Midpark Planetarium

March/April 2011 Highlights:

·  The Sun is moving higher and higher, the days are growing longer, and the days grow less and less chilly.

·  Several planets are visible during these two months.

·  Jupiter is visible in the southwest, but only for the beginning of this two-month period.

·  While Jupiter sinks lower and lower toward the southwest horizon as the days go by, Saturn will make its eastern evening appearance earlier and earlier each night. Early in this two-month period, Saturn will rise at around 9p.m. (10p.m Daylight time) above the east-southeastern horizon. Each day, it will rise approximately four minutes earlier. It will be easy to confuse Saturn with the bright star Arcturus. Arcturus is to the left, while Saturn is to the right. Below Arcturus and Saturn, rising approximately 50 minutes later, is the star Spica. Spica will be a bit dimmer than Arcturus and Saturn. By the second half of March, this trio will be rising as darkness falls. This Saturn-Arcturus-Spica triangle will be in the sky for a number of months…..well into summer. As the weeks progress, this triangle rises earlier each night. As a rule of thumb for this triangle (and all other stars that rise and set), one month later, they will be in the same location two hours earlier.

·  As Jupiter sinks lower and lower toward the western horizon, Mercury will be moving higher and higher and appear to meet Jupiter. At their closest approach, or conjunction, Jupiter and Mercury will be about 2 degrees apart. That is, about a finger-width at arms length apart. This conjunction, or nearest approach of Mercury and Jupiter, will occur on March 16. Since Mercury is so close to the Sun, it is never visible very high above our horizon. By the end of March, Mercury will no longer be visible. By the end of the month, Jupiter will also have moved to nearly the other side of the Sun from the Earth and will no longer be visible for a few weeks until it emerges on the other side of the Sun. Jupiter will then be visible in our morning sky.

·  Venus will be visible above the southeast horizon before sunrise.

·  The Lyrid Meteor Shower peaks on April 21/22. Meteors are often visible for a week or so before and after the peak.

·  The Moon and planets travel very near a line called the ecliptic. The ecliptic is the path in the sky through which the Sun appears to travel. The Sun, planets and moons of most planets are roughly in the same plane. That is why the Moon and planets travel through the same areas of the sky, near the ecliptic.

·  While the stars and constellations of the winter sky are very easy to spot, they are constantly moving westward each evening. The winter constellations begin this two-month period in the south and overhead. The spring stars and constellations, which are already appearing in the east as we begin the month of March, will begin to dominate the skies as we progress into these two months.

·  The winter constellation, Orion will move closer to the southwest horizon as the days progress. The three stars that form Orion’s belt can help you locate this hunter. The bright star Sirius in Canis Major, to the lower left of Orion, will still be easily seen in the south-southwest. Sirius is the brightest star in our evening sky. Only the Sun, Moon, Venus, Jupiter, and Mars can appear brighter. To the left of Orion’s shoulders, look for Procyon in the constellation Canis Minor. Following Orion’s belt to the upper right will lead you to the star Aldebaran, the eye of Taurus the bull. Continue following the line of Orion’s belt past Aldebaran. You should be able to spot the Pleiades, a dim star cluster often called the Seven Sisters. Above and left of Orion are the stars Pollux and Castor in the constellation Gemini. Castor and Pollux are well above Orion as they move closer and closer to the western horizon. Castor and Pollux are visible for quite a few days in the west after Orion is too close to the horizon to view. Above Orion’s head is the bright star Capella in the constellation Auriga. This entire set of winter stars and constellations begins the month of March high in the south in the evening. Each day, however, they move nearer to the southwest. By the end of April, they will have just about disappeared for this year.

·  As we move into the Spring season, look for Ursa Major, the Big Bear, or Big Dipper as it moves more over head each evening. See if you can spot Alcor, the companion to the star Mizar, which is the middle star of the handle of the Big Dipper. The Big Dipper (Ursa Major) and the Little Dipper (Ursa Minor) are actually visible in the evening sky year round….as long as the sky is clear. However, the Big Dipper is easiest to spot in the spring, because that is when it’s highest in the sky.

·  The “handle” of the big dipper forms a curve that “arcs” to the bright star Arcturus in the constellation Bootes the shepherd, and continues to arc or “spike” to the star Spica in Virgo. Arcturus is the very bright star visible in the east during the early part of this two month period. Arcturus moves higher in the sky as these two months progress. The constellation Corvus (the crow) is visible to the right of Spica. Corvus will appear as a four star grouping.

·  The Pointer Stars, which are the stars at the end of the bowl of the Big Dipper point to Polaris, the North Star. Polaris is not a very bright star. Since it is almost exactly above the North Pole, it always points out north to us. Polaris is the end of the handle of the Little Dipper, officially, Ursa Minor, the Little Bear. Ursa Minor is quite dim and difficult to view. In between the two dippers is a dim line of stars that forms the tail of Draco the dragon.

