The Moon, Mighty Planets and Meteors - plus International Astronomy Week Activities!
It’s International Astronomy Week – and next Saturday is International Astronomy Day! There are plenty of public events for you to take part in! Here are some...
Every clear morning from April 15th to 20th, the RASC will be holding free public Solar Observing sessions outdoors on the Teluscape Pad at the Ontario Science Centre. (For those who want to go inside, regular Science Centre exhibit and parking fees still apply.) Don’t miss your chance to see the Sun in a unique Hydrogen-alpha wavelength telescope!
In Thornhill, a free public Star Party happens this Thursday, April 18 from 8:30 pm in Pomona Mills Meadow, east of St. Volodymyr's Church, 15 Church Lane. Telescopes will be available to view the Moon's mountains and craters, the giant planets Jupiter and Saturn and various “deep-sky wonders”. I plan to attend myself. Dress warmly! In case of inclement or overcast conditions, this event will be rescheduled to a later date.
Celebrate International Astronomy Day on Saturday, April 20th with a visit to the David Dunlap Observatory, located at 123 Hillsview Drive in Richmond Hill. Rain or shine - it will be open for drop-ins between 8:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Visitors’ $2.00 donations at the door will be used to help maintain the beautiful 1935 facility and support the education and public outreach programs offered at the Dunlap Observatory. Come check out our new immersive STARLAB room!
On the first clear evening this week, the RASC will be holding a free public stargazing session. come out for City Observing at the Bayview Village Park. All are welcome to attend – with or without any equipment. You don’t have to be a member of the RASC. Details are at http://toronto.rasc.ca/content/article_458.shtml
Downtown at U of T at 40 St. George St., the Dunlap Institute will host an astronomy talk, tours, and a planetarium show (reservations required for the planetarium). Details are at http://www1.astro.utoronto.ca/~gasa/public_talk/iWeb/Entries/2013/4/AstronomyDay2013.php
For one night only, on Sunday, April 14th, that lovely crescent Moon will be situated only about 6 degrees (or four finger widths) to the left of bright Jupiter. And all week, Jupiter remains high in the west at dusk and sets about midnight. Saturn rises at 9 pm today and around 8:30 pm by next weekend! Look for it as a bright yellow, non-twinkling object low in the eastern sky - below and to the left of the prominent star Spica in Virgo.
The annual Lyrids Meteor Shower runs between April 16 to 25th, and reaches its peak before dawn on April 22. The shower is produced when the Earth’s orbit takes us through the debris trail left by a comet named C/1861 G1 Thatcher and has been occurring for 2,600 years! In a normal year, the Lyrids produces around 20 shooting stars every hour, but the waxing gibbous Moon may cut that rate in half. The meteors can appear anywhere, but will appear to originate in a spot near the bright white star Vega in Lyra. During evenings, this is in the northeast, and by dawn is more or less overhead.
Here are this week’s Iridium Flares for the Greater Toronto area (Data from http://www.heavens-above.com/). Be sure that your watch is correct, then go out a minute or two ahead and look in the direction indicated. You will first see the dim Iridium satellite moving quickly across the sky, then it will rapidly brighten for 3 to 5 seconds, then fade out. Truly spectacular! The more negative the Brightness number, the brighter; and the larger the Altitude number, the higher up! (Remember, 90° is straight up, so 46° is halfway above the horizon.) I’ve highlighted the brightest ones.
Date and Time Brightness Alt. Direction
Apr-15 at 05:07:36 am -5.5 12° 20° (NNE) Really Bright!
Apr-15 at 05:08:06 am -1.3 12° 20° (NNE)
Apr-16 at 05:01:44 am -1.1 11° 20° (NNE)
The ISS (International Space Station) is overhead of the GTA this week! The best passes are listed below. (Note: The more negative the Mag. number, the brighter, and the larger the Alt. number, the higher up!) The April 19th and 21-22nd passes are high and bright! (Data from www.Heavens-above.com.) Don’t forget to wave at Chris Hadfield!
Date from Start Time to End Time Direction of Travel Highest Alt. Mag.
14-Apr 9:15:56 pm to 9:21:08 pm moving WNW to NE 21° -1.0
14-Apr 10:53:05 pm to 10:54:37 pm moving NW to NNW 20° -0.6
15-Apr 10:02:33 pm to 10:06:05 pm moving NW to NNE 22° -1.3
16-Apr 9:11:53 pm to 9:16:58 pm moving NW to NE 20° -1.0
16-Apr 10:48:33 pm to 10:50:15 pm moving NW to NNW 24° -1.0
17-Apr 9:57:50 pm to 10:01:25 pm moving NW to NE 28° -1.8
18-Apr 9:07:13 pm to 9:12:39 pm moving NW to ENE 23° -1.4
18-Apr 10:43:39 pm to 10:45:28 pm moving NW to NW 30° -1.4
19-Apr 9:53:03 pm to 9:56:46 pm moving NW to ENE 46° -2.7
20-Apr 9:02:26 pm to 9:08:03 pm moving NW to E 33° -2.0
20-Apr 10:38:58 pm to 10:40:48 pm moving WNW to W 28° -1.5
21-Apr 9:48:11 pm to 9:52:06 pm moving WNW to SE 84° -3.4
22-Apr 8:57:28 pm to 9:03:24 pm moving NW to ESE 59° -3.0
22-Apr 10:34:35 pm to 10:36:09 pm moving W to WSW 18° -1.0
23-Apr 9:43:25 pm to 9:47:29 pm moving WNW to S 34° -2.2
Keep looking up to enjoy the sky! Let me know if you have any questions!
All the times above are Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), and nearly everything is visible globally with times adjusted.
