April Lyrids Meteor Shower & Other Events Worth Watching

Spring has sprung and dew is on the grass. At least that’s what I hope has happened since last month’s column.
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In March I gave you a sneak preview of some beautiful sky scenes to watch for during the first couple of weeks in April. The time has quickly passed and now I want to provide you with some details about observing the two closest planets to our Sun, Venus and Mercury, as they climb out of the solar glare. Venus is more often seen than Mercury because our closest planetary neighbor swings farther away from the Sun in our sky than Mercury does. More times than not Mercury only climbs slightly above one’s local horizon.
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As April begins, brilliant Venus and much dimmer Mercury will be found very low in the western sky about 30 minutes or so after sunset. Mercury will appear to the lower right of Venus, being about three degrees (six full moon diameters) apart. You’ll need an unobstructed view if you expect to catch a glimpse of these two inner solar system planets at that time. Why? Once the sky darkens they will only be about ten to twelve degrees above the horizon (a fist held at arm’s length approximately covers this distance). Each night this planetary duo will appear a little higher in the sky after sunset.
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Watch as Mercury climbs higher into the sky relative to Venus. After the 8th, Mercury will begin to move back towards the horizon each successive night, finally getting lost in the solar glare once again. Before it completely leaves our sky it is joined by the crescent Moon on the 15th.
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Meanwhile, Venus will continue its ascent and will soon become more easily visible. If you have a telescope this would be a good time to focus in on Venus. During April Venus will appear “full.” But as the weeks pass you’ll be able to watch our closest planetary neighbor “go through” phases similar to that of the Moon. A small refracting telescope or even a scope used for bird watching will show Venus’ changing phase. Check it out every couple of weeks or so. Venus’ image size will be increasing as well as it approaches the Earth. Venus will be visible until early fall.
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Haven’t seen Mars yet? Locally the Moon and Mars are one degree (two full moon diameters) apart on the 15th. Also around that time, between the 15th and 18th, Mars will be passing near the beautiful Beehive Cluster of stars in the constellation of Cancer. Binoculars will certainly enhance this beautiful sight.
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I’m glad we had good results from the Geminid meteor shower back in December because the weather the past few months has been horrible for observing the heavens for any activity. While the upcoming April Lyrids meteor shower on the mornings of April 22nd and 23rd usually puts on a meager display of shooting stars, the Moon won’t interfere if you can observe during the pre-dawn hours.
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The peak of activity for the April Lyrids is predicted for about one o’clock pm on Thursday, the 22nd, for us here in New England. Obviously that’s during daylight. So, you could observe Thursday morning and Friday morning. Why not during the evening? Unfortunately the waxing gibbous Moon doesn’t set until between 2:30 am 3:00 am on those days. Therefore, in the evening the Moon will brighten the sky somewhat, overshadowing the fainter meteors. Once the Moon sets you will have a couple of hours before dawn to maximize your chances of seeing perhaps 15 meteors per hour. This shooting star display has had unexpected increases in numbers from time to time, so don’t just brush it off.
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The meteors appear to radiate from an area of sky near the Lyra/Hercules border, very close to the bright star Vega. If you haven’t already done so, get yourself an inexpensive planisphere which can be used to locate and identify constellations. You can download one for free from http://lawrencehallofscience.org/starclock/skywheel.html. Print it on a thick card stock instead of regular copy paper. It’s very simple to construct and use. It would be a great project for a young budding stargazer.
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The Lyrids are very fast meteors, slamming into the Earth’s atmosphere at a moderate speed of 29.8 miles per second. Think about it. That would be like traveling from Woonsocket to the Showcase Cinemas in Warwick at the junction of Division Street and Quaker Lane in just one second. About one-quarter of the meteors leave luminous trains of dust that can be observed for several seconds. The Lyrids are a fairly narrow stream of particles, so don’t expect many on either side of the peak night.
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Let’s hope March winds do not bring too many April rain showers!
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Seagrave Observatory on Peeptoad Road in North Scituate is open to the public every Saturday night, weather permitting of course. Check the web site at http://www.theskyscrapers.org for opening time and any closure notice. (We opened for the first time this year on March 6. About 25 guests showed up to view the heavens. Let’s hope the trend continues.)
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You can also visit Ladd Observatory (http://www.physics.brown.edu/physics/commonpages/ladd/) located on Hope Street on Providence’s East Side on any clear Tuesday night (8-10pm).
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Keep your eyes to the skies.