~ St. Maarten’s Backyard Astronomy for April 7 & 8 ~
Sun rises at 6:01am
Sun sets at 6:27pm
Moon phase: last quarter, gibbous waning
Moon sets at 11:13am, Saturday
Moon rises at 1:01am, Sunday
This weekend, look for Venus to shine in the west after sunset. The evening star sets early – around 7:45pm, and following Venus down to the west is the “Winter Circle.” Leading the way to the horizon is the Pleiades and Aldebaran of the constellation Taurus. Orion is right on the heels of Taurus and Canis Major with the Earth’s brightest true star, Sirius, just behind the hunter. We have enjoyed viewing the Winter Circle’s bright ring of stars, but as the name indicates, the wintertime has ended and so must this asterism’s dominance of the night sky, for a season or two.
Sirius has a mirror image along the southern horizon, Canopus. These two bright stars seem to move in unison, although in truth, all the stars are locked into such an arrangement. But Sirius and Canopus, both being so bright, seem to be gazing at each other as they move from east to west through the evening hours. As Canopus sets in the southwest, around 9:30pm, another noteworthy set of stars is rising, just east of due south. This is the famed Southern Cross, a clarion call to southbound navigators before the days of GPS. The Southern Cross adorns many a flag and is referred to in poetry and song around the world, even in our own Sweet S’Maarten Anthem!
About this same time, check further east to observe the rising of the planet Jupiter in the constellation of Libra, the scales. While Libra weighs out the solar system’s largest planet, turn to the north to find the big and little dippers, both on display if you have a clear view of the sky.
There is a conjunction this weekend, and if you are a night owl, or a dedicated star gazer, you’ll find it’s worth breaking out the binoculars and taking a closer look. The conjunction is that of the planets Mars and Saturn. In fact, they are cosying up to, not only each other, but also the moon, now beginning its final quarter with its shrinking gibbous phase, soon-to-be-crescent to then gone by next weekend as the new moon begins a fresh cycle.
The three prominent celestial bodies are currently located within the constellation Sagittarius, which you may recall resembles a teapot. Imagine Mars, Saturn and the Moon trapped inside a little teapot! Of course, the constellation of Sagittarius is meant to represent a centaur, half man and half horse, but whether centaur or teapot, or some other invention of your imagination, the view of these distant worlds is not to be missed this weekend.
Thank you for keeping up with the Night Sky articles. If you are out later on in the week, each star rises about four minutes earlier each day than written here, and the moon rises 50 minutes later. Night Sky is researched and compiled by Lisa Davis-Burnett. Earthsky.org is a key resource for information and images. Questions or comments? Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