·  If you follow the Pointer Stars in the other direction, to the south - southeast, you can find the star Regulus and the constellation Leo, the lion. Leo consists of a backward question mark with Regulus forming the dot. The backward question mark is the head and mane of the lion, which is looking off to the right, or west. To the left of the backward question mark is a rather dim triangle that forms Leo’s back legs and tail. If you can find Leo the lion, you can imagine it looking to the right at the two bright stars, Castor and Pollux, which are part of the Gemini twins. Leo’s rising in the east is a reminder that spring is on its way. By late April, Leo is at its highest point in the south.
 

March/April 2011 Astronomical Events

·  March 1  The crescent Moon and Venus make a beautiful pairing in the southeast before sunrise. The Moon is a bit to the left of brilliant Venus.

·  March 6  The Moon has moved to the right of Jupiter in the southeast after sunset.

·  March 7  The Moon has moved to above Jupiter.

·  March 13  Daylight Savings Time begins at 2 a.m. in the United States and Canada, except in Hawaii and most of Arizona. Let’s see now, what is that saying?  (Beginning in 2007, daylight time in the United States begins on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November.)

·  March 16/17  Mercury can be viewed near Jupiter in the west after sunset. Even though Mercury looks like a fairly bright star, Jupiter is quite a bit brighter.

·  March 17  The Moon has moved to lower right of the star Regulus (the dot in the backward question mark of Leo the lion.)

·  March 19  Full Moon, the Crow Moon or the Sap Moon.

·  March 19  The Moon has moved to the upper right of Saturn. Saturn in nearing its brightest for this appearance.

·  March 20  The Moon has moved to the lower right of Saturn. That’s the star Spica (part of the constellation Virgo) closer to the Moon than Saturn.

·  March 20  Spring officially arrives at 7:21 p.m. EDT. This is the spring, or vernal, equinox. At this moment, the Sun has “moved” to a point directly above the equator. The Sun is crossing the equator heading north. This defines the start of spring for the northern hemisphere. This is due to the Earth’s tilt and its motion around the Sun.

·  March 22  Mercury is at greatest elongation. That is, it is farthest from the Sun for this appearance. Mercury is low in the west above the much brighter Jupiter.

·  March 24  The Moon has moved quite close to the upper right of Antares (the heart of Scorpius the scorpion.) They are visible in the early morning.

·  March 30  The crescent Moon has moved to the upper right of brilliant Venus.

·  March 31  The Moon has moved to the upper left of Venus.

·  April 4  Saturn is at opposition. At opposition, Saturn and the Sun are in opposite directions in our sky. As the Sun sets in the west, Saturn rises in the east. Saturn will remain in the sky all night long. As Saturn sets in the west, the Sun will be rising in the east. Saturn is not too far from Spica and Arcturus (part of the constellation Bootes the shepherd.) Tonight, at opposition, Saturn is at its brightest for the year. It looks like a bright golden star. Please see the Highlights above for viewing information about Saturn, Spica and Arcturus.

·  April 6  Jupiter is at conjunction. That is, it is behind the Sun as seen from Earth. In a few weeks, it will have moved to the other side of the Sun and will be visible in the morning before sunrise.

·  April 13  The Moon has moved to the lower right of the star Regulus.

·  April 14/15  Meteors from the Lyrid Meteor Shower may begin to be visible. Please see the April 21/22 comment.

·  April 16/17  The Moon, Saturn and Spica form a beautiful grouping.

·  April 17  Full Moon, the Full Egg Moon or Full Fish Moon. At full Moon, the Earth is roughly between the Sun and Moon…but is much closer to the Moon. Eclipses are so uncommon because the Moon’s orbit is slightly tilted and the Earth is not often in perfect alignment with the Sun and Moon.

·  April 21  The Moon has moved to the upper left of Antares in the early morning a little before sunrise.

·  April 21/22  The Lyrid Meteor Shower is at its peak. Meteors are, at times, seen a week or so before and after the peak of a meteor shower. Meteors can be seen on nearly any clear night of the year if one is patient and fortunate enough to be looking in the right direction. This year’s Lyrid Meteor Shower is expected to peak a little before it begins to get light on the morning of the 22nd. However, the gibbous Moon is out at this time. That means that only the brightest of the meteors will be visible…..not a very good year for the Lyrid Meteor Shower.

·  April 24 The date for Easter is the first Sunday after the first full Moon after the spring equinox.

·  April 30  The Moon has moved to above bright s above the eastern horizon before sunrise. They are quite low in the sky, so there will not be much time to view this pairing.

Some of this information is adapted from Star Date magazine with their permission. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at the Midpark planetarium.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at the Midpark High School planetarium.
Phone 216-898-8766
Email: lmuni@berea.k12.oh.us or lmuni@stratos.net