Happy silly religious holiday everyone! Let's go hunt some eggs!
Stargazing Summary
The favorite constellations of the season spring into view in the early evening this month. Leo is well up in the east at nightfall, with Regulus, his bright heart, leading the way. A curved pattern known as the Sickle, which outlines the lion's head and mane, is to the left of Regulus. Virgo is low in the sky at nightfall but quickly climbs to prominence, highlighted by Spica. A pair of planets puts on a good show in the west shortly after sunset. Brilliant Venus will remain in view throughout the month, with Mercury scooting close to it in the middle of the month. More stargazing information: http://stardate.org/nightsky/weekly.php
Radio Program Highlights
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April 1-4: Four plus two. Four planets are visible in the evening sky this week, and we'll tell you when and where to look. And we'll also point out two dippers. Plus stars that are too hot for their own good.
April 2: Four of the five planets that are visible to the unaided eye are in sight at the same time early this evening. Venus, the "evening star," is low in the west at sunset, with fainter Mercury to its lower right. Orange Mars stands high in the south, with golden Saturn climbing skyward in the east.
April 3: The Big Dipper is high in the northeast this evening. It appears to "pour" its contents toward the northern horizon and into the Little Dipper. This fainter dipper is anchored by Polaris, the North Star, which is at the end of the dipper's handle.
April 4: Polaris, the North Star, anchors the northern sky. It also anchors the Little Dipper. At nightfall, the dipper stretches roughly parallel to the northern horizon, with Polaris at the tip of the handle and the bowl to its right.
April 5: The planets Venus and Mercury are low in the west as night begins to fall the next few evenings. Venus is the brilliant "evening star." Much fainter Mercury is just a little to the lower right of Venus.
April 5-11: Hot planets. The two hottest planets in the solar system -- the only two planets that are closer to the Sun than Earth is -- huddle close together in the evening twilight this week. Join us for Mercury and Venus.
April 6: The planet stands quite close to Venus, the brilliant "evening star," early tonight. They pop into view low in the west not long after sunset. Mercury is just to the lower right of Venus and looks like a fairly bright star.
April 7: Look for the planet Venus low in the west just after sunset. It's the brilliant "evening star." And it has a bright companion: the planet Mercury, which is just a bit to its right.
April 8: Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, slides across the southwest this evening. The star is well up in the south-southwest as darkness falls, and sets by around midnight. It twinkles fiercely as it drops nearer the horizon.
April 12-18: Listening in. The first try at hearing radio signals from other civilizations took place 50 years ago this week, and we'll talk about the effort and its target stars. Join us for Project Ozma and much more.
April 19-25: Moon, Mars, and meteors. The planet Mars, which glows bright orange, huddles close to the Moon this week, and we'll have details. And we'll also talk about a faint but fickle meteor shower.
April 26-30: Planets galore. The roster of planets outside our solar system includes several worlds that are sort of like Earth -- including one that's in the right zone for life. Join us for worlds beyond the solar system.
April Program Schedule: http://stardate.org/radio/calendars
Find an Affiliate: http://stardate.org/radio/affiliates.php
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