Idaho
The types of solar viewing telescopes at the College of Southern Idaho
TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) —There are a few times in your life that people will encourage you to look at the sun. Well, starting Wednesday, May 29 that’s exactly what the Centennial Observatory will be doing as they break out the solar viewing telescopes. Now, you may be wondering what makes a solar telescope different from a standard telescope. The College of Southern Idaho has three types of solar telescopes that are available to them. The first type is a model called a “folded refractor” it has the unique feature of being the only telescope that you don’t look directly through.
“Your normal telescope you’d think of having as having a lens in the front, a lens on the back. This one has both of those, but in between it has mirrors that allow it to kind of fold up,” Observatory Coordinator at the Centennial Observatory Chris Anderson said. Without the traditional lens to look through the image is instead projected onto a piece of paper set within the telescope and this makes it better for larger groups. “There was a company back East that made these specifically for classrooms and they’ve continued to make them ever since,” Mr. Anderson explained.
The second model they have available to them is a traditional telescope, but adjusted with a specialized filter that is added onto it making it possible to view both the sun and the stars when needed. “We have a white light solar filter in it right now and a white light filter just dims the sun way, way down and lets you see what’s going on, on the surface,” Mr. Anderson explained. As of right now, the sun has been fairly active, but the peak of our current solar cycle is expected to hit within the next year or two and a half years.
The third model that they have at their disposal is also the most advanced, it’s called a “Hydrogen Alpha Telescope”, and it blocks out all color except for a specific shade of red that is emitted from the sun called the “Chromosphere”.
“If you’re used to thinking about what you see during a total solar eclipse. So, this little red thing’s poking out from around the edge of the sun. That’s the chromosphere,” Mr. Anderson explained. When looking through the telescope you see a black dot with a grainy, almost oatmeal-like texture that is the sun, and it’s all thanks to the specialized filters that are built into the telescope itself, but that’s not the only cool thing about it. “It is a computer-controlled telescope. It does track the sun automatically, so I don’t have to work about it keeping up,” Mr. Anderson said.
Now, while the sun is extremely active you may want to get in on sun spots, Chris Anderson implores everyone to come down and visit rather than trying to see the sun on your own.
“If you don’t have the proper equipment, don’t try to look to look at the sun with a telescope. That’s an incredibly dangerous thing to do. What a lot of people don’t realize is that it’s not just about whether you’re feeling discomfort. There are ways to filter the sun down in a way that you don’t feel any discomfort, but you’re still doing damage,” Mr. Anderson said.
Even with powerful welder’s glass unless it is a number 14 glass or dark you can still permanently damage your eyes. It is simply safer to not take the risk, rather visit Centennial Observatory on one of the many solar viewing days that will be open to the public. The sun viewing days are every Wednesday following Memorial Day until Labor Day from 1:30 to 3:30 P.M.
Copyright 2024 KMVT. All rights reserved.
Idaho
Idaho resolution opposing same-sex marriage advances
For the second year in a row, House lawmakers will consider urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.
The nonbinding resolution, which carries no legal weight, says the decision in Obergefel v. Hodges violates the longstanding religious definition of marriage between one man and one woman.
“The current definition of marriage that allows for same-sex marriages is a defilement of the word marriage,” said Rep. Tony Wisniewski (R-Post Falls), who sponsors the measure.
The resolution further states that the Obergefel decision “arbitrarily and unjustly” rejects the historical definition of marriage.
Idaho voters passed a constitution amendment in 2006 that defines marriage as between one man and one woman, which was invalidated by the Obergefel ruling.
Wisniewski said regulating marriages should be a power left to the states.
Rep. Brent Crane (R-Nampa) agrees.
“If you want to get things … closer to the people with respect to some of these more complex social issues, I think the best place for those things to happen is in the states,” Crane said.
Doing so is a risk, he said.
“You may have states that choose to acknowledge [polyamorous relationships]. You may have states that choose to have relationships between adults and younger children,” Crane said.
Cities in neighboring Oregon and Washington, for example, are considering giving those in polyamorous relationships legal recognition.
But he said that risk is worth it to allow other states that choose to only recognize traditional marriages.
Four lawmakers on the House State Affairs Committee opposed the resolution.
Rep. Erin Bingham (R-Idaho Falls) said she’s tried to balance her own religious beliefs with those of others while considering the measure.
