Stargazer
APRIL 2024
Compiled by John Panek
!!!BIG NEWS!!!
(New editor John Panek here)
The #1 astronomy story this month is the big appreciation and thank you we all give to
Barbara Yager for so many years of wonderful astronomy outreach here at the
Stargazer. Can we even estimate the number of times her articles and information
inspired us to look up and appreciate the complex and dynamic beauty of our sky?
Thank you so much Barbara!!!
SCAS CELEBRATES
HONOR THE NIGHT
Ancient cultures measured time by the Moon's phases, the days of each cycle counted out. They knew when the Moon would wax and wane. Who today is aware whether the Moon is crescent, full or gibbous? We no longer honor the night sky. On a retreat with preteen students, far enough from city lights to see the cosmos, on a night when bright Venus cast a shadow, we asked them to turn off their flashlights, let their eyes adjust, Trust their steps in starlight. We honored the night sky.
Juliane Mc Adam, retired middle school language teacher, CA
BILL SADOWSKI PARK
The observing pad is open for public OBSERVATION
D’AURIA OBSERVATORY
The D'Auria Observatory is open for public OBSERVATION AND ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY
Lunar Timetable
Last Quarter April 1st @ 11:14 pm
New Moon April 8th @ 2:44 pm
First Quarter April 15th @ 3:13 pm
Full Moon April 23rd @ 7:48 pmSOUTHERN CROSS OBSERVATION PAD
The popular free SOUTHERN CROSS OBSERVATION PAD HAS RE-OPENED in MIAMI-DADE BILL SADOWSKI Park! Come visit with us 7:30-10 p.m. Saturday's weather permitting. Bring `scopes & binocs, chairs, family, friends, colleagues, students, and bug repellent. Our SCAS Astros have introduced thousands to the awesome beauty of our seasonal night skies since 1986. Please dim headlights at the Park entrance SW 176 St./SW 79 Ave. 1/2 mile west of Old Cutler Road, Palmetto Bay 33157. The small parking lot is near the deck. Face masks are optional. Check the SCAS Facebook for weather/Holiday cancellations.
For astrophotography instruction visit our free D'AURIA outdoor observatory, Saturdays from dusk -10 P.M. 23325 SW 217 Avenue, Homestead 33031. Park outside the gate. No white lights, lanterns, lasers. litter, alcohol, or pets at both sites. For membership open www.scas.org
ENJOY SCAS PUBLIC STAR PARTIES: Weather permitting!
Saturday evenings dusk- 10 p.m.
SCAS Observation Pad in Miami-Dade Bill Sadowski Park SW 176 St./SW 79 Ave. Palmetto Bay 33157 free
D'Auria Observatory 23325 SW 217 Ave.dusk-10 p.m. astrophotograqphy information free No white lights, lanterns, lasers, litter, alcohol, or pets at either location.
METEOR SHOWERS THIS MONTH
Lyrids
April 15th to April 29th, 2024A medium strength shower that usually produces good rates for three nights centered
on the maximum. These meteors also usually lack persistent trains but can produce
fireballs. Unfortunately, this year the moon will be nearly full during the peak.
eta Aquariids
April 15th to May 27th, 2024The Eta Aquariids are a strong shower when viewed from the southern tropics. From
the equator northward, they usually only produce medium rates of 10-30 per hour just
before dawn. Activity is good for a week centered the night of maximum activity. These
are swift meteors that produce a high percentage of persistent trains, but few fireballs.
There are predictions that this shower will be quite strong in 2024 due to interactions of
the particles with the planet Jupiter. Luckily, there will be little interference from the
waning crescent moon in 2024.
Shower details - Radiant: 22:30 -1° - ZHR: 50 - Velocity: 40.7 miles/sec (swift -
65.5km/sec) - Parent Object: 1P/Halley
Next Peak - The eta Aquariids will next peak on the May 4-5, 2024 night. On this night,
the moon will be 14% full.
Open the link: News and Information about Meteor Showers
Here are some tips on how to maximize your time looking for meteors and fireballs during any meteor shower:
- Get out of the city to a place where the city and artificial lights do not impede your viewing
- If you are out viewing the shower during its peak, you will not need any special equipment. You should be able to see the shower with your naked eyes.
