April Skylights
Planetary Skylights
Mars continues to be the sole naked-eye planet visible in the west evening sky until the very end of the month, when both Mercury and Venus reappear. Jupiter and Saturn continue to be elusive objects in the dawn sky, not far above the ESE horizon.
Mars resides in the west as twilight falls, approximately 35 degrees above the horizon. At the start of the month it is moving between the 'horn' stars in Taurus and towards the feet of Gemini. At magnitude +1.4 it remains a reasonably bright orange ‘star’, but is not much to look at through a telescope. The moon pays Mars a visit on the 17th.
At the very end of April (29th to 30th) Mercury commences a favourable evening apparition, which will be best appreciated during May. It may be glimpsed a few degrees above the WNW horizon 40–45 minutes after sunset (around 9pm), so a flat horizon is a prerequisite in order to spot the ‘elusive messenger’. At mag -1.2, Mercury should at least be quite conspicuous in the twilight sky. However, do not mistake it for Venus, which will be brighter and below Mercury and will only be apparent for 15 minutes from 8.50pm. Use binoculars to help pick them up before tracking down with the naked eye.
The dawn sky (by which we mean 5am!) finds Jupiter slowly creeping away from the SE horizon, no more than 10 degrees above it. The low altitude and short duration in which it is visible make for limited observations with a scope. It is, however, pretty conspicuous at magnitude -2.1, although this is tempered somewhat by the twilight. If you are up around 5am, you will have less than 30 minutes to spot it. Concentrate on using binoculars or the naked eye.
Fifteen degrees east of Jupiter and some 3 degrees higher, Saturn also wallows low in the SE dawn sky. At magnitude +0.73 the ringed planet is considerably fainter than Jupiter, but binoculars will help pick it out if you cannot spot it with the naked eye. To confirm it is Saturn, a telescope will be required to make out the rings, although at this stage viewing will be poor, and with limited time availability patience at the eyepiece will be better rewarded later in the year.
Meteors
The Lyrid meteor shower (16–25 April) peaks over the night of the 22nd/23rd which this year unfortunately coincides with a waxing quarter moon, thus restricting observed numbers. The shower occurs as the Earth passes through the dust left over from Comet Thatcher (C/186 G1), which makes a full orbit of the sun once every 415 years. The earliest sightings of the Lyrid meteor shower go back 2,700 years, making it amongst the oldest of known meteor showers. Possible hourly rates can exceed 25; however, actual observed rates will be substantially lower, perhaps 10 or so. The radiant resides upper right of the bright star Vega in Lyra, so view in locations at least a couple of hands’ spans away from Lyra. The early morning hours of the 23rd will yield the best results.
The Lion Springs Forth
With BST now in operation and much lighter evenings, it is approaching 10pm before skies are sufficiently dark to trace most constellations.
Winter is departing in the west, with Orion already sinking below the west horizon, its belt stars strung out parallel below conspicuous orange Betelgeux. Very low in the SW, sparkling Sirius – the ‘dog star’ – is about to go to ground, whilst over in the NW, Aldeberan in Taurus will soon be lost in twilight glare. Higher in the west, arranged from SW to NW, are the prominent stars Procyon, Castor, Pollux and brilliant Capella. All but the latter will eventually depart the spring sky.
To the south and southeast, spring constellations dominate, led by Leo the Lion who stands guard of his territory and requires little aid in tracking down. In mythology Leo was the lion raised by Hera, Queen of the gods. The Lion’s coat was said to be impervious to fire and metal weapons. In the first of his twelve labours, Hercules, whom Hera despised, was given the task of slaying the beast that was ravaging the region of Nemea. After trapping the lion in a cave Hercules clubbed it to death and, in honour, Zeus placed the lion in the heavens.
Leo is a splendid constellation. The head and mane are marked by a distinctive star asterism known as the ‘sickle’ – the gardening implement which resembles a backwards question mark. At the base of this arrangement shines Leo’s chief star, Regulus, faintest of the first magnitude stars visible in the night sky. Regulus sits almost on the ecliptic and as a consequence is sometimes joined in close proximity by the moon and planets, and on rare occasions, occulted by them. In antiquity – from 4000 to 2000 bc – Regulus was counted as one of the four Royal stars, those bright stars nearest the position of the equinoxes and solstices. During this period Regulus was closest to the summer solstice position, but over the millennia the effects of precession have moved this position away.
Some distance to the left of the sickle, a ‘triangular’ arrangement of stars depicts the hindquarters of the Lion. The area of sky around Leo, particularly below and behind the hindquarters, and bounded by the adjoining constellations of Coma Berenices and Virgo, is often referred to by amateur astronomers as the ‘realm of galaxies’. Here, with a good pair of binoculars on a tripod, or a half decent telescope, coupled with dark skies, a careful observer may glimpse numerous ‘tiny fuzzies’ of faint light: distant galaxies, tens or even hundreds of million light years away . . .
Good hunting and clear skies!
Mark Dawson,
Whitby and District Astronomical Society
WDAS usually meets in room H1, Caedmon College, Normanby campus (Whitby College). New members most welcome.
www.whitby-astronomers.com
email: spanton33@talktalk.net
.