“I do feel like that it is important for us to work together, to find ways to compromise and to live together in peace and mutual respect,” Bingham said.
The resolution now goes to the House floor for consideration.
House lawmakers last year passed a similar measure, but it never received a hearing in a Senate committee.
Copyright 2026 Boise State Public Radio
Idaho
University of Idaho professor awarded $10M after TikTok tarot influencer claimed she ‘ordered’ quadruple murders
A University of Idaho professor won a $10 million judgment after a tarot TikTok influencer publicly pushed false claims that she was behind the savage quadruple slayings of four college students.
A Boise jury in US District Court ordered fortune-telling Texas TikToker Ashley Guillard on Friday to pay $10 million after concluding she falsely accused professor Rebecca Scofield of having a secret romance with one of the four victims and orchestrating their killings, the Idaho Statesman reported.
Following the verdict, Scofield thanked the jury and said she hopes the case sends a clear warning that making “false statements online have consequences in the real world.”
“The murders of the four students on November 13, 2022, were the darkest chapter in our university’s history,” Scofield told Fox News.
“Today’s decision shows that respect and care should always be granted to victims during these tragedies. I am hopeful that this difficult chapter in my life is over, and I can return to a more normal life with my family and the wonderful Moscow community.”
Scofield, the university’s history department chair, filed the lawsuit in December 2022 — just weeks after Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were brutally stabbed to death at an off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho, on Nov. 13, 2022.
Guillard began uploading videos to her more than 100,000 TikTok followers in late November 2022, accusing Scofield of a secret relationship with one of the students and claiming she had “ordered” the killings, garnering millions of views across the social media platform.
The complaint states that Scofield had never met the victims and was out of state when the murders occurred.
Even after being served with cease-and-desist letters and after police publicly confirmed Scofield had no connection to the murders, the Houston-based tarot reader continued posting videos, the history professor’s legal team argued.
Guillard doubled down on her accusations against Scofield after being sued, posting a defiant video saying, “I am not stopping,” and challenging why Scofield needed three lawyers to sue her “if she’s so innocent.”
The professor’s legal team argued the defamatory accusations painted her as a criminal and accused her of professional misconduct that could derail her career.
Bryan Kohberger, then studying criminology at Washington State University, pleaded guilty in July 2025 to the quadruple murders in a deal that took the death penalty off the table. He is currently serving four consecutive life sentences in Idaho.
In June 2024, Chief US Magistrate Judge Raymond Patricco found Guillard’s statements legally defamatory, leaving damages to be decided by a jury.
During the damages trial, Scofield described the anguish of seeing her name tied to the murders online, the Idaho Statesman reported.
However, Guillard, acting as her own attorney, insisted her comments were simply beliefs based on tarot card readings.
She claimed to have psychic powers and testified that she relied on tarot cards to try to solve the shocking homicides that shook the rural college town and sparked global attention.
It took jurors less than two hours to return their verdict, the outlet reported.
The jury awarded Scofield $7.5 million in punitive damages in addition to $2.5 million in compensatory damages.
With Post wires
Idaho
Gas prices expected to exceed $3 as the Iran conflict prompts supply shortages
BOISE, Idaho — AAA is warning Idaho gas consumers that pump prices will likely rise as the conflict in Iran disrupts oil and gas supply chains worldwide.
The ongoing turmoil in the Middle East will likely push the price for a gallon of regular gasoline past the $3 mark over the coming days.
“On one hand, the crude oil market had time to account for some financial risk in the Middle East as forces mobilized, but a supply shortage somewhere affects the global picture,” says AAA Idaho public affairs director Matthew Conde. “If tankers can’t move products through the region, there could be ripple effects.”
On Monday, March 2, the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline is $2.97, reports AAA, which is 12 cents more expensive than it was a month ago but 20 cents less than this time last year.
State / Price: 1 gallon of regular gasoline
- Washington / $4.37
- Oregon / $3.92
- Nevada / $3.70
- Idaho / $2.97
- Colorado / $2.89
- Montana / $2.82
- Utah / $2.74
- Wyoming / $2.73
In terms of the most expensive fuel in the nation, Idaho currently ranks #14. However, buying a gallon of regular gas in neighboring states such as Oregon and Washington could cost a whole dollar more. In contrast, gas prices in Utah, Montana, and Wyoming are anywhere between 15 to 24 cents cheaper than fuel in the Gem State.
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