Shropshire Star

SHROPSHIRE SKY AT NIGHT – APRIL

Even with a total lockdown or self isolation, there is no restriction on looking up.

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Shropshire Astronomical Society member Alan Jones managed to capture this image of the famous Leo Triplet.

For the first few days of the first full month of spring, the International Space Station flies across our western sky late in the evening. With a magnitude of minus 2.2 it will be easy to identify.

Magnitude (mag) is the term astronomers use to measure the brightness of stellar objects. Vega, in the constellation of Lyra, was assigned a mag equal to zero. This imprecise but systematic determination of the magnitude of objects was introduced in ancient times by Hipparchus and Vega was used as the star to compare others by.

Venus has an apparent magnitude of minus 4.3 and Sirius, the brightest visible star in the night sky, of minus 1.46, so we will all have something to look out for. Just for comparison the brightness of a full moon is usually quoted at magnitude around minus 13, about 14 magnitudes or 400,000 times fainter than the sun.

This month's super moon on April 8 is the third of the year and is known as the 'pink moon'. Sadly, the name of the moon has nothing to do with its actual colour. According to the Farmer's Almanac, the full moon is called the pink moon because it corresponds with the early spring bloom of phlox subulata, or moss pink, a wildflower native to eastern North America.

With planes being restricted, reduced pollution over Shropshire, due to vapour trails, allows astronomical imagers the opportunity to hunt down distant galaxies. Society member Alan Jones managed to capture a picture of the famous Leo Triplet. This small group of galaxies, also known as the M66 Group, lies about 35 million light years away in the constellation Leo.

This galaxy group consists of the spiral galaxies M65, M66, and NGC 3628, and is a sought out target in spring. The three large spiral galaxies can be seen in a single field of view and are well viewed even in small telescopes.

Easier to observe is the Lyrids Meteor Shower if we are lucky enough to have clear skies around the 22nd and 23rd of the month. The Lyrids is an average shower, usually producing about 20 meteors per hour at its peak. It is produced by dust particles left behind by comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher, which was discovered in 1861.

The shower runs annually from April 16 to 25. It peaks this year on the night of the 22nd and morning of the 23rd. These meteors can sometimes produce bright dust trails that last for several seconds. The nearly new moon will ensure dark skies for what should be a good show this year. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Lyra, but can appear anywhere in the sky, so wrap up warm.

The Shropshire Astronomical Society has suspended all its meetings at Rodington and Little Ness Village Halls, together with all other public events and outreach, until further notice. For further information visit www.shropshire-astro.uk or follow us on twitter, facebook and instagram.

Steve Szwajkun is a member of Shropshire Astronomical Society

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