- Carry a blanket or a comfortable chair with you - viewing meteors, just like any other kind of stargazing is a waiting game, and you need to be comfortable. Plus, you may not want to leave until you can't see the majestic celestial fireworks anymore.
In case you missed it......
October 2022 Sky & Telescope p. 62 features photos of our two famous SCAS astronomers. The late Don Parker, M.D., renowned Mars astrophotographer, and the late Tippy D'Auria, founder of our annual Winter Star Party were in a group of professional astronomers, editors, and photographers who drove to the Florida Keys in June 2001 to hopefully capture Martian flares of light. All were members of the Assoc. of Lunar & Planetary Observers. The intriguing article begins on P. 59.
BRIGHT COMETS THIS MONTH
Comet 12P Pons-Brooks
A bright comet will be visible during the eclipse!
This very unusual coincidence occurs because Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks's
return to the inner Solar System places it by chance only 25 degrees away from the Sun
during Earth's April 8 total solar eclipse. Currently the comet is just on the edge of
visibility to the unaided eye, best visible with binoculars in the early evening sky toward
the constellation of the Fish (Pisces). Comet Pons-Brooks, though, is putting on quite a
show for deep camera images even now. The featured apod.nasa.gov/apod image is a
composite of three very specific colors, showing the comet's ever-changing ion tail in
light blue, its outer coma in green, and highlights some red-glowing gas around the
coma in a spiral. The spiral is thought to be caused by gas being expelled by the slowly
rotating nucleus of the giant iceberg comet. Although it is always difficult to predict the
future brightness of comets, Comet Pons-Brook has been particularly prone to
outbursts, making it even more difficult to predict how bright it will be as the Moon
moves in front of the Sun on April 8.
From https://www.ras.ac.uk/news-and-press/news/12ppons-brooks-how-and-when-see-devil comet:
“Firstly, photographs of its approach have captured the comet’s “curious”
green colour. “That’s because it has a molecule called dicarbon,” Dr Massey explained.
“What that does is it absorbs sunlight and re-radiates some of it with that characteristic
green tinge.” The other attribute that has piqued the interest of observers worldwide is
its occasional "horned appearance”, earning Pons-Brooks the nickname “Devil Comet”.
The reason these pointy horn shapes appear is because the icy object is classed as a
cryovolcanic comet, meaning it regularly erupts with dust, gases and ice when pressure
builds inside it as it is heated.”
C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS)
The comet has passed perihelion in mid February 2024. High in the morningearly in the month in Vulpecula.
13P/Olbers
will reach perihelion in late June. It is predicted to obtain maximumbrightness of magnitude 6.3 in early July. High in evening twilight in Taurus early in the
Open the link: News and information about Bright Comets
SCAS EVENTS
SATURDAY EVENINGS
When night skies gradually improve in clarity as the Monsoon season winds down, our SCAS Observing sites will open to members and the public.
D`AURIA OBSERVATORY- 23325 SW 217 Ave. Homestead 33031 opens 7:30 -10 p.m. for astrophotography assistance and general observing.
S. CROSS OBSERVATORY, MiamiDade Bill Sadowski Park 8-10 p.m. SW 176 St./SW 79 Ave..
Palmetto Bay 33157 for equipment assistance. and grand tour of the night sky if weather permits.
In our 37th year at the Park offering successful astronomy education for the public.
No white lights, lasers, flashlights, lanterns, litter, alcohol or pets at both sites Free.
We operate by starlight !
SCAS HAM RADIO
Recently, member Dan Zuckerman replaced and upgraded his ham equipment. He was chatting with folks in Europe.
Do we have some retired, or new SCAS ham operators who would like to establish a SCAS radio dept?
It could become very convenient, or necessary in certain future conditions. Consider the astronomy information shared and maybe international SCAS members!
Contact me (Barb) if you wish to link up with Dan. barbyager@aol.com.
SOLAR VIEWING
TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE 04/08
Weather permitting SCAS needs solar telescopes at the "front door" to ZooMiami 12400 SW 152nd st, starting this month
There will be large crowds of families. Please CONTACT ME ASAP if you can bring equipment, We are restoring our popular solarviewing events at ZooMiami.
Plans need to be made in advance. Updates will be sent out to members soon.
