This is the Dudley Observatory Skywatch Line For Wednesday, April 6th and Thursday, April 7th written by Louis Suarato
Wednesday, just after sunset, you may be able to see Mercury about 10 degrees above the western horizon. Mercury will become more visible after its trek around the Sun, and now in the evening sky. After Mercury sets, the Pleiades star cluster sinks into the western horizon. In the east, Virgo is the first constellation to rise after sunset. You’ll find Jupiter above Virgo,and about 50 degrees above the southeastern horizon. A telescopic view of Jupiter will reveal its moon, Io, crossing the face of the planet from 9:52 p.m. to 12:07 a.m. Thursday. Io’s shadow follows its source from 10:32 p.m. to 12:47 a.m.,Thursday. Europa, the smallest of the Galilean satellites, and sixth largest moon in the solar system, hides behind Jupiter at 10:48 p.m.
Mars rises in Scorpius at 11:40 p.m., Wednesday, followed by Saturn at 15 minutes at past midnight. The red and ringed planets are separated by about 8.5 degrees. Watch Mars’ magnitude, and apparent size through a telescope, increase, as it approaches opposition in May. Saturn will reach opposition in June. Mars and Saturn form a triangle with Scorpius’ brightest star, Antares. To the upper right of Antares, you’ll find the globular cluster, M4. Discovered by Philippe Loys de Chéseaux in 1746 and catalogued by Charles Messier in 1764,M4 is approximately 7,200 light-years away. M4 contains some the earliest stars, some aged at 13 billion years, about 820 billion years after the origin of the universe.
The New Moon occurs at 7:24 a.m. Thursday. Lunar perigee occurs 6 hours later at 1:36 p.m., when the Moon will be 221,931 miles from Earth. Expect higher, and lower than normal tides during this time.
The Albany Area Amateur Astronomers will be hosting a star party at Grafton Lakes State Park this Friday. If Friday night’s event is cancelled, it will be rescheduled for Saturday night. This weekend is also the time for the annual Northeast Astronomy Forum (NEAF), held at Rockland Community College. A wealth of knowledge can be obtained from experts and vendors about telescopes and related equipment. It would be a good opportunity to obtain a Sun-safe filter or telescope to view the transit of Mercury on May 9th.