The month of April should grow warmer still but will likely bring more rain storms. At least that's what a typical year usually brings us. I'm hoping for a few cloud free nights this month to get Hercules out and back under the stars as well as hone my astrophotography skills. Astronomically speaking, this month will allow stargazers to view nearly all of the planets, as well as a decent meteor shower that will hopefully entice more people to get out under stars.
Mercury
Mercury will be visible in the morning sky just before sunrise toward the end of the month. You will only have a few brief minutes to spot our innermost planet before the Sun's morning glow overcomes Mercury's shine. Mercury will also reach its greatest western elongation on the 29th but will only be 5° above the eastern horizon.
Venus
Venus will again be easy to spot this month, after the Sun plunges below the horizon. It should be the first object that you will see in the twilight sky since it shines so brightly. On the first evening of the month, Venus will be visible for about 45 minutes after sunset, but that time increases with each passing night. By the 17th, a crescent Moon will join Venus with only 5° separating the pair. As the sky continues to darken, look above Venus to see the Pleiades. This should create a great photo opportunity for those interested in astrophotography. Just a couple of nights later, Venus will be only 4° below the Pleiades which should also create a spectacular picture. Venus will show its phases through a pair of binoculars, but don't let that distract you from moving your attention to the Pleiades, which are my favorite binocular target.
Mars
Mars will rise around 2:30 in the morning on the 1st along with the ringed world, Saturn. The pair contrast nicely in color and should be quite a sight. Mars is still working its way to opposition and its closest approach to Earth in 15 years, so stay tuned for the best views of this planet. This will occur in July when the nights will be warmer and hopefully the skies will be cloud free. Don't let this stop you from trying to observe the Red Planet now. It's a good idea to test out your gear and find out which eyepieces and filters will yield the best results instead of trying to figure out everything in July. By the end of April. Mars will have nearly doubled in brightness so it will be even easier to spot in the morning sky.
Jupiter
Jupiter will be the first planet to rise in the east throughout the month. On the opening night, Jupiter will rise around 11:00 but by the closing, it will rise shortly after sunset. This means that Jupiter is close to opposition, which occurs in early May. If you are interested in viewing surface details, wait until Jupiter is high in the sky before you train your telescope on it. If you have a pair of binoculars and want to see the moons, you can target this planet anytime it is above the horizon. The view may be a little fuzzy, so if you wait until the planet is high in the sky, the moons will look like pin pricks in the black background of space.
Saturn
As mentioned, Saturn will rise with Mars on the night of the first around 2:30. As the month wears on, however, Saturn will rise a little bit after Mars since the Red Planet lies closer to the Sun, it travels a little faster in its orbit. Saturn's rings are also tilted nicely for great telescopic views. Hopefully with the nights becoming slightly warmer, staying out until this planet rises will be more bearable.
Uranus and Neptune
Uranus will not be visible this month, but stay tuned as it returns to our morning sky in May. Neptune will be visible in the final week of the month with a pair of binoculars or a telescope, in the morning sky. You will need to be quick to spot this most distant planet as the Sun's glow will quickly overcome the dim planet.
The Moon
The Moon will remain a great target at night and even during the day if it is visible. As previously mentioned, each night will offer new views of Moon as it comes and goes from being fully lit by the Sun. This month, the last quarter Moon will occur on the 8th, followed by a New Moon on the 15th. Remember, if you are searching for deep sky objects (DSO's), the best time to hunt for them is during a New Moon. Having the Moon absent from the sky will also enhance your views of the planets as well as being able to see more meteors. The first quarter Moon will occur on the 22nd, followed by the Full Moon near the end of the month on the 29th.
Meteor Shower
This month offers the first major meteor shower of spring, the Lyrids. The Moon will not interfere much this year as it will be found in the west or possibly below the horizon, depending on when you are looking for these meteors. The Lyrid meteors appear to originate from the constellation of Lyra which can be found approximately 40° high in the eastern sky at around 2 in the morning. This shower peaks on the 22nd, but can still be seen about a week before and a week after this date. During the peak date, you may be able to see up to 20-25 meteors per hour. Be sure to have a dark sky to increase the amount of meteors that you will see. If you stay out long enough, you can even watch Mars rise.
Monthly Breakdown
April 01: Mars and Saturn rise together @ 2:30 AM
April 03: Moon and Jupiter pass within 4°
April 07: Moon and Saturn pass within 2°; Moon and Mars pass within 3°
April 08: Last quarter Moon
April 15: New Moon
April 17: Moon and Venus pass within 5°
April 22: Lyrid meteor shower peaks; Eastern sky @ 2 AM
April 22: First quarter Moon
April 29: Full Moon
News in Astronomy
Space debris. Space garbage. It's junk. Broken pieces of satellites, used up rocket boosters, and even space stations that are no longer in use, floating around our planet. Most people don't really see space debris as an issue, but it is! I remember hearing a story from a meteorologist when I was in grade school telling the class that during a tornado, which has winds up to 320 MPH for the most severe storm, can make a piece of straw go through a telephone pole. Imagine what that could do to a person! Now imagine a piece of space debris flying around our planet at nearly the same altitude as the International Space Station. Only this space debris is travelling at 17,500 MPH! While it's true that most of this junk is small in size, it still adds up to quite a bit of garbage floating around in space near our planet.
NASA and other space agencies have launch windows in which they can launch rockets to space. Part of this launch window depends on when space debris or other orbiting satellites is flying directly in the path of the launch. You wouldn't want to launch a rocket with, lets say the James Webb Space Telescope, which costs billions of dollars, only to have it collide with a large piece of space debris and have to start over from scratch.
There are many ideas on how to collect this space junk, but no definite plan yet exists. All current and future rocket launches are supposed to be made up of material that can easily disintegrate in the atmosphere to end the possibility of death and destruction when an object re-enters the atmosphere and comes crashing down.
During the first couple of days in April, a Chinese space station is supposed to reenter the Earth's atmosphere and crash to the ground. While it's hard to predict where this will occur, it will most likely be over one of the oceans. You might be able to catch a glimpse of this space junk returning to Earth. If you do, be sure to catch some pictures or video and if you share them with me, I can share them with my readers!
NASA and other space agencies have launch windows in which they can launch rockets to space. Part of this launch window depends on when space debris or other orbiting satellites is flying directly in the path of the launch. You wouldn't want to launch a rocket with, lets say the James Webb Space Telescope, which costs billions of dollars, only to have it collide with a large piece of space debris and have to start over from scratch.
There are many ideas on how to collect this space junk, but no definite plan yet exists. All current and future rocket launches are supposed to be made up of material that can easily disintegrate in the atmosphere to end the possibility of death and destruction when an object re-enters the atmosphere and comes crashing down.
During the first couple of days in April, a Chinese space station is supposed to reenter the Earth's atmosphere and crash to the ground. While it's hard to predict where this will occur, it will most likely be over one of the oceans. You might be able to catch a glimpse of this space junk returning to Earth. If you do, be sure to catch some pictures or video and if you share them with me, I can share them with my readers!
On March 14th, the world lost one of its greatest minds, Stephen Hawking. He was responsible for pushing astrophysics and cosmology forward for his work and research of black holes and singularities, among other things. One of my favorite quotes by him is "Look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious."
Now get outside and look up!
