The month of April he is ready to “give show” with at least 6 astronomical events significant for which it is worth turning our nose up to the sky. These phenomena of our solar system will begin the April 5th with the conjunction between the moon in the first quarter and Mars, followed by the full moon of the month renamed “Microluna Rosa” the April 13th. We continue with the planetary alignment of Mercury, Venus, Saturn and Neptune in the morning of April 17th and with mercury to the utmost elongation the April 21st. The month ends with the peak of the meteoric swarm of the lyrids the April 22nd and with Venus at the maximum apparent brightness the April 27. All these astronomical events will be observable naked eye on specific dates and times, allowing to appreciate some of the beauties of our universe.
The conjunction between the Moon and Mars of April 5th
The first event of the month is the spectacular Conjunction between the moon in the first quarter and the planet Mars of April 5th. The two objects will be in conjunctionthat is, at the slightest angular distance from each other, between 21:00 and 22:00 a less than 2nd in heaven, When very high on the West-Southwest horizon, accompanied by the stars Castore and Pollux, the two brightest stars of the constellation of the twins. The event will be perfectly visible to the naked eyebut it can be a good opportunity to use a telescope or binoculars and observe the lunar craters and the reddish color of the planet Mars in a single blow.
The “MICROLUNA ROSA” of April 13th
The night between the 12 and 13 April The moon will reach its phase of Full moonaccompanied during the night by the star Spica, the brightest star of the constellation of the Virgin. This month, the moon will be full when it is in theapogeethat is, the point of its elliptical orbit farthest from the earth. This is the situation opposite to the “Superluna”which instead happens when the moon is located in Perigeo (closest to the earth). For this, the full moon of this month was journalistically called “Micruluna”. In the tradition of Native Americans, the full moon of April is also called Pink moonsince in this month there is usually the flowering of the Phlox wild, a pink plant. Together, these two terms make the full moon of April 13th “Pink microluna”.
Planetary alignment of April 17th
On 17 April a small planetary alignment which will involve the planets Mercury, Venus, Saturn and Neptune. Planetary alignment does not mean that the objects will be aligned on a straight line in the sky, but simply that they will be simultaneously visible in the sky. However, it is necessary to be mornings to appreciate the event, since it takes place Just before sunset in the east direction. In fact, all four planets are in this month angularly close to the sun. Mercury, Venus and Saturn will be visible to the naked eye, although with difficulty given the glow of dawn, while Neptune requires binoculars or a telescope.
Mercury to the utmost elongation on April 21st
The observation of Mercury It is always difficult, since being the planet closest to the sun, it has a very small angular distance from our star in general. The April 21sthowever, there will be an excellent opportunity to observe it just before dawn since the planet will reach the Maximum western elongation from the sun, or the maximum corner distance point in heaven from our star, equal to about 27ththe highest value of the whole year. Mercury will arise on theEast horizon around 5:30 amanticipated by the brilliant Venus and the planet Saturn. The visibility window is however reduced as the sun will rise just under an hour later.
The meteoric swarm of the lyrids of April 22nd
The Meteoric swarm of the lyrids It takes every year Between 15 and 29 Aprilreaching his Massimo around April 22ndwhen they can observe themselves from 5 at 20 meteors per hour. The name of the swarm derives from radiant from which the meteors that is located near the Vega star, near the constellation of the lira. The source of the meteoric swarm was identified in the remains of the long -term comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher: When the earth, in its orbit around the sun, passes through the frozen remains of this object, the latter burn in the atmosphere at a speed of more than 100,000 km/h. The event is visible to the naked eye all night starting at about 10 pm, when the constellation of the lira will be enough in the sky in the north-east direction.
Venus to the utmost brilliance on April 27th
We close the April events with the “morning star”, or the planet Venus. The April 27the nearby planet will reach the Maximum apparent brightnessshining with one magnitude equal to –4.8 In the two hours preceding the Alba in the east direction. An exceptional brightness that will not be reached again from the planet before November 2026.
