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What's Up...
Some observing hilights
to look forward to...
The following tips on current and upcoming astronomical events
have been assembled for our Okanagan region by Dave Gamble
with the objective of giving OC RASC members a heads-up on
special personal astro-experiences to look forward to.
Tues. April 2 – This is Last Quarter Moon night, but even so, Luna will be difficult to observe since she is located very low in the south among the stars of Sagittarius as the sky begins to brighten before dawn.
Mon. April 8 – This is the big day, a total solar eclipse along a path from Mexico to the Canadian maritimes, and an interesting partial eclipse for those who will view it from here.
First contact will occur in the Okanagan at 10.44am followed by mid eclipse with 21% of the Sun obscured at 11.35am and last contact at 12.27pm. Be sure to use safe solar eclipse glasses or project the Sun’s image with a pinhole in a cardboard sheet, or best yet with a solar viewing projection setup.
The precise times for the Okanagan were provided by my astro friend Kathleen Fleming who offered them to the listeners of her StarDate Susitna radio program on public radio in Alaska, wherever they would be located on eclipse day, and generously provided one for us as well. In her March 24 radio program she does a wonderful job of explaining the mechanics of how lunar and solar eclipses set up which is really fascinating. The link to a rebroadcast of her 15 minute program can be found here: https://ktna.org/category/programs/writers-voice/ . After a brief comment on a then current auroral display, she launches right into the subject of eclipses.
Mon. April 8 – With the solar eclipse getting all of the attention, those who still prize a moon free sky will celebrate tonight as the heart of the current dark sky period… given the cooperation of the weatherman of course.
Wed. April 10 – The western sky will have a treat in store this evening as the crescent Luna will descend toward the horizon in the company of brilliant Jupiter, located less than the width of three fingers below her.
Thurs. April 11 – The waxing crescent Moon has now climbed into the vicinity of the Pleiades open cluster in Taurus to provide more evening eye candy, as well as giving us a reminder that the familiar star patterns of winter are on their way to the western horizon and will soon be out of sight for the coming warm weather seasons.
Mon. April 15 – This is First Quarter Moon night with the perfectly divided Luna poised high in the evening sky just to the left of Gemini’s twins Castor and Pollux.
Thurs. April 18 – Luna could well be considered being a travel agent as she enlivens the sky in her different phases, introducing us to first one celestial scene and the next night to another. This particular night will find our waxing gibbous neighbour near the heart of Leo the Lion with bright Regulus and the reverse question mark asterism just to her right. Adding interest is the thought that Leo’s brightest star is actually a quadruple star system organized into two closely spaced pairs of stars.
Sun. April 21 - For lovers of meteor showers, this year's Lyrids will peak overnight, however the almost full Moon will play spoil sport, wiping out fainter shower members. The radiant in Lyra will rise higher in northeastern sky as Sunday night turns into Monday which will help a bit. As well as 'shooting stars' the Lyrids can surprise with the odd fireball.
Tues. April 23 – This is Full Moon night as Luna climbs into the low southern night sky to survey how things are coming along with springtime in the Okanagan.
Sat. April 27 – Waning gibbous Luna is now deep in the southern sky as she rises in the wee hours just to the left of ruddy Antares in Scorpius. While impressive to observe even from Earth, it’s sobering to think that this super giant star’s surface would envelop the Earth as well as Mars if it replaced our Sun. Just as well that it’s located 550 light years distant.