THE SOUTHWORTH PLANETARIUM
70 Falmouth Street      Portland, Maine 04103
(207) 780-4249      usm.maine.edu/planet
43.6667° N    70.2667° W  Founded January 1970
2022-2023: LXXXII
Sunrise: 6:16 a.m.
Sunset: 7:12 p.m.
Civil twilight begins: 5:47 a.m.
Civil twilight ends: 7:42 p.m.
Sun's host constellation: Pisces
Moon phase: Waxing gibbous (99% illuminated)
Moonrise: 6:50 p.m.
Moonset: 6:32 a.m. (4/6/2023)
Julian date: 2460039.29
 "Men are from Earth, women are from Earth. Deal with it."
                          -George Carlin


THE DAILY ASTRONOMER
Wednesday, April 5, 2023
April 2023 Night Sky Calendar  Part II


*THURSDAY, APRIL 6: FULL MOON*
[image: x9RDkY3hJr6BgVw7obMwHa-320-80.jpg]
Humans have bestowed a wide variety of nicknames to each full moon.   These
celestial sobriquets tend to be based on the seasons with which the given
month  is associated.    April's full moon is no exception.  We refer to
April's full moon as the  'Pink Moon,' in reference to a type of wildflower
that blooms this time of year.   It is also known as the Egg Moon,
Awakening Moon, Budding Moon, Seed Moon and Growing Moon.  All these names
evoke images of a world slowly but steadily warming as the ascending Sun
delivers a sharp and wholly deserved posterior kick to Old Man Winter.
 Quite a lot of time will elapse before the Snow Moon, Ice Moon and Long
Night Moon hang over our crystalline landscape again.

*SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 2023:*
*ONE YEAR UNTIL THE TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE!!*

*TUESDAY, APRIL 11: VENUS 2.5 DEGREES SE OF THE  PLEIADES*
[image: pleiades-nov-2018-Fred-Espenak-Arizona-e1542547236557.jpg]
Yesterday we focused on the constellation transitions: the winter patterns
soon destined to dissolve into the  dusk and those preparing  to emerge
into the evening sky.   This month we'll watch the Pleiades Star Cluster,
the  westernmost of the winter sky entourage, drawing ever closer to the
setting Sun.   Tonight, one will find the spectacular planet Venus rather
'close to it'  Of course, the  word 'close' is nowhere close to the truth.
  Whereas our infernally hot sister planet is a mere 104  million miles
from Earth, the Pleaides Star Cluster is 444 light years, or
2,575,200,000,000,000 miles away.

*TUESDAY,  APRIL  11:   MERCURY AT GREATEST EASTERN ELONGATION*
Mercury is certainly a homebody of a planet in that it never strays far
away from its parent star.  In fact, we on Earth will never find the first
world farther  than 28 degrees from the Sun.  Tonight,  Mercury reaches its
greatest eastern elongation of 20 degrees. As Mercury will be east of the
Sun, it will be visible in the western evening sky.  Mercury will set
tonight at 9:02 p.m.

*TUESDAY, APRIL 11: JUPITER IN SOLAR CONJUNCTION*
While one will experience an easier time seeing Mercury tonight, Jupiter
will be far out  of our view.  This bloated behemoth planet swings around
the far side of the Sun today, a configuration known as superior solar
conjunction.    Jupiter will remain out of sight for the rest of April.
The fifth world will climb back into view in the pre-dawn May sky.
Throughout the following months  Jupiter will be rising earlier and growing
brighter until it reaches opposition on November 3, 2023.

*THURSDAY,  APRIL 13:  LAST QUARTER MOON*

*SUNDAY, APRIL 16: MOON NEAR SATURN*
Tonight one will see the waning crescent moon (16% illuminated) passing
south  of Saturn.  One will observe both worlds low in the eastern pre-dawn
sky.  Look for them both by 4:45  a.m. Saturn will remain visible until the
onset of civil twilight around 5:27 a.m.


*THURSDAY, APRIL 20: NEW MOON*
AN ANNULAR-TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE!!!

...visible in Oceania and southeast Asia.    The map below shows the region
in which this eclipse can be seen: about as far from us as it possibly
could be.

[image: path2d-380.png]




Tomorrow we'll finish the April 2023 night sky calendar

To subscribe or unsubscribe from the "Daily Astronomer"

http://lists.maine.edu/cgi/wa?A0=DAILY-ASTRONOMER