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This page shows a brief summary of what interesting things we can see in the sky this month.
A more detailed version of the 'What's Up' this month is available as a downloadable PDF document right at the bottom of this page.
April brings the excitement of the Lyrid Meteor Shower, which peaks between the 22nd and 23rd of this month. With the Sun becoming increasingly more active this year, the best time to look out for aurora in April will be during the late evenings after the Full Moon.
The Sun
From January to October this year, the Sun is at Solar Maximum - a period of strong solar activity that occurs around every 11 years. Due to this, we should see an increase in regularity, strength and spread of the Aurora Borealis.
Remember: to never look at the sun with a telescope, at worst you might blind yourself, at best you'll melt your telescope! If you are interested in Solar viewing, speak to our members, we have special equipment to help you! If you do not have a solar scope, you can watch using the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) or SDO.
The Moon
The phases of the Moon are as follows:
Becomes an evening planet best viewed in the evening sky at the start of the month.
Unlikely to be seen this month as it is too close to the Sun.
Morning planet visible at the end of the month.
Unlikely to be seen this month.
Morning planet with low visibility.
Lost to the evening glare. In conjunction with Jupiter on the 20th.
Not visible this month.
Asteroids
No asteroids to see this month.
Comets
Look out for 12P/Pons-Brooks comet, visible in the constellation of Pisces.
Meteors
The Lyrid meteors peak between 22nd and morning of the 23rd April, but begins around the 14th. The Eta Aquarids begin around 19th April but will peak around 6th May.
With Binoculars
M44 Praesepe, otherwise known as the Beehive Cluster is visible in the heart of the constellation Cancer, about halfway between Regulus and Pollux and is bigger than a full moon.
M35, an open cluster of stars , will be visible in the west of Gemini.
M101, most commonly known as the Pinwheel Galaxy ,is easily seen in the constellation of Ursa Major.
M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy, is visible in the constellation Canes Venatici. M63, the Sunflower Galaxy is also visible in the constellation Canes Venatici.
M1, the Crab Nebula, is visible in the constellation of Taurus.
Television
A brand news series of the Sky at Night starts on Monday 8th April on BBC Four - Space Rock Return at 9:30pm. The Sky at Night team delve into Nasa’s OSIRIS-REx mission and find out what it takes to analyse the tiny pieces of space rock that may tell us about the origins of life.
However, here are all the past episodes that are available to watch, in case you missed any: BBC4 The Sky At Night
Clear Skies !
The detailed version of What's Up this month is available below by clicking the link:
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