Podcaster: Shane and Chris
Title: Objects to Observe in the April 2021 Night Sky
Organization: Actual Astronomy
Link : https://actualastronomy.podbean.com/
Description: The Actual Astronomy Podcast presents Objects to Observe in the April 2021 Night Sky and places a focus on sky events like the Lyrid meteor shower and a possible telescopic comet coming into view. We also help you find the planets as Jupiter, Saturn, appear in the morning sky while Mars continues to fade.
Bio: Shane and Chris are amateur astronomers who enjoy teaching astronomy classes and performing outreach where they help the eyes of the public to telescope eyepieces.
Today’s sponsor: Big thanks to our Patreon supporters this month: David Bowes, Dustin A Ruoff, Brett Duane, Kim Hay, Nik Whitehead, Timo Sievänen, Michael Freedman, Paul Fischer, Rani Bush, Karl Bewley, Joko Danar, Steven Emert, Frank Tippin, Steven Jansen, Barbara Geier, Don Swartwout, James K. Wood, Katrina Ince, Michael Lewinger, Phyllis Simon Foster, Nicolo DePierro, Tim Smith, Frank Frankovic, Steve Nerlich
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Transcript:
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Chris Beckett: Welcome to episode 105 of the actual astronomy podcast, this is the objects to observe in the April 2021 night sky.
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Chris Beckett: i’m Chris and joining me is shane and we are amateur astronomers, we are not professionals in any way whatsoever.
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Chris Beckett: And we love, looking at the night sky and this podcast is for everybody else he likes going out and looking up at the stars so shane you’re you’re typing away there you’re punching away because, as we were preparing for this podcast here this morning.
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Chris Beckett: We had our notes all set, and then we were just very quickly casually seeing if there was any break comments and we didn’t think there was but.
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Chris Beckett: you’re you’re going to get us some information here because it looks like just very recently in the past, really couple weeks that that a common has has brightened up so we’re going to talk about potentially a break Comet for a brighter Comet for April visible in small telescopes.
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Shane Ludtke: yeah yeah this is really exciting, so you know we we do our monthly.
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Shane Ludtke: what’s up or what to observe mostly the first episode is focused on mostly solar system stuff so we always like to look to see if there’s any comments and.
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Shane Ludtke: You know people that have been listening to this episode, for the last couple of months, know that we’re not anticipating any in noteworthy comments until the end of the year.
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Shane Ludtke: there’s what is its comment Leonard is supposed to be quite bright like magnitude fours the estimate right now.
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Shane Ludtke: But that’s like in November, December, I believe, and so you know we’re anxiously anticipating that but, until that point in time.
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Shane Ludtke: All of the other comments that were that we were aware of I don’t believe any of them were brighter than double digit magnitudes which means they’re very, very dim and you know not really.
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Shane Ludtke: yeah yeah yeah they’re not really worth observing unless you maybe have larger apertures.
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Shane Ludtke: But.
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Chris Beckett: When we checked and this yeah you check this Comet and there’s magnitude estimates coming in some of them look to be as bright as magnitude 8.5 which which puts it in the range of sort of.
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Chris Beckett: Those 70 millimeter binoculars a lot of people have and you were saying that in Skype in our planetarium software, it was magnitude what.
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Chris Beckett: For please so it’s exceeding like magnitude estimates depending on, I guess, which estimate you look at.
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Shane Ludtke: it’s exceeding it by like two to maybe five magnitude, which is like that’s that’s except.
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Chris Beckett: Now.
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Chris Beckett: here’s the downside is it could be an open and that definitely happens and then, as well the moon, is now moving into that part of the sky so.
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Chris Beckett: So there’s there’s that so who knows what’s going to happen here over the next two weeks before before it’s sort of in a dark sky again but.
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Chris Beckett: Anyway, something for people to put on their radars for April we’ll talk about that in a moment, but apart from that, probably the best thing to to observe would be the lyrics and meteor shower this month.
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Shane Ludtke: yeah yeah it’s a you know it’s kind of a nice.
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Shane Ludtke: so nice meteor shower in terms of the spring is you know approaching So if you live in cold areas like you and I.
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Shane Ludtke: You know it’s it’s an opportunity, just to get back out and do some observing because the temperatures, are you know as much of a factor anymore so excited for that.
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Chris Beckett: yeah and, in fact, my winter is is is more harsh than yours and seems.
