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Mercury Rising

Moon Phases

First quarter: April 2, 8:34 a.m.

Full*: April 9, 8:56 a.m.

Last quarter: April 17, 7:36 a.m.

New: April 24, 9:23 p.m.

*April’s full moon is called the “Pink Moon,” named for the colorful wild phlox that blooms in April in many parts of the country.

In History

April 1, 1960 – Tiros 1, the first weather satellite, was launched. During its operational life, it took more than 23,000 photographs of Earth and the atmosphere.

April 3, 1966 – The Soviet Union spacecraft Luna 10 became the first manmade object to orbit the moon.

April 9, 1959 – 50 years ago, NASA announced the selection of the Mercury 7 astronauts.

April 11, 1960 – American radio astronomer Frank Drake began the search for extraterrestrial intelligence with Project Ozma at the Green Bank, WV, observatory.

April 12, 1961 – Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit Earth. The annual “Yuri’s Night: World Space Party” takes place. See www.yurisnight.net.

April 12, 1981 – Columbia, the first space shuttle lifted off from Cape Canaveral.

April 14, 1629 – Birth date of Dutch scientist Christian Huygens. He identified the main rings of Saturn and discovered its largest moon, Titan.

April 24, 1970 – China launched its first satellite.

April 25, 1990 – The space shuttle Discovery deployed the Hubble space telescope.

April 28, 1900 – Birth date of Dutch astronomer Jan Hendrick Oort, best known for his suggestion that a large “cloud” of comets orbits the sun near the outer limits of the solar system.

This is the best time of 2009 to spot elusive Mercury, the innermost planet.

Since it's always so near the sun, it rarely climbs high enough to escape twilight's glow. But by the second week of April, you should be able to pick it out low in the west after sunset. It'll still be in twilight but shining rather brightly at magnitude minus 1.3. It'll become a little fainter each evening but will linger longer above the horizon, setting more than an hour after the sun. It reaches its greatest eastern elongation (apparent distance from the sun) on the 26th. Look for the new moon nearby on the evenings of the 25th and 26th.

There are a couple of special events during the early morning of April 22, so it'd be a good idea to get to bed early on the 21st. Weather permitting, the show will begin after midnight and end shortly after 7 a.m.

First we have the annual Lyrid meteor shower. The best time to catch the show is between midnight and the beginning of dawn's twilight, a little before 5 a.m. The Lyrids average about 15 "shooting stars" per hour during the peak, a modest but often satisfying display. The waning crescent moon rises a little before dawn and won't interfere.

The moon and Venus put on a special show beginning about an hour after twilight washes out the meteor shower. The moon will move between (occult) Earth and our sister planet.

Occultation begins at 6:15 a.m. as the tiny illuminated crescent of Venus will pass behind the much larger illuminated edge of the moon. Although Venus is shining at magnitude minus 4.5, it will be difficult to see as the sun rises nearby at 6:28. You'll need to watch through binoculars or a telescope. Venus will reappear from the moon's dark side at 7:09 a.m. By then it will be full daylight, making it that much more difficult to see. It should be visible, though, in binoculars or a scope. Just make sure you don't accidentally get the sun in your field of view. That would probably cause permanent eye damage.

Jupiter and Mars are hanging out in the predawn sky too. Saturn is the only naked-eye planet that's visible throughout most of the night. At the first of the month, it sets a little after 6 a.m. and about two hours earlier at month's end. It's ideally positioned in the constellation Leo by the time the sky darkens after sunset.

Jupiter rises in the east a little before Saturn sets in the west. You can spot it in Capricornus, shining brightly at magnitude minus 2.

Mars is much fainter. Although it rises about the same time as Venus, it'll be hard to spot. The two will move closer as the month progresses. The proximity should help you pick out the red planet by the third week of the month.

The annual Astronomy Week, the lead-in to Astronomy Day (May 2), runs from April 29 through May 3. The event is an effort by astronomers worldwide ? amateur and professional ? to share the thrill of astronomy with the public. Check local news for events in your community. For details, check www.astroleague.org.