by William J. Bechaver
EARTH — This weekend, on Saturday April 22, go out just after sunset and look to the west. There, you will see a beautiful coupling of the moon with the brilliant planet Venus.
The pairing will not be an extremely close one, but any time the moon enters the vicinity of Venus, it is always a rewarding sight to behold.
On Saturday, Venus will be above the fine crescent moon. About the same distance below the moon, the faint but beautiful Pleiades star cluster can be located. Always a joy to observe, the individual stars are better defined through a simple pair of binoculars. The star cluster is always wonderful to observe.
Watch throughout the evening, as the night darkens, and moon and Venus slowly set in the west. But the entire time you’re watching, keep an eye out, for Saturday is also the peak night of activity for the Lyrid Meteor Shower.
The moon sets just before eleven that night, and from then on, we will have perfect dark skies for observing the best spring meteor shower of the year.
A meteor shower occurs when Earth passes through a debris field of icy particles that were left in space by a passing comet. The comet leaves remnants in its wake, and when the orbit of the Earth carries our planet through the debris field, a meteor shower results.
As Earth passes through the particles left in space, they impact upon our atmosphere, burning up s they enter. When we observe these impacts from the surface of Earth below, we see them as a meteor blazing across our sky.
The constellation Lyra, for which the shower is named, is low in the north east as the sun sets. During the course of the night, it will rise higher. As the moon sets, it will have risen in the east. Lyra is the point in the heavens from which the meteors appear to radiate. As it climbs higher, the rate of visible meteors will increase, as those east of the constellation will not be below the horizon.
But you can look anywhere in the clear, dark sky to see the meteors. The further from Lyra you observe, the longer the meteor impact trails seem to be. During peak activity, you can expect to see about eighteen meteors every hour, which averages out to one every three minutes, or so.
But remember, meteor showers are irregular. You may see several meteors in one minute, or have to wait several minutes to see the first one. So, go out, let your eyes adjust to the darkness. And with patience, you will see several of the Lyrid meteors streaking across the sky.
On the evening of Thursday April 20, just after sunset, go out and try to find a fine crescent moon low to the horizon, almost lost in the glare of the sun. Above the crescent, try to locate the tiny planet Mercury. It is growing nearer to Earth, but with its bright side toward the sun, and away from us, it is now dimming as it approaches. And as it lowers by day, it is becoming hard to find in the brighter sky after sunset.
The following evening, on Friday April 21, the larger and more apparent crescent moon will lie below the Pleiades star cluster. About the same distance below the moon you will be able to find tiny, fading Mercury. This is about our last best chance to find the tiny planet, as it draws nearer, sinks lower, and will soon pass between the Earth and sun, being lost in the glow of sunset.
On the evening of Tuesday April 25, the moon will have climbed to join Mars between the to twins of Gemini, high in the western sky. The brightest point of light nearest the moon is the distant, rocky planet Mars. The two points of light above are the two head stars of the twins, Pollux and Castor, shining nearly as brightly as Mars. We are moving away from Mars, and it continues to fade into obscurity among the stars of the twins.
So, this week provides plenty of opportunities for viewing of the nearest, brightest planets. But the best views come Saturday night, after the beautiful pair of the moon and Venus has set, and we will be treated to the peak activity of the amazing Lyrid Meteor Shower.
With our dark skies here, they only need to be clear, so keep your eyes on the skies from sunset to sunrise.
Thanks for the positive feedback about our featured columns, and your continued interest in astronomy. If you have any questions or article requests, contact us at spacescape@rocketmail.com, or follow us on Twitter @ColoSpacEScapE for updates and additional viewing opportunities.
Astronomical times and distances of naked-eye objects for this weekend:
Sun Set = 7:40 p.m.
6 minutes later than last week
93.444 million miles from Earth
180,590 miles further than last week
2,041,342 miles further than its nearest in January
Mercury Set = 8:48 p.m.
22 minutes earlier than last week
68 minutes after the sun
59.934 million miles from Earth
12,210,191 miles nearer than last week
67.274 million miles nearer than its furthest in March
Moon Set = 10:50 p.m.
67 minutes later than last night
241,796 miles from Earth
3,011 miles further than last night
13,112 miles further than last week
Nearest is 221,557 miles
Furthest is 252,566 miles
Venus Set = 11:09 p.m.
13 minutes later than last week
3 hours 29 minutes after the sun
96.686 million miles from Earth
4,647,845 miles nearer than last week
62.920 million miles nearer than its furthest in October
Mars Set = 1:25 a.m.
13 minutes earlier than last week
154.838 million miles from Earth
6,132,867 miles further than last week
104.113 million miles further than its nearest in December
Saturn Rise = 3:54 a.m.
26 minutes earlier than last week
957.268 million miles from Earth
8,903,029 miles nearer than last week
47.610 million miles nearer than its furthest in February
Jupiter Rise = 5:57 a.m.
23 minutes earlier than last week
16 minutes before the sun
552.648 million miles from Earth
836,485 miles nearer than its furthest last week
Sun Rise = 6:13 a.m.
9 minutes earlier than last week
93.455 million miles from Earth
10,920 miles further than last night
179,558 miles further than last week
2.052 million miles further than its nearest in January
First Quarter Moon occurs on Thursday, April 27, at 3:19 p.m. We’ve gained 16 minutes of daylight since last week, or 73 minutes since last month, and a full three hours 55 minutes since the December Solstice. Our nearest planetary neighbor currently is Mercury. No planet in the dark sky for two hours 29 minutes. This is the duration between Mars Set and Saturn Rise in the morning. No planets are visible during this period.
Note: Times are local Mountain Time. Actual “sundown” is about a dozen minutes earlier than calculated “sunset”. Along the front range, differing times vary depending on your distance from the mountains.
William J. Bechaver is the director of SPACE • Spanish Peaks Amateur Cosmos Enthusiasts, the premier Astronomical Society for Southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico.
