Download The Night Sky 12-07

The Night Sky
April 2017
MOON & PLANETS
Reddish Mars is visible above the western horizon as the sky darkens in the late
evening twilight. During the first few days of April, before it disappears from view,
Mercury can be glimpsed along the horizon well below Mars. Jupiter reaches opposition
this month, which means that it will be up all night long and high in the south at local
midnight. For us in the U.P. on Eastern Daylight Time, this occurs at almost 2 a.m. Also
roughly around 2 a.m. is when Saturn rises. Saturn will be low in the south at first light.
Venus rises about an hour before sunrise and is low in the east in the brightening dawn
sky. The waxing Moon is very close to the bright star Regulus on the night of April 6.
The full Moon is next to Jupiter on the night and morning of the 10th & 11th. As the
Moon slowly wanes it passes near Saturn on the 16th & 17th. A very low thin crescent is
to the lower right of Venus on the 23rd.
STARS & CONSTELLATIONS
The bright winter stars are visible setting in the west as total darkness falls about two
hours after sunset. Sirius, the well-known brightest star, puts on a show by scintillating
rapidly in the heavier air near the horizon. Up in the southwest above Sirius is Procyon,
another bright white star. High in the south is Leo the Lion with its brightest member,
Regulus. Located between Regulus and Procyon is a tight group of medium bright stars
forming an uneven trapezoid. This is the head of Hydra the Water Serpent. Starting at
its trapezoidal head, this constellation consists of a fairly faint but very long string of
stars that meanders above the southern horizon toward the southeast. Regulus is a
bright white star and is known as the Lion’s Heart. Located a little below Regulus is the
brightest member of Hydra, a reddish second magnitude star called the Dragon’s Heart.
For more astronomy information on line:
http://www.space.com
http://skytonight.com
http://www.astronomy.com
Download a free monthly star chart at
www.skymaps.com