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Shane Ludtke: Oh do tell.
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Chris Beckett: So so shane I only live about 12 or 15.
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Chris Beckett: Years apart, I went up to his place yesterday and I had to wait for for the snow to melt we had a couple inches of snow and.
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Chris Beckett: And it was sort of clearing off the streets, it was very wet on the streets and quite a bit of store and I drove up to two scenes place on the other side of the city and Lo and behold, you guys just had a.
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Chris Beckett: dusting of snow, so your winters are much more mild than.
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Shane Ludtke: We we live in the region or.
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Shane Ludtke: Whether.
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Shane Ludtke: You should consider moving here.
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Chris Beckett: yeah and you know I look forward to having some of the bananas that you’re growing up there.
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This summer.
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Shane Ludtke: yeah they should be ready soon.
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Chris Beckett: yeah good stuff so planets let’s see So this is the planet focus.
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Chris Beckett: And we’re looking at Jupiter and Saturn in the constellation capricornus in the morning sky, so these these episodes are going to be a little bit shorter because really the planets are still very low down and.
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Shane Ludtke: yeah there’s not a lot actually to be doing in regards to the planets.
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Shane Ludtke: Last week I took a look at MARS and wow you know that the neat thing when you observe Mars during opposition is is you.
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Shane Ludtke: watch it build so you know it starts as a very small disk and gets larger and larger every day, but then, on the other side of it, you can watch it gets smaller and smaller every day.
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Shane Ludtke: And it is so small compared to what it was during you know its peak time and now that it’s getting low in the sky it’s quite challenging to tease out any detail so yeah there’s it’s a little bit of a dry spell for the planetary observing, however.
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Shane Ludtke: You know Jupiter and Saturn are setting up again to be you know nice nice weather targets there’ll be quite prominent here in a few months for summer summer warm temperatures.
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Chris Beckett: yeah yeah sounds good so right now they’re in capricornus which is like an autumn constellation but in order to see you you’re getting them pretty early in the morning they’re starting to to become prominent before the sky gets gets too bright.
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Chris Beckett: But then Jupiter is actually continuing on its eastward motion actually ends up in aquarius by the end of the month, so.
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Chris Beckett: You know that that’s happening as well, but the good news is they’re they’re rising a little bit higher now.
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Chris Beckett: As far as like where they are on the ecliptic so these constellations that they’re coming into are going to be further.
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Chris Beckett: about the price and for us in the in the northern hemisphere anyway.
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Shane Ludtke: yeah that that’s something i’m really looking forward to because.
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Shane Ludtke: Last year Jupiter and Saturn were visible during the warmer months, but that means it’s usually lower in the sky, for us, which means more atmosphere, to look through and you just don’t get the higher quality observations so.
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Shane Ludtke: You know it’s kind of a trade off, you know they they move higher in the sky when it gets and then you know they are prominent when it’s cold outside like fall winter.
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Shane Ludtke: But regardless, you know put on a warmer jacket, and the observing gets a little bit better each year now for a little while.
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Chris Beckett: yeah and when we get into these positions that are that are in the fall like when the planets are at their best.
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Chris Beckett: That can be good, because what what I tend to do is just get up early.
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Chris Beckett: In like the August and September months, and although it might be cool in those early morning hours but.
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Chris Beckett: But not not nearly as cold as it’s going to be here, we live in November, which can be can be very frigid so.
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Chris Beckett: You were saying yeah Mars is basically just a pinpoint of light up and Taurus and Neptune is is right next to the sun so it’s not observable and uranus and Venus there they’re pretty much lost in the bright solar glow right now, unfortunately, so there is a rumble at this time.
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Shane Ludtke: yeah yeah it’s too bad little bit of a dry spell but you know it gives us an opportunity to look at other things we’ll talk about some lunar events and then in a week or two.
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Shane Ludtke: Who, I think, will record the deep sky episode and and you know what spring is famous for his galaxy hunting so i’m sure we’ll talk more about that, but.
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Shane Ludtke: You know I guess back to you, it looks like we have a double shadow transit on Jupiter on April 3 well.
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Chris Beckett: yeah so these double shadow, so these double shadow transits she have you seen many of these.
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Shane Ludtke: Yes, yeah i’ve even seen a triple before but.
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Shane Ludtke: You know the doubles well anything with multiple transits you know they’re definitely rare.