Interested to join our new solar team? Contact me: barbyager@aol.com . If you have solar equipment or want to help, please send an email to Dr. Lester Shalloway with
your information: drlester3@aol.com.
IN THE SKY
Early April is the time for Messier Marathons – see messier.seds.org for a great guide
The Moon occults Venus on Sunday April 7 during the daylight – be very careful if you
attempt to observe this as it’s only about 10 degrees from the sun. The occultation will
be visible from Miami, and will begin with the disappearance of Venus behind the Moon
at 12:06 EDT and reappearance at 13:31 EDT.
Horizon huggers: Centaurus A, Omega Centauri, and the Jewel Box are “well-placed”
in April according to in-the-sky.org.
April 8 if you’re tired of all the solar eclipse hoopla, look the other way and check out
532 Herculina in Bootes – this mag 9 asteroid is in opposition and passes 1.35 AU away
from us then.
STORIES OF INTEREST
In other big news this month we have the April 8 total eclipse, when (as we all know) agiant dragon will eat the sun and then spit it out. Various wizards predict this won’t
happen again in our neighborhood for over 20 years! You’ve all heard not to look at it
directly without an official and safe solar filter, but here’s another tip you may not
remember – take care of your filters. Check here for more details:
https://thousandoaksoptical.com/tech/
Miami will see the eclipse begin at 1:47pm, maximum obscuration of 45% of the Sun at
3:01pm, and finishing at 4:13pm. It’s just over 1400 miles from Miami to the central
Texas totality path, who is up for a road trip? Please send in your reports and photos!
Set a reminder for August 12, 2045 for the next one, when Miami will have 2 minutes
and 32 seconds of totality.
BONUS: Bright comet Comet 12P/Pons- Brooks's return to the inner Solar System
places it by chance only 25 degrees away from the Sun during the eclipse. An
Astronomy.com article states “It’s likely to be bright enough to pick up with binoculars,
and if it outbursts again, perhaps even visible to the naked eye in the daytime twilight
brought on as the Moon covers the Sun.” Skyandtelescope.org has a good article
which is pessimistic about the possibility of naked-eye visibility but mentions Jupiter will
be a good guidepost to finding the comet via binoculars.
NASA NEWS
The PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) observatory launched
February 8 (witnessed by some of us at Scout Key during WSP 2024!) and continues
on-orbit commissioning and calibration. Look for the first public science images early
this month! Your humble editor briefly worked on PACE and has seen engineering
calibration images and potential science first light public release images – they are
VERY IMPRESSIVE. We will, for the first time ever, be able to accurately measure
different species and quantities of plankton in the ocean from orbit, enhancing our
understanding of the global carbon cycle and the effects on climate change. From
pace.gsfc.nasa.gov: PACE data will help us better understand how the ocean and
atmosphere exchange carbon dioxide. In addition, it will reveal how aerosols might fuel
phytoplankton growth in the surface ocean. Novel uses of PACE data will benefit our
economy and society. For example, it will help identify the extent and duration of
harmful algal blooms. PACE will extend and expand NASA's long-term observations of
our living planet. By doing so, it will take Earth's pulse in new ways for decades to
come.
Space Weather (https://www.swpc.noaa.gov): We are in a period of increasing solar
activity, predicted to reach solar maximum sometime this year. Look for more public
news both common-knowledge and obscure in the coming months as your humble
editor gets up to speed on his new project, the Space Weather Next L1 Series. For
example, although Miami doesn’t often get to see auroras because of the low northern
latitude, if you race carrier pigeons your event might be cancelled due to magnetic field
disruptions from solar activity. Heard of the Carrington Event in 1859 when auroras
were seen as far south as Tahiti, and telegraph operators could send messages even
after disconnecting their batteries from the wires? What might happen if it occurred
now, in our technology saturated world? Ominous Voice: IT VERY NEARLY
HAPPENED AGAIN 12 YEARS AGO…More to come next month!
ISS - Miami Track
ISS Passes for Miami – 14 good ones in April, 5 of them in the evening early in the
month and 9 in the early morning later in the month.
Date Mag Start Time Alt. Az. Highest Alt. Az. End Time Alt. Az.
