APRIL
1 Full Moon – “Pink Moon” – the first full Moon after the Spring Equinox, marks the beginning of Passover at sunset and determines the date of Easter (April 5).
6 Moon passes Antares, brightest star in Scorpius
7 Moon at apogee (251,637 miles from Earth)
10 Last Quarter
11 Moon passes Pluto
15 Moon passes Mercury, Mars, and Neptune
16 Moon passes Saturn
17 New Moon
19 Moon, at perigee (224,707 miles from Earth), passes Venus and Uranus
22 Moon passes Jupiter
23 First Quarter
26 Moon passes Regulus, brightest star in Leo
29 Moon passes Spica, brightest star in Virgo
News of the Worlds
Our “evening star,” Venus (mag.-3.9), shines brightly in Aries, then moves into Taurus, just below the Pleiades(M45). Binocular planet Uranus (mag.5.8) lies close by, reaching a close conjunction with Venus on the evening of April 23.
Next comes Jupiter (mag.-2.1) in Gemini. Our largest planet sets by 3 AM at the beginning of April and around 1 AM by the end, giving us some good evening observing opportunities.
The rest of the action occurs around 30 minutes before sunrise, when you can watch for Mercury (mag.0.2),Saturn (mag.0.9) and Mars (mag.1.2) to reappear in the morning sky in Pisces. The three lie only 2° apart on April 20. Below them is Neptune, 1still too close to the rising sun for observation.
The Lyrid Meteor Shower runs April 14-30, peaking in the early-morning hours of April 22. The meteorsseem to radiate from the left of Vega, brightest star in the constellation Lyra. Look east around 3 AM to see about 18 meteors per hour.
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As many of you probably already know, Rick Bria is planning to retire and move away from the area this summer, meaning that he will no longer be able to run the public nights. He is hoping to train successors to keep things going – so if you are interested and able, please reach out to him here (GreenwichStars@gmailcom).