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Chris Beckett: yeah so what we’re seeing with a shadow transit on Jupiter is is basically like a solar eclipse.
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Chris Beckett: That that’s happening on another planet and whereas with the solar eclipses that happen on earth our moon is between us and the sun and it’s around its new moon phase or it’s added new moon phase and it’s projecting.
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Chris Beckett: Its shadow on on on to the earth, because the sun is directly behind it now there’s just a small area of the earth that will experience a solar eclipse, but when we we look at Jupiter.
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Chris Beckett: What we’re seeing is is a circle that shadow of light that’s being blotted out and that that will make its way across the cloud tops as as the as that moon passes between the cloud tops and the sun and so it’s this pretty much the exact same thing, although.
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Chris Beckett: here on earth we’re fortunate and way because the the moon, and the sun are approximately the same.
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Chris Beckett: Size in the nighttime sky it varies a little that’s why sometimes be an annular eclipse is where you know you can’t look at those without solar filters and then sometimes the moon will be much closer.
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Chris Beckett: And then that will sort of blot out, you know even some of the sky around the sun.
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Chris Beckett: And then there’s times, where it’s like almost almost a perfect fit now and Jupiter I don’t know how that exactly works out, but you still get the the shadow of.
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Chris Beckett: The moon on those cloud tops of Jupiter so when we talk about shadow transit that’s what we’re seeing and these ones, starting in April April 3 being the first for us anyway it’s raid on the horizon, but maybe people kind of to the southwest like if maybe you were in California or somewhere.
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Chris Beckett: you’re going to have another 40 minutes of darkness and as well the the angles, are a little bit better so you might have a shot.
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Chris Beckett: At taking a look at it, and then you know it’s well I know we have people that we communicate with their their listeners living in Florida so sometimes Florida might be.
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Chris Beckett: You know that much better still so there’s a lot of times I wish I was, I was in Florida.
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Shane Ludtke: weather here yeah agreed.
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Chris Beckett: So then, on April 6 we have or sorry April 4 we have the last quarter moon.
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Chris Beckett: So that’s when the the moon, is going to be in the morning sky and then.
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Chris Beckett: A couple days or a couple mornings later the moon and Saturn are just going to be about four degrees apart so that’s actually a good time, a lot of folks are up.
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Chris Beckett: Really morning that’s for us is going to be around I think like 5am when they’re both clearing the horizon, or the moon clearing the horizon and then.
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Chris Beckett: Saturn will be four degrees directly above now one of the things we always like to mention with these like what is four degrees on the nighttime sky.
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Chris Beckett: And we say, well, when you hold your fist at at arm’s length and we’re all built to approximate the same proportions, whether were a child or or an adult.
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Chris Beckett: If you hold your fist out in the nighttime sky that’s going to be 10 degrees.
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Chris Beckett: So you can I need to know that sort of key measure, so this is going to be about half that distance and a binocular field typically most binoculars will have a five degree field or larger so because Saturn and the moon will be.
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Chris Beckett: Just four degrees apart, it would be a neat binoculars site for people to be able to go out and to see Saturn and the moon together.
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Shane Ludtke: yeah those pairings when you know the moon, and the planets get together like that are are.
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Shane Ludtke: Pretty neat to look at.
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Shane Ludtke: You know binoculars or a wider field view through your telescope.
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Shane Ludtke: and
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Shane Ludtke: it’s it’s pretty it’s quite nice to see.
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Chris Beckett: yeah so that then when should be kind of neat neat to see I make it up and try to take a peek at that, and then on the Seventh, we have Jupiter in the moon four degrees apart, again, so the same sort of thing.
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Shane Ludtke: yeah you know and for those that observed the Jupiter Saturn conjunction on December 21 or right around that date it’s still kind of neat to me to see them in the night sky and you know just how close they are still in the night sky.
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Shane Ludtke: You know, we shouldn’t lose sight that that’s still a pretty cool observation to see them near and you know occupying the same general area.
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Chris Beckett: yeah so it’s sort of like a good opportunity for those that maybe had missed I know lots of people missed the pairing up and now, unlike back.
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Chris Beckett: With the great conjunction back in December we’re not going to have the opportunity to see them together in the same field of view in most telescopes so, though.
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Chris Beckett: Like some of our really small crazy wide field telescopes like our like my tank hashi 60 millimeter I can do about a seven and a half degree field of view, so I would actually be able to see Saturn and the moon together, but I don’t know that i’d be able to get Jupiter in there either.