1-Apr - 3.2 21:09:38 10° NW 21:12:18 51° NNW 21:12:18 51° NNW
2-Apr - 2.8 20:21:37 10° NNW 20:24:40 32° NE 20:26:31 18° E
3-Apr - 1.9 21:10:06 10° WNW 21:12:55 25° SW 21:13:45 23° SSW
4-Apr - 3.2 20:21:21 10° NW 20:24:38 56° SW 20:27:54 10° SSE
6-Apr - 0.9 20:22:25 10° W 20:24:12 14° SW 20:25:59 10° SSW
15-Apr - 2.2 6:28:03 10° SSW 6:31:07 35° SE 6:34:11 10° ENE
16-Apr - 1.1 5:40:06 10° SSE 5:42:18 17° SE 5:44:30 10° E
17-Apr - 3.4 6:26:31 10° SW 6:29:46 50° NW 6:33:01 10° NNE
18-Apr - 3.6 5:39:41 38° SSW 5:40:45 69° SE 5:44:03 10° NE
19-Apr - 1.4 4:52:57 23° E 4:52:57 23° E 4:54:41 10° ENE
19-Apr - 1.7 6:26:23 10° W 6:28:26 15° NW 6:30:30 10° N
20-Apr - 2.6 5:38:56 28° NW 5:39:12 28° NW 5:42:08 10° NNE
21-Apr - 1.5 4:51:53 22° NNE 4:51:53 22° NNE 4:53:17 10° NE
23-Apr -0.8 4:50:16 11° N 4:50:16 11° N 4:50:34 10° N
Open the Link: News and Information about ISS passes over Miami.
Contribute
Have something interesting and astronomy related you would like to contribute? Send a brief 1-2 paragrapharticle to our Stargazer editor: 350.john@gmail.com
Clear Sky Clock
Evening
Planets
Jupiter
Jupiter is in the west for the first 3 weeks of April
April 9 and 10, the thin waxing crescent moon will hang in the western twilight near the bright planet Jupiter. You will also see the tiny dipper-shaped Pleiades star cluster, or
Seven Sisters, nearby. The glow on the unlit side of the moon is earthshine, reflected light from the Earth. They’ll set around 10 p.m. local time.
April 11 the Moon is near Jupiter and 2 star clusters. The waxing crescent moon will glow above the bright planet Jupiter, hanging between two lovely star clusters, both located in Taurus the Bull. Look for the tiny dipper-shaped Pleiades star cluster, or
Seven Sisters, nearby. Then, on the opposite side of the moon, look for the fiery orange star Aldebaran, Eye of the Bull in Taurus. It’s part of a V-shaped group of stars – the
Hyades – that forms the Bull’s face.April 17 and 18, the waxing gibbous moon will float near the bright star Regulus, the
brightest star in Leo the Lion. They’ll be visible until a few hours before sunrise.
April 22, the fat waxing gibbous moon will hang near the bright star Spica in Virgo the Maiden. They’ll rise before sunset and be visible until sunrise.
Constellations
constellation Leo the Lion. Leo has another well-known asterism known as the Sickle.
The Sickle looks like a backward question mark that is punctuated by the bright star Regulus. In fact, the Big Dipper can help you locate Leo and the Sickle. An imaginary line drawn southward from the pointer stars in the Big Dipper – the two outer stars in the
Dipper’s bowl – points toward Leo the Lion.
Morning
Planets
Mercury Mars
They’ll rise a couple of hours after midnight, so they’ll be visible through dawn.
April 5 and 6, A waning crescent moon will float near Mars and Saturn. On April 5, the lit portion of the moon will point toward the two planets. On the morning of April 6, the trio
forms a small triangle low on the horizon. Binoculars might help locate them about 30 to 40 minutes before sunrise.
April 10 and 11, Mars and Saturn pair up low in the eastern morning twilight shining at around 1st magnitude. They will pass within about 1/2 degree – the width of the full
moon – of each other on both mornings. Also, they make an interesting color contrast;
Mars appears reddish and Saturn shines with a yellowish light
April 26 and 27, the waning gibbous moon will lie close to the bright star Antares in Scorpius the Scorpion
Constellations
Cancer the Crab, with its Beehive star cluster, needs a dark sky to be seen. It lies between the Gemini twin stars Castor and Pollux, and the bright star Regulus in Leo the Lion. Once you’ve found Cancer – if your sky is dark – you can see the wonderful open
star cluster called the Beehive. It contains some 1,000 stars.