|
April
is Global Astronomy Month
http://www.gam-awb.org/ |
| 1 |
Moon
near Mars
(evening sky) at 7h UT. Mag. +0.0. |
| 4 |
Moon
near Spica
(evening sky) at 19h UT. |
| 4 |
Moon
near Saturn
(evening sky) at 20h UT. Mag. +0.3. |
| 5 |
Eta
Aquarid meteor shower peaks.
Active from April 19 to May 28. Associated with Comet Halley.
Very fast, bright meteors, up to 10-20 per hour. Favors
skywatchers in the tropics and southern hemisphere observing a
few hours before dawn. Unfavorable in 2012 due to bright
moonlight.
• The
Eta Aquarids (Gary Kronk)
• Meteor
Shower Calendar (April to June) (IMO)
|
| 6 |
Full
Moon
at 3:35 UT. Largest this year.
• Full
Moon Names (Wikipedia) |
| 6 |
Moon
at perigee
(closest to Earth) at 4h UT (356,955 km; 33.5'). Nearest in
2012. Occurs very close to Full Moon. Very high tides expected. |
| 7 |
Moon
near Antares
(morning sky) at 18h UT. |
| 12 |
Last
Quarter Moon
at 21:47 UT. |
| 13 |
Jupiter
at conjunction
with the Sun at 13h UT. Passes into the morning sky (not
visible). |
| 19 |
Moon
at apogee
(farthest from Earth) at 16h UT (distance 406,448 km; angular
size 29.4'). |
| 20 |
New
Moon
at 23:47 UT. Start of lunation 1106.
• Lunation
Number (Wikipedia) |
| 20 |
Annular
Solar Eclipse
from 22:00 to 1:30 UT (5/21). Annular (ring-like) eclipse
visible on a narrow path from southern coast of China (sunrise),
across parts of Japan (including Tokyo), across the North
Pacific, before making landfall near the California-Oregon coast
(22° above horizon at 6:24 PDT), then across the Grand Canyon,
Bryce and Zion National Parks to Albuquerque (5° above
horizon), before sunset near Lubbock in Western Texas. The
partial phase is visible across Asia, the vast Pacific Ocean,
and North America.
• Annular
Solar Eclipse of 2012 May 20 (NASA/Google Map)
• Annular
Solar Eclipse of 2012 May 20 (NASA/PDF)
• Eclipses
in 2012 (NASA inc Maps & Tables) |
| 22 |
Moon
near Venus
(21° from Sun, evening sky) at 22h UT. Mag. -4.5. A telescope
will show Venus as a thin crescent. |
| 26 |
Moon
near Beehive cluster (M44)
(evening sky) at 12h UT.
• Beehive
Star Cluster (M44) (Wikipedia) |
| 27 |
Mercury
at superior conjunction
with the Sun at 11h UT. The planet passes into the evening sky. |
| 28 |
Moon
near Regulus
(evening sky) at 5h UT. |
| 28 |
First
Quarter Moon
at 20:15 UT. |
|
The Zodiacal
Light
is caused by sunlight reflected off meteoric dust in the plane
of the solar system. Choose a clear, moonless night, about 1-2
hours after sunset, and look for a large triangular-shaped glow
extending up from the horizon (along the ecliptic). The best
months to view the Zodiacal Light is when the ecliptic is almost
vertical at the horizon: March and April (evening) and
October-November (morning); times reversed for the southern
hemisphere.
• Zodiacal
Light (Wikipedia)
• Astronomy
Picture of the Day (APOD)
• Photographing
the Zodiacal Light (Weatherscapes) |
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