Feature ArticleApril 1, 2004
LAND O' LAKES NewsWeb HomeContact Us
Four Bright Planets for SpringEnjoyment
by Leo Enright
At the first of the month, local sunset was at about 6:30 p.m. EST; with the change to Daylight Saving Time, that time became 7:30 p.m., and by the end of the month, it will be slightly after 8:00 p.m. EDT. The time of the end of evening twilight goes from 9:15 p.m. EDT at the beginning of the month to about 10:15 p.m. EDT at months end, and our sunrise times move from about 6:50 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. EDT on the last day of the month.
The great winter star constellations (Taurus, Orion, Canis Major, and Canis Minor) are sinking low in the western sky, and the large spring constellations have moved up into the southern and eastern sky. Most easily identified are first Leo, the Lion, with its distinctive star pattern of a backwards question mark forming the head, mane, and front paws of the huge feline, and a right-angled triangle forming its hind-quarters; and secondly the constellation Virgo marked by a brilliant whitish star Spica amid two large rectangular patterns, from which it is difficult for most modern observers, with far less active imaginations than their ancient counterparts, to see the shape of a young lady carrying a bouquet of flowers. Observers often spend hours on these two constellations alone, studying their distant galaxies, each of them with hundreds of billions of stars like our own Milky Way Galaxy, and also observing their many variable stars in our own galaxy as these stars change their brightness over the course of days, weeks, or months.
There will be four bright planets to draw our attention this month. Venus is bright enough to be seen in the daytime, if one knows exactly where to look, and it may be seen in the western sky for 3 hours after the time of sunset. The combination of this planets orbital motion and our Earths makes Venus appear to move past a very interesting part of the sky this month. In early April it appears to move past the star cluster called The Pleiades and in the middle of the month it appears to move past the Hyades Cluster, also known as the Head of Taurus the Bull, with its reddish star Aldebaran. Late in the month Venus continues to move upward among the stars, near the planet Mars, and closer to the planet Saturn. Mars is also in the evening sky all month, and its reddish glow will continue to become fainter as the distance between it and Earth increases. Its motion appears to carry it upward and away from the reddish star Aldebaran. Meanwhile, as the month progresses, the distance between these two upward moving planets, brilliant Venus and faint-red Mars, is slowly decreasing as Venus closes the gap, with the separation being about the width of a fist held at arms length at the months beginning but only a half-fist at months end. Try yourself to measure this distance.
Saturn is very high in the southwestern evening sky, well above Venus and not far from the Gemini stars, Castor and Pollux, and is still very bright. In the evening, brilliant Jupiter is high in the east, amid the stars of the constellation Leo, the Lion. Second in brightness only to Venus, Jupiter dominates the eastern evening sky if the moon is absent, and after midnight when Venus has set, Jupiter is the prominent planet.
Dont miss the sight of the crescent moon below Venus about a half-hour after sunset on April 22. Twenty-four hours later on April 23, be sure to watch the crescent slightly above and to the left from Venus and just to the right of Mars. On April 24 at the same time, if the sky is clear, the crescent will appear to the right of Saturn and well above Mars and Venus. Among the famous annual meteor showers, the Lyrids reach their peak in late April. The very best time to watch for a display of these shooting stars will be during the night of Wednesday-Thursday April 21-22, especially from midnight until morning twilight. Most meteors will be seen in the eastern part of the sky. Remember that a number of these meteors may also be seen for several nights before and after the time of the precise peak of predicted activity.
Regarding the moon, two things should be mentioned. The date of the Full Moon, April 5, being the date of the first Full Moon following the Vernal Equinox, is what determines the date of Easter this year, namely the following Sunday, April 11. Also, since it is about six months since we had a solar and lunar eclipse, it is again eclipse season. Although there is a solar eclipse at the time of the New Moon on April 19 and a Lunar Eclipse at the time of the Full Moon on May 4, neither one can be seen from this part of the world. Our next eclipse season, however, weather permitting, will bring is a chance to view a Total Lunar Eclipse on the night of October 27-28.
During May there is a possibility that two comets discovered in the past three years may brighten enough to be seen with the unaided eye, and one, or both, of them may possibly be visible in late April. One of them may be seen low in the eastern morning sky and the other low in the southwestern evening sky. More information about them will be in next months column.
Information about many topics relating to astronomy will be available at the annual International Astronomy Day display being held in Kingston at the Frontenac Mall throughout the day on Saturday April 24. Those who need additional observing information are invited to use the book The Beginners Observing Guide, available at Sharbot Lake Pharmacy. A very Happy Easter to all our readers, and clear dark skies for springtime observing!
