This is the continuing monthly column for the astronomer in all of us, or the aspiring astro-physicist. Compared to areas near Boston or New Bedford, generally speaking, the Tri-Town has pretty good dark skies and thus are very fortunate in that regard. This year has already brought with it some great stellar sights as we eye with anticipation humanity’s return to the Moon.
First up, on April 1, the scheduled launch of the long-delayed and long-awaited Artemis II mission from Kennedy Space Center. The 9-day-long flight will see four astronauts, three Americans and one Canadian, return to lunar orbit for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972. Not spoken of often, this mission also breaks the record for the most astronauts in deep space (out of Earth orbit) at one time, with the previous record from the Apollo missions at three.
The crew is Commander Reid Weismann from Maryland, Pilot Victor Glover from California, Mission Specialist 1 Christina Koch from Michigan, and Mission Specialist 2 Jeremy Hansen from Ontario.
After liftoff and competing one orbit around the Earth, the Orion capsule begins its four-day, 240,000-mile dart to the moon, which it reaches on day 6 of the journey. After nine days, the capsule crashes back to the blue planet and lands in the Pacific. If the April 1 launch date is unfavorable, NASA is targeting the first six days of the month more generally as alternatives.
For cosmic events this month, we stick with the moon at first. On April 2, the month’s full moon will occur. Being the first full moon in spring, this one is referred to as the “Pink Moon” due to the colors of flowers in bloom, not the color of the Moon’s glow itself.
The new moon will be on April 17, making this the best time to hunt for galaxies, nebulae, and other dimmer stellar masses.
On April 18, Mercury, Mars, Saturn, and Neptune (if you have a capable telescope) are all near each other in the early-morning sky just near the horizon. Venus is also visible, though it is at night and near the moon.
The Lyrid Meteor Shower occurs this year between April 15 and April 29, peaking on April 24 with about 18 meteors per hour. It is named after and seen near the constellation Lyra, or near the star Vega. The star Vega is where the aliens in Carl Sagan’s Contact were from, if you were wondering.
Taking the spot of Venus nearest the Moon in the night sky is Jupiter, that closes in on our moon on April 22 in a “conjecture.” Around this time, Venus will be visible near Uranus (also requiring a telescope) as the two are just off from the Pleiades star cluster, known as the Seven Sisters.
Astronomy Update for April
By Sam Bishop