April 2004

• Planetary Update
  
  
• The Moon
  
  
• Website of the Month
  

Planetary Update

Mercury, the tiny little spark of a planet, has recently slipped below the horizon. It was making a brief appearance low in the western skies as the sun was setting. He was up there for a little while, but for most of that time, in the Northeast US, it was quite cloudy, so he was hidden anyway. At a high altitude you might be able to spot him a little over the next day or two, but he will likely be lost in the sun's glare.
CURRENT DISTANCE FROM EARTH: Just over 65 million miles.

Venus is still quite dominant up there in the sky. It is by far the brightest night-time object aside from the moon. You can't miss it, high in the Southwestern sky, right after sunset. You can see why it was once referred to as the 'evening star' as it flickers into visibility long before any star up there. Through a telescope, you won't see any surface features; the thick cloud cover of Venus prevents that. What you will see is the current phase of Venus -- since Venus hangs between the Earth and the sun, its phases are quite easy to notice. And right now Venus is at a quarter phase -- you will see a semi-circle shape. With the naked eye it looks as round as a star -- just a pinpoint of light -- but a small backyard telescope will reveal the planet only half-illuminated from our point of view here on Earth.
CURRENT DISTANCE FROM EARTH: Just over 60 million miles.

Mars still hangs in the night sky. The skywatchers out there are likely lamenting the tremendous fading of Mars -- last summer he was just SO brilliant in the sky! Now it is a faint orange speck, not too far away from the brilliant Venus in the sky -- the easiest way to describe its location is "up and to the left" of Venus. It still has a faint burnt orange glow to it, though it is a bit more difficult to notice that just a few months ago.
CURRENT DISTANCE FROM EARTH: About 184 million miles.

Jupiter is basically on the opposite side of the sky from Venus. It is quite bright itself, though not quite as bright as Venus. Jupiter is over the Eastern sky as the sun is setting. He is resting right below the constellation of Leo. A basic telescope can show 4 of Jupiter's moons, all of which whip around Jupiter quickly, so they are in a different location each night.
CURRENT DISTANCE FROM EARTH: About 427 million miles.

Saturn has faded slightly over the bast few months, but is still quite noticeable. It is very high in the sky at sunset. Most people can find Orion, and that's a good starting point -- high over Orion's left should is the constellation of Gemini, the twins. Saturn is hanging out in the lower-right corner of Gemini, brighter than any stars in the vicinity. A telescope will reveal those beautiful rings... it is worth checking out, if you get a chance.
CURRENT DISTANCE FROM EARTH: Almost 852 million miles.

The Moon

The phases for this month:

Website of the Month

The perfect companion for skywatchers is a map of the skies from SKYMAPS.COM.

The star charts on SkyMaps are the best I've seen. They are crisp and clear -- busy with information, but still perfectly readable. The free star charts have 2 pages -- the first displaying the stars and constellations, the second describing interesting night sky objects broken down by visibility: visible with the naked eye, with binoculars, and through a telescope.

There are also links to purchase uncountable astronomy-related items. It is a great place to go shopping for the astronomer in your life, or to treat yourself.

For amateurs and veterans of night sky watching, SkyMaps is a perfect place to get and stay acquainted with the night sky!

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