Here’s a brief look at what’s going on in the Mile High City this week.
April 7:
- Look for the Waxing Pink Moon within a couple degrees of Regulus in the constellation Leo high in the southern sky. Regulus (Alpha Leonis) is the brightest star in the constellation Leo and the 21st brightest star in the night sky. It’s part of a multiple-star system who’s name means “little king.”
April 8:
- Astronomical Observing 101 Class: 7:00 PM at the Chamberlain Observatory (Registration Required).
- Astrophotography Special Interest Group (ASIG) – General Meeting for DAS Members: 7:00 PM (more info).
- Conjunction of Venus, Saturn, and Mercury.
April 9:
- Mercury will be within 2° of Saturn and also close to Venus in the constellation Pisces before dawn in the morning, but these planets will be almost impossible to see as they rise just before the sun in the east.
- Moon at Descending Node. The lunar nodes are the two points where the Moon’s orbital path crosses the ecliptic, the Sun’s apparent yearly path on the celestial sphere. 12:56 PM
April 10:
- Standlely Lake Stargazing Virtual Program (Virtual Lecture) – 6PM (Zoom link).
April 11:
- What was a temporary triangle the past few months of winter, has now become a temporary straight line in the spring sky. Look for Mars lining up right beside Castor and Pollux in the constellation Gemini.
April 12:
- Tonight is all about the Full Pink Moon. The Moon reaches apogee (406,295 km) at 5:00 PM, making it appear slightly smaller than the average moon. The Moon is full at precisely 6:22 PM. Throughout the night, look for the Full Pink Moon within half a degree from Spica in the constellation Virgo. Spica (Alpha Virginis) is the brightest star in the constellation Virgo and one of the brightest stars in the night sky, located about 250 light-years from Earth. It’s a variable and multiple giant star of spectral class B1.
April 13:
- The last two planets from February’s Planet Parade are Mars and Jupiter in Gemini and Taurus respectively. These are two of the brightest objects in the night sky and easily observed with the naked eye. As it goes with planetary orbits, this won’t last forever either. By June, Jupiter will no longer be visible in the night skies, so catch these two planets while you can.
Sky Map
- The pdf map of the April night sky from SkyMaps.com can be found at https://www.skymaps.com/skymaps/tesmn2504.pdf.
This Week’s Meteoric Activity:
You can keep track of the activity of meteor showers as well as those beyond the limits of visual observing by visiting the NASA Meteor Shower Portal.
- Anthelion (ANT): 1:00 AM local time in western Leo: 2 per hour.
- nu Cygnids (NCY): 1 hour before dawn in eastern Lyra: less than 1 per hour.
Clear skies and happy stargazing!