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Shane Ludtke: yeah that would be pretty tough.
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Shane Ludtke: yeah.
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Chris Beckett: So we’ll find it we’ll see how it goes.
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Chris Beckett: Hopefully we get some clear skies coming up here and and that’ll work out, I think I might actually take take those days off work.
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Chris Beckett: Make make a plan of that alright so April 10 we’re going to have another shutter transmit Jupiter.
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Chris Beckett: But this one actually won’t be visible from North America, I don’t think anyway, so one thing that we try to do is since starting this podcast we’ve we’ve had lots of listeners from all over the world, and some of the folks in Japan will write us.
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Chris Beckett: and stay in touch with their observations and and what they’re able to see over there, so I know that we have Larry over in Japan.
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Chris Beckett: So we kind of put this this out to him that he’ll actually have a good opportunity on the morning of the 10th to try for a double shadow transit.
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Chris Beckett: But that probably Japan is probably going to best spot, and so what i’m doing here is i’m just trying to sort of figure it out, based on using my planetarium software and kind of.
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Chris Beckett: Picking general areas where I know some people have have written in from when i’m when i’m looking at these events give it a shot right.
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Shane Ludtke: yeah no I think that’s a that’s a cool thing to do, what kind of aperture would you need to observe a double shadow transit on Jupiter Chris like woodbine oh see it probably not.
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Shane Ludtke: But we’re now let’s go, would you need.
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Chris Beckett: Yes, sirree I think binoculars like a typical binocular it’s not gonna happen, though, you can see the moons of Jupiter with binoculars so.
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Chris Beckett: Good point you know when when Jupiter is is really high in the sky, if you have a.
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Chris Beckett: Good pair of eight by 40 years or 10 by 50 binocular you will be able to see the moons of Jupiter much like have Galileo solemn just they’re going to look like stars that are kind of changing positions night tonight and that’s really cool to watch, but I you won’t be able to see.
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Chris Beckett: Enough of the disk of Jupiter to to be able to discern the the shadows coming across now I don’t think i’ve seen any with my 60 millimeter yet, but.
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Chris Beckett: But I did own probably about the most inexpensive 80 millimeter telescope.
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Chris Beckett: That you can get I actually had had one a gift certificate at a star party, I was that and and use that in its entirety to buy a telescope it was like a.
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Chris Beckett: 50 or an $80 gift certificate and I bought this 80 millimeter telescope when I lived in an apartment and I used to watch shutter transits with that very inexpensive 80 millimeter telescope.
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Chris Beckett: And I have another very inexpensive 80 millimeter telescope today that’s sort of a modern edition of that so.
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Chris Beckett: I think, probably with with anything like.
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Chris Beckett: Like a 70 millimeter or greater in the 80 millimeter I can clearly see them and i’m going to try for these in my 60 as as we get into summer so you have a you have a 60 millimeter telescope as well, I think, are a couple so maybe you can give it a shot and see if you can see them.
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Shane Ludtke: yeah yeah I have a little William optic dizziness star 61 millimeter telescope.
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Shane Ludtke: yeah, it is very similar to your tack in terms of specs.
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Shane Ludtke: And then I have some older telescopes like I have 65 millimeter 1000 millimeter focal length takahashi and as ice to limiter which is 63 millimeter but.
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Shane Ludtke: yeah I should give that a try i’m curious now as to what the 16 millimeter which oh.
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Chris Beckett: yeah I am as well, I think, probably with with these kind of 16th which are a little bit vintage and I think they’re out of production.
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Chris Beckett: You know, but, but they have high quality optics and I think I think you’d stand a pretty decent chance of seeing seeing these shadow transits.
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Chris Beckett: And sort of one of the things is that you do need do need a bit of power like I find you know and i’m sure some people could probably use less power, maybe some people use more power, but I find really.
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Chris Beckett: need about 80 to 100 power to really begin to to see them well through through telescopes but 16 millimeter telescope definitely can can do can do those powers, I typically use my 68 about 95 power and and I think that should be good enough to see them, I hope, anyway.
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Shane Ludtke: yeah yeah interesting experiment.
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Chris Beckett: yeah so on on April 12 we have new moon and.
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Chris Beckett: that’s when the moon is is near the sun in the sky and it’s going to be in the daytime sky and so when we don’t see the moon so that’s where we’re we’re looking at.
