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Starwatch NewsletterMinnesota Starwatch is a newsletter describing the night sky in the Midwest.
It is updated monthly, and is produced by the |
Minnesota Starwatch for April 2007
This month starts with a full moon on the 2nd, a last-quarter moon appears on the 9th, new moon is on the 17th, and first quarter moon is on the 23rd. If you were hoping for a blue moon in this short month (the second full moon in a calendar month), too bad; the next full moon is May 2. The Moon will be furthest from the Earth (apogee) when it is just past full moon on the 3rd, and closest to the Earth (perigee) when it is a new moon on the 17th.
Venus dominates the evening sky this month and is quite bright in the western sky for about 2 hours after sunset for the whole month. Venus will pass within about 2 degrees of the bright cluster of stars known as the Pleiades (also familiar as the Subaru logo) on April 11th. On April 19th, the crescent moon will be half-way between Venus and the Pleiades.
Saturn is also visible in the evening sky. It is as bright as the brightest stars, but not even close to the brightness of Venus. Saturn starts the evening nearly due south and then moves to the west throughout the evening. The Moon moves close to Saturn on the evening of the 24th. Throughout the month, the bright blue star Regulus will be Saturn's constant companion, lying about 11 degrees to the east. Regulus, also known as Alpha Leo (the brightest star in the constellation Leo) is the 20th brightest star in the sky. Regulus will be just slightly brighter than Saturn. The rings of Saturn are still easily viewable as the tilt is 15 degrees from edgewise. However, this will close in the next few years as we approach the next ring-plane crossing in 2010.
Jupiter rises in the middle of the night and can be found in the southerly morning sky. It will be the brightest object in the morning sky, although not quite as bright as Venus. The big news for Jupiter has been the appearance of a new feature called the Little Red Spot. The Little Red Spot is an Earth-sized storm created by the merger of three smaller white ovals in 1998 and 2000. The resulting giant oval started turning red in 2005. A telescope is required to observe Jupiter's surface features.
April is the month for the Lyrid meteor shower. The Lyrid shower is the oldest meteor shower for which observations have been found. It was seen in ancient China over 2000 years ago. It is associated with Comet Thatcher, discovered by A.E. Thatcher of New York on April 5th, 1861. It is not a spectacular meteor shower, and the peak this year occurs during our daytime. However, there is a greatly enhanced opportunity to see meteors after midnight on April 22nd and 23rd.
For fun Astronomy Outreach programs check out our Public Outreach link, or if you're interested in how you can help build the new Minnesota Planetarium, please call 612-630-6151 or visit http://www.mplanetarium.org.
The Minnesota Starwatch is produced by the University of Minnesota Astronomy Department.