon’s left is the sparser star cluster, the Hyades.

KRIS
The Hyades is another nice binocular object.

PAUL
The moon reaches the first quarter phase on the 14th.

RACHEL
This month the first quarter moon is part of a nice celestial alignment

KRIS
You’ll see Mars below the moon and the star cluster M-35 farther below Mars.

RACHEL
The entire trio will fit well within your binocular’s field of view.

KRIS
In binoculars, you’ll see the rugged surface of the moon, especially along its terminator.

RACHEL
Mars will be the bright orange star below the moon.

KRIS
M-35 will appear as a fuzzy sprinkle of stars in good binoculars.

PAUL
The Ulysses spacecraft finishes its third pass over the sun’s North Pole on the 15th.

RACHEL
You’ve never heard of Ulysses? That’s not too surprising, not many people have.

KRIS
Launched 18 years ago, Ulysses is unique in that it orbits the solar system in a high inclination orbit.

RACHEL
Virtually every spacecraft orbits the earth or sun in the same plane as the earth’s orbit which astronomers refer to as a low inclination orbit.

PAUL
Ulysses’ orbit is perpendicular to earth’s orbit, and therefore is called a high inclination orbit..

KRIS
Ulysses was launched into a high inclination orbit with the help of Jupiter. One of the goals of Ulysses is to observe the sun’s polar regions,

RACHEL
So on every one of its orbits, the 800 pound Ulysses loops out to the orbit of Jupiter and back in again over the sun’s poles.

KRIS
It’s suite of instruments study the sun’s gamma and x radiation, magnetic field, and solar wind.

RACHEL
You can read about this little known, but unique mission at its website, ulysses.jpl.nasa.gov

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the second week of March. Next week’s show includes the Vanguard satellite, the vernal equinox, and the Zodiacal Light.

For Idaho Skies this is Paul.

KRIS
..Kris..

RACHEL
.. and Rachel.

Transcript: March Week 1

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

RACHEL
..Rachel..

PAUL
..And Paul

PAUL
Hey! We can Jupiter again!

RACHEL
That’s right. On the morning of the 2nd Jupiter will appear as the bright star to the moon’s left.

PAUL
The celestial pair is low in the east, so you’ll need to look for them shortly before dawn, or around 6 AM.

RACHEL
Their distance apart is 7 degrees. That’s just close enough for them to fit within your binocular’s field of view.

PAUL
The moon moves rapidly across the sky, compared to far more distant Jupiter. So tomorrow morning, Jupiter will appear seven degrees to the moon’s right.

RACHEL
Jupiter is one of the best planets for your telescope.

PAUL
Its brightness, large size, and ever changing moons put on a great telescopic show.

RACHEL
Even in binoculars, you can begin to see the planet’s round shape and largest satellites.

PAUL
What are the largest satellites of Jupiter?

PAUL
There are four of them, and Galileo discovered them in his telescope in 1609 and 1610.

RACHEL
The smallest is Io. It’s the closest to Jupiter, so it’s stretched and squeezed by the gravities of Jupiter and its other satellites.

PAUL
This continual tugging heats tiny Io up to the point that volcanoes erupt on its surface.

RACHEL
Did you know there are more volcanoes erupting right now on Io than on earth?

PAUL
The next satellite is Europa. It’s as smooth as a billiard ball because its soft icy surface continuously fills in any new craters.

PAUL
The interior of Europa is probably warm enough that there’s a liquid ocean below its icy crust.

RACHEL
The next satellite is Ganymede and it’s the largest satellite in the solar system.

PAUL
In fact, Ganymede is even larger than the smallest planet, Mercury.

RACHEL
Jupiter’s outermost satellite is the heavily cratered Callisto. Callisto is one of the solar system’s largest satellites; it’s even larger than our moon.

PAUL
You can see all four Galilean Satellites with your binoculars.

RACHEL
Hold your binoculars steady for your best views of these satellites.

PAUL
Try propping them up against a tree or fence.

RACHEL
Through your binoculars, they’ll appear as tiny stars next to brighter Jupiter.

PAUL
Speaking of satellites, ours is new on the 7th.

PAUL
If you could see this month’s new moon, you’d see it pass just over the top of the sun from our perspective.

RACHEL
Somewhere in space, way above the North Pole, there’s a total solar eclipse today.

PAUL
Daylight Saving Time ends on the morning of the 9th.

PAUL
So be sure to set your clocks ahead by one hour before you go to bed on the 8th.

RACHEL
That’s Idaho skies for the first week of March. Join us next week to hear about the moon, a star cluster, and the Ulysses spacecraft. For Idaho Skies this is Rachel…

PAUL
Paul..

PAUL
.. and Paul.