THE SOUTHWORTH PLANETARIUM 207-780-4249 www.usm.maine.edu/planet70 Falmouth Street Portland, Maine 04103 43.6667° N, 70.2667° W Founded January 1970 MONDAY, APRIL 18: MOON 2.1 DEGREES SSW OF JUPITER (SILVER EVENT!!) The
gibbous moon and giant planet together in the eastern evening sky. A
splendid sight to behold. Moreover, these two worlds will be easy to see
as soon as dusk darkens into night. MONDAY, APRIL 18: MERCURY AT GREATEST EASTERN ELONGATION (BRONZE EVENT!) Yes,
a silver and bronze event on the same night. One can actually see
them both at the same time. See Mercury at its greatest elongation
(19.9 degrees from the Sun) in the western sky while admiring Jupiter
and the moon in the east. This is the best time of month to observe
Mercury. (See "Planet Watch" from, um, yesterday.) MONDAY, APRIL 18: SUN ENTERS ARIES The Sun leaves Pisces the Fish and enters Aries the Ram. Though the Sun occupies Pisces on spring's first day, the vernal equinox is still called the "First Point of Aries," as the Sun was once in Aries when spring started. Precessional wobbling causes the thirteen zodiac constellations to migrate around the entire ecliptic once every 26,000 years. Consequently, the vernal equinox point will eventually move through all thirteen ecliptic constellations. The Vernal Equinox point moved from Aries into Pisces in 68 BCE.** The ecliptic constellations are ARIES THE RAM, Taurus the Bull, Gemini the Twins, Cancer the Crab, Leo the Lion, Virgo the Maiden, Libra the Scales, Scorpius the Scorpion, Ophiuchus the Serpent Charmer, Sagittarius the Archer, Capricornus the Seagoat, Aquarius the Water Bearer, and Pisces the Fish. The Sun will enter Taurus the Bull on May 13th. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20: MARS 7.2 DEGREES WEST OF SATURN (GOLD EVENT!!!) An opportunity to see Mars and Saturn close together! Not only will Mars be 3.5 times brighter than Saturn, it will also appear quite reddish, so one should have no trouble distinguishing between these two planets! This planetary appulse is this month's "gold event" because this is an unfavorable year for the Lyrid Meteor Shower, which would otherwise have been given the gold designation. FRIDAY, APRIL 22: FULL MOON As it true with the full moon in other months, the April Full Moon has a variety of names, many of them pertaining to the season of planting and budding flowers. To the Colonial Americans, it was the "Planter's Moon," the Chinese call it "The Peony Moon." The Cherokee people named it the "Flower Moon." It is the "Growing Moon" to the Celts, and was the "Seed Moon" in Medieval England. FRIDAY, APRIL 22: LYRID METEOR SHOW PEAKS We love this shower because its parent comet is C/1861 Gl Thatcher. It was last at perihelion in 1861 and isn't due to arrive at the next perihelion until 2280 or thereabouts. The Lyrid shower, so named as he meteors appear to emanate from the constellation Lyra, are pieces of a comet that is presently deep in the void, destined not to return for another 165 years. Fiery fragments of ghosts… Unfortunately, this is a not a favorable year for the Lyrids due to the full moon's light interference. MONDAY, APRIL 25: MOON 4.9 DEGREES NORTH OF MARS The waning gibbous moon and the red planet rise together in the mid evening sky. A bright planet and a gibbous moon are always quite pleasing to the eye. MONDAY, APRIL 25: MOON 3.3 DEGREES NORTH OF SATURN The waning gibbous moon and the ringed planet rise together in the mid evening sky. A moderately bright planet and a gibbous moon are always pleasing to the eye, just as the cut and paste option is always pleasing to a lazy writer. TUESDAY, APRIL 26: MARS 4.9 DEGREES NORTH OF ANTARES Antares, the brightest star in Scorpius the Scorpion, is called the "rival to Mars," as it appears almost as red as Mars. Presently, however, it isn't much of a rival, as Antares will appear more than eight times dimmer than Mars. Of course, intrinsically, Antares is a red supergiant star that could power slam a few billion Mars-sized spheres in one gulp. Yet, to us, Mars appears the grander of the two bodies, SATURDAY, APRIL 30: LAST QUARTER MOON We almost forgot! (Ok, we did forget!!) We promised to list the host constellations of the planets each month. MERCURY (PISCES --> ARIES) VENUS (PISCES) MARS (SCORPIUS) JUPITER
(LEO) remains a bright evening sky beacon this month. This behemoth
world gradually grows dimmer throughout the spring and summer now that
it has passed beyond its March 8th opposition. VERDICT: Brilliant
still and well positioned in the eastern evening sky. It still has
center stage for prime time viewers! |