Mars continues to be the sole naked-eye planet visible in the west evening sky until the very end of the month, when both Mercury and Venus reappear. Jupiter and Saturn continue to be elusive objects in the dawn sky, not far above the ESE horizon.
Mars resides in the west as twilight falls, approximately 35 degrees above the horizon. At the start of the month it is moving between the 'horn' stars in Taurus and towards the feet of Gemini. At magnitude +1.4 it remains a reasonably bright orange ‘star’, but is not much to look at through a telescope. The moon pays Mars a visit on the 17th.
At the very end of April (29th to 30th) Mercury commences a favourable evening apparition, which will be best appreciated during May. It may be glimpsed a few degrees above the WNW horizon 40–45 minutes after sunset (around 9pm), so a flat horizon is a prerequisite in order to spot the ‘elusive messenger’. At mag -1.2, Mercury should at least be quite conspicuous in the twilight sky. However, do not mistake it for Venus, which will be brighter and below Mercury and will only be apparent for 15 minutes from 8.50pm. Use binoculars to help pick them up before tracking down with the naked eye.
The dawn sky (by which we mean 5am!) finds Jupiter slowly creeping away from the SE horizon, no more than 10 degrees above it. The low altitude and short duration in which it is visible make for limited observations with a scope. It is, however, pretty conspicuous at magnitude -2.1, although this is tempered somewhat by the twilight. If you are up around 5am, you will have less than 30 minutes to spot it. Concentrate on using binoculars or the naked eye.
Fifteen degrees east of Jupiter and some 3 degrees higher, Saturn also wallows low in the SE dawn sky. At magnitude +0.73 the ringed planet is considerably fainter than Jupiter, but binoculars will help pick it out if you cannot spot it with the naked eye. To confirm it is Saturn, a telescope will be required to make out the rings, although at this stage viewing will be poor, and with limited time availability patience at the eyepiece will be better rewarded later in the year.
Meteors
The Lyrid meteor shower (16–25 April) peaks over the night of the 22nd/23rd which this year unfortunately coincides with a waxing quarter moon, thus restricting observed numbers. The shower occurs as the Earth passes through the dust left over from Comet Thatcher (C/186 G1), which makes a full orbit of the sun once every 415 years. The earliest sightings of the Lyrid meteor shower go back 2,700 years, making it amongst the oldest of known meteor showers. Possible hourly rates can exceed 25; however, actual observed rates will be substantially lower, perhaps 10 or so. The radiant resides upper right of the bright star Vega in Lyra, so view in locations at least a couple of hands’ spans away from Lyra. The early morning hours of the 23rd will yield the best results.
The Lion Springs Forth
With BST now in operation and much lighter evenings, it is approaching 10pm before skies are sufficiently dark to trace most constellations.
Winter is departing in the west, with Orion already sinking below the west horizon, its belt stars strung out parallel below conspicuous orange Betelgeux. Very low in the SW, sparkling Sirius – the ‘dog star’ – is about to go to ground, whilst over in the NW, Aldeberan in Taurus will soon be lost in twilight glare. Higher in the west, arranged from SW to NW, are the prominent stars Procyon, Castor, Pollux and brilliant Capella. All but the latter will eventually depart the spring sky.
To the south and southeast, spring constellations dominate, led by Leo the Lion who stands guard of his territory and requires little aid in tracking down. In mythology Leo was the lion raised by Hera, Queen of the gods. The Lion’s coat was said to be impervious to fire and metal weapons. In the first of his twelve labours, Hercules, whom Hera despised, was given the task of slaying the beast that was ravaging the region of Nemea. After trapping the lion in a cave Hercules clubbed it to death and, in honour, Zeus placed the lion in the heavens.
Leo is a splendid constellation. The head and mane are marked by a distinctive star asterism known as the ‘sickle’ – the gardening implement which resembles a backwards question mark. At the base of this arrangement shines Leo’s chief star, Regulus, faintest of the first magnitude stars visible in the night sky. Regulus sits almost on the ecliptic and as a consequence is sometimes joined in close proximity by the moon and planets, and on rare occasions, occulted by them. In antiquity – from 4000 to 2000 bc – Regulus was counted as one of the four Royal stars, those bright stars nearest the position of the equinoxes and solstices. During this period Regulus was closest to the summer solstice position, but over the millennia the effects of precession have moved this position away.
Some distance to the left of the sickle, a ‘triangular’ arrangement of stars depicts the hindquarters of the Lion. The area of sky around Leo, particularly below and behind the hindquarters, and bounded by the adjoining constellations of Coma Berenices and Virgo, is often referred to by amateur astronomers as the ‘realm of galaxies’. Here, with a good pair of binoculars on a tripod, or a half decent telescope, coupled with dark skies, a careful observer may glimpse numerous ‘tiny fuzzies’ of faint light: distant galaxies, tens or even hundreds of million light years away . . .
Good hunting and clear skies!
Mark Dawson,
Whitby and District Astronomical Society
WDAS usually meets in room H1, Caedmon College, Normanby campus (Whitby College). New members most welcome.
www.whitby-astronomers.com
email: spanton33@talktalk.net
.
