Skywatch Line for Monday and Tuesday April 15th and 16th, written by Joe Slomka
This is the Dudley Observatory’s Skywatch Line for Monday and Tuesday April 15th and 16th, written by Joe Slomka.
The Sun sets at 7:38 PM; night falls at 9:21. Dawn begins at 4:29 AM and ends with Sunrise at 6:11.
The First Quarter Moon inhabits western Cancer on both nights. Monday’s moon sets at 2:42 AM and rises at 11:18 AM, by 8 PM it is 71° high, appears 30 arc-minutes in size, 52% illuminated and sets at 3:19 AM on Tuesday. Tuesday’s Moon rises at 12:25 AM, by 9 PM, is 66° high in the northwest, 30 arc-minutes, 62% lit and sets at 3:49 AM, Wednesday.
Planets are scarce in our evening sky; Jupiter and Uranus share western Aries. By 8 PM, Jupiter is found 17° high, shimmering with minus 2nd magnitude, 33 arc-seconds and sets at 9:35 PM. Uranus follows 1° behind Jupiter, shines with 5th magnitude, 3 arc-seconds, 18° high and sets at 9:41 PM.
The Dawn sky is active. Saturn and Mars share eastern Aquarius.
Saturn is first to rise at 4:54 AM, 16 arc-seconds, shines with 1st magnitude and 12° high at 6 AM. Red Planet Mars follows at 4:59 AM, also 1st magnitude, 4 arc-seconds and 11° high. Neptune is next, rising at 5:21 AM, 8th magnitude, 2 arc-seconds and 8° high. Venus and Mercury hug the horizon and will be higher in coming weeks.
As night falls, the unmistakable shape of Leo, the Lion, dominates the evening sky. Leo is one of those constellations that looks like its namesake. If one looks past Denebola, the Lion’s Tail, one sees a faint hazy cloud. Binoculars show it to be a galactic star cluster. This cluster is called Coma Berenices.
Unlike most constellations, Berenice was not a mythical figure. She was married to Ptolemy I Soter of Egypt. When her brother-in-law involved the Pharaoh in a war, Berenice, like all wives, worried about her husband in battle. She vowed to Aphrodite that she would donate a lock of her hair if Ptolemy arrived home safely. He did; and she fulfilled her promise. One evening the royal couple inquired of the court priest-astrologer what happened to her donation. He replied by pointing to hazy cloud in the sky and said the gods accepted her sacrifice. Berenice is famous for another reason; she is Cleopatra’s grandmother. The modern Libyan city of Benghazi bears a modified version of her name. Her and her husband are memorialized on the famous Rosetta Stone.
Clear Skies Joe Slomka