April brings the yearly Lyrid meteor shower. The Lyrids tend to produce fast-moving meteors that do not have relentless routes, but they can also produce the occasional intense meteor called a fireball.
Mercury, Moon and worlds, and Meteors!
Area Mercury after sunset early in the month, follow the Moons visits with the planets, and catch a shooting star when the Lyrid meteors peak on April 23.
April 2023 Skywatching Highlights
The Lyrids typically peak around April 22nd, with a screen of 10 to 20 meteors per hour under optimal viewing conditions. Called after the constellation Lyra, where the meteors appear to stem, the Lyrids Meteor Shower has actually been observed for over 2,600 years, making it one of the oldest known meteor showers.
What are some skywatching highlights in April 2023?
Mercury reaches its highest in the night sky for the year for Northern Hemisphere observers. The Moon makes its monthly rounds to pair wonderfully with numerous worlds. And viewing conditions might be perfect for the yearly Lyrid meteor shower, thanks to no disturbance from the Moon.
April 11– Mercury is at its highest in the evening sky for the year, for Northern Hemisphere observers. Look low in the west not long after sundown [Best watching is April 3-11, as it climbs up a little greater each evening.]
April 11– Venus sits near the Pleiades star cluster this evening in the west.
April 15-16– Find the Moon near Saturn in the east, in the couple of hours before daybreak.
April 23– The crescent Moon hangs simply 5 degrees above Venus in the west after sunset.
April 25– The Moon and Mars set up this evening, high in the west after dark.
April 6– Full moon
April 20– New moon
April 23– The Lyrid meteor shower peaks today. Best watching is between midnight and dawn.
April 26-27– The Moon is at its first-quarter stage, which is a good time to observe with binoculars or a telescope if you have access to them. Around this time you can observe information in the lunar craters and mountains along the day-night line (the terminator) with ease.
The Lyrids usually peak around April 22nd, with a screen of 10 to 20 meteors per hour under optimum watching conditions. Called after the constellation Lyra, where the meteors appear to originate, the Lyrids Meteor Shower has been observed for over 2,600 years, making it one of the oldest known meteor showers. And viewing conditions might be perfect for the yearly Lyrid meteor shower, thanks to no interference from the Moon.
Video Transcript
Whats Up for April? Mercury rising, this months Moon and planet pairings, and the Lyrid meteor shower.
Up, on April 11, the planet Mercury– tiniest and fastest moving of the worlds in our solar system– will reach its greatest and most visible in the night sky for the year.
Mercury is only noticeable in the sky for a couple of weeks every three to 4 months. The rest of the time, its too near to the Sun in the sky and is lost in its bright glare. And since the world orbits so near to the Sun, its constantly near the Sun in the sky, appearing low near the horizon for no greater than an hour or 2, either following sunset, or preceding sunrise.
A few of Mercurys fleeting appearances– referred to as “phantoms”– are much better for observing than others, for a combination of factors that involve how our view of the solar system changes with the seasons, what hemisphere youre in, and what stage the world takes place to be revealing us at the time. For this apparition, in the Northern Hemisphere, the best viewing is April 3rd through the 11th, as the planet appears higher in the sky each evening. It quickly fades in brightness after that, as the stage it shows us ends up being a progressively slimmer crescent.
On April 11, youll discover planet Venus best next to the Pleiades star cluster. This pairing makes for a fun suggestion that the night sky is kind of like a time machine– the farther out into area you look, the farther back in time youre seeing.
The latter half of April consists of some remarkable close methods of the Moon with three of the brilliant planets in the sky. On April 16th and 15th, youll find the crescent Moon increasing with Saturn. Discover them low in the southeastern sky in the couple of hours before daybreak. Then on the evening of the 23rd, find the slim crescent Moon hanging simply 5 degrees above Venus in the west after sundown. And on April 25th the Moon discovers its way over to Mars, high up in the west after dark.
At this time, around the 27th and 26th, the Moon will be at its first quarter phase, implying it looks like a “half-moon,” high in the sky after dark. The first-quarter Moon is a great time to take out your binoculars or telescope, if you have them, as its a perfect time to observe the Moons craters and mountains along the terminator — the day/night border– with ease. Great deals of astronomy clubs plan public observing nights around this time too, and you can search for occasions in your area with NASAs Night Sky Network.
April brings the yearly Lyrid meteor shower. Its a medium-strength shower that can produce as much as 20 meteors per hour at its peak, under perfect conditions. The Lyrids peak this year in the pre-dawn hours of April 23rd, though you ought to see a few shooting stars on the morning prior to and after the peak too. Luckily, the peak falls simply a couple of days after the brand-new moon. That indicates the Moon wont disrupt this years Lyrids, frustrating fainter meteors in the glow of moonlight.
The Lyrids are named for the constellation Lyra, which is near the point in the sky where their meteors appear to come from, called the radiant. Theyre one of the earliest recognized meteor showers, with the first tape-recorded sighting in China some 2,700 years earlier. They originate as dust particles from a comet throughout its 400-year orbit around the Sun.
The Lyrids tend to produce fast-moving meteors that do not have relentless routes, but they can also produce the periodic intense meteor called a fireball. To observe them, find a comfy area away from bright city lights, get horizontal, and look directly. Youll see the most meteors by looking slightly far from the origin point, which is near the intense star Vega.
Heres wishing you clear skies to capture a couple of shooting stars one April early morning, when the projection calls for light showers of comet dust, with an opportunity of fireballs.
Here are the stages of the Moon for April.
The 4 main stages of the Moon are illustrated in a horizontal row, with the moon on April 6, 3rd quarter on April 13, new moon on April 20, and very first quarter on April 27. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Stay up to date with all of NASAs objectives to check out the planetary system and beyond at nasa.gov. Im Preston Dyches from NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, whichs Whats Up for this month.