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Chris Beckett: doing some dark sky observing so we’re going to we’re going to make a make a plan here to do a set of pirate podcast for for that period of the of the of the month, so we won’t get into that and then on the 14th we have another double shadow transit and this one.
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Chris Beckett: Maybe Eastern North America will be best so.
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Chris Beckett: For our friends in Florida i’m thinking this this might be their opportunity, especially if they’re there on the other, coast, although I don’t think they are, I think they’re on the Gulf coast.
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Chris Beckett: But, but they might they might stand a chance of seeing this but for my friends, where i’m from I think they’re gonna they’re going to try for probably observing for this one on on the 14th because.
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Chris Beckett: they’re in Nova Scotia I think it would be you’d stand a pretty good chance of actually seeing this this double shadow transit on.
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Jupiter.
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Shane Ludtke: yeah very cool lots of double shuttle transits this month.
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Chris Beckett: yeah worth pointing out, I think I think they’re really cool to see very first one, I ever saw when I was actually using that 80 millimeter telescope and.
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Chris Beckett: i’d set it up with the idea of observing a double shadow transit and I was kind of playing around with it, because it was a brand new telescope to me at the time, and my cousin will who does the music for our show.
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Chris Beckett: happy to be coming over for Christmas, and this was this was around Christmas time we have an epic the warm period before Christmas, and I was out in the earth, the little telescope and.
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Chris Beckett: head of pointed at at Jupiter and was kind of nudging along and just had it on a camera tripod and and he pulled in the driveway and got out and we’re we’re having a chat kind of getting caught up or whatever, because he was living in another province at the time.
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Chris Beckett: Anyway, and he said hey Can I take a look, and I said sure, and I kind of centered Jupiter really quick after after our lengthy conversation, and he looks in and says hey where do these black dots on Jupiter.
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Chris Beckett: So he was able to.
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Chris Beckett: pick them up just like like oh wait you got to see them first.
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Chris Beckett: I was super jealous i’ll never forget that that he picked them up right away so that that’s how easy they can be in a really inexpensive small telescope.
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Shane Ludtke: yeah and I love I love observing them because i’m fascinated with solar system movement, and you know this is a way to watch some of that happen, especially if you can catch.
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Shane Ludtke: The shadow like at the limb, which is the edge of the planetary disk.
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Shane Ludtke: If you watch it, you know, say, from the middle it doesn’t seem to really move with any you know with any speed at all, but when it’s close to the edge it’s incredible how fast it just drifts right off.
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mm hmm.
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Chris Beckett: yeah I think there’s some historical importance of shadow transits as well, I know for.
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Chris Beckett: Early mariners that see.
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Chris Beckett: who had telescopes they were they were trying to use them to to fix their position you know, on the ocean.
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Chris Beckett: But my understanding is actually it wasn’t as good as just using the old sexton’s and and the sun and other means for for actually determining.
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Chris Beckett: Your position because of the well the the limb darkening on Jupiter actually interferes with when you’ll actually be able to see them as well as like.
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Chris Beckett: altitude from the horizon and other other impacts when when you can see them but, but they did it did attempt to to use those for a variety of purposes anyway we’re not gonna get into that this time April 17 Mars.
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Chris Beckett: It actually there’s an occultation of Mars by the moon for Central and East Africa, India and the Middle East and so that could be an opportunity to take a look if you’re in those areas are those regions.
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Chris Beckett: At the moon actually covering up Mars, which would be really cool and then often somebody somewhere.
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Chris Beckett: ends up taking a photo and it looks really nice if they’re able to capture any kind of surface detail, like, I know, one of the polar cap summers has been.
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Chris Beckett: Growing and the past several months, and so you might just be able to see, like the disk of MARS and the polar cap is it’s kind of getting covered up by the moon, and that would be super super cool to see.
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Shane Ludtke: yeah yeah That would be a really neat observation.
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Chris Beckett: So here in North America they they don’t even really get that close, so I have, I have an image here shane and and it’s a circle eight degrees, which is sort of the sharp field of my binoculars and you just be able to get MARS and the moon, in the same field of my widest field binocular.
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Shane Ludtke: mm hmm yeah that’s pretty tight and you’re definitely pushing the limits at that point.
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Chris Beckett: yeah yeah for sure, but that can kind of be neat to see as well, and I know in our past episode, we were talking about these these neat little ultra wide field 50 millimeter telescopes.
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Chris Beckett: That you’ve been kind enough to kind of get working for us and so i’m really looking forward to getting a wide field.
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Chris Beckett: eyepiece and getting that instrument working and then maybe take note because I think with with my widest feel like at about a 10 degree field of view which is.
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Chris Beckett: Your fist at arm’s length, so I can actually take in that larger swath of sky and so being able to do this, do so will enable me to to see all kinds of stars and planets as they pass by the moon, because because typically the moon, and the planets will will be within.
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Chris Beckett: 10 or 12 degrees of each other in the night sky at some point.
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Chris Beckett: during the month for for every observer on the planet, because the moon, and the planets travel along the path to be called the ecliptic, which is where.
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Chris Beckett: eclipses occur and so that’s the plane of our solar system and everything sort of generally in that same facility so i’m really looking forward to.
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Chris Beckett: To using a little kind of basically what would be a Finder scope of most telescopes and that’s actually the original purpose of me getting it is to use it as a Finder but i’m also going to use it.
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Chris Beckett: In the sort of novel respect to to be able to see the moon and planets and other large extended features of the night sky.
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Shane Ludtke: yeah yeah great telescope or Great instrument for that purpose for sure, maybe one of the best.
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yeah.
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Chris Beckett: yeah so on April 20 we have the first quarter moon.
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Chris Beckett: What do you think about that screen.
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Shane Ludtke: um I think we should move on to what’s happening on April 22 and.
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Shane Ludtke: I shouldn’t say that.
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Shane Ludtke: You know the the moon.
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Shane Ludtke: The best time to observe it is when there’s a terminator when they’re when it’s not a full moon so.
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Shane Ludtke: yeah first quarter is is really just sort of indicating that you know you’re you’re right in the heart of really good lunar observing so you know plan your features or craters that you want to see, and you know oh get out there because it’s warming up it’s it’s time to do some observing.
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Chris Beckett: And for people that have never used a binocular on the night sky before, and this is, this is one thing I do when i’m.
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Chris Beckett: Teaching my astronomy course and actually start teaching my next course that week and what i’ll be asking people to do is is to go and.
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Chris Beckett: indigo those binoculars from that that back closet somewhere from grab them from above the fridge or wherever they have them hanging out and.
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Chris Beckett: that so many people who who come to the class that are looking to get into astronomy have never done this before and it’s and it’s really so much fun, I see just just go and grab those binoculars.
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Chris Beckett: Whatever they are, or if you don’t have a pair just just call your neighbor and or a pair or or whatever you don’t need to go and buy a pair or, if you do just just go to.
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Chris Beckett: You know, go to goodwill or a discount place, and you know they usually have a have one of those stores and inevitably they have a pair of binoculars there and just.
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Chris Beckett: By the most inexpensive ones, you can get take those out and point those out the first quarter moon.
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Chris Beckett: And, and then just report back what you see you didn’t do need to find any craters or anything like that.
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Chris Beckett: And then it’s always there’s always at least one person that goes and does this and they’re so enthusiastic about astronomy after they do that and get blown away by seeing the craters on the moon, through a pair of binoculars for the first time.
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Chris Beckett: They can’t get over it, they can’t get over the fact that a pair of binoculars can actually really begin to show you a lot of detail on the moon.
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Shane Ludtke: Now a great point any any kind of optical eight on the moon really brings out detail and the more like the larger the aperture or the more magnification you can put at it.
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Shane Ludtke: it’s incredible right you start to see craters within craters and more and more and more.
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Shane Ludtke: detail becomes visible so it’s one of the most interesting targets, I think you can look at in the sky, in terms of like really a never ending amount of detail, depending on you know your aperture.
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Chris Beckett: yeah yeah it’s it’s really worth your while so people are listening and they’re just kind of casually listening to these these podcasts and I know this one will go out and astronomy a 365 days of astronomy which we love being a part of.
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Chris Beckett: But if you if you’ve never gone in and looked at the moon, through a pair of binoculars and you just have them sitting around you’re like i’m here, I know this is, you know hey it just has to be April 20.
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Chris Beckett: or I know that’s coming up, but i’m free that night or maybe maybe you’re bored because of pandemic restrictions like like we’re under here and.
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Chris Beckett: You know you do already have a pair of binoculars and just grab them and just just walk out where it’s safe to do so and.
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Chris Beckett: And point them at the moon, and I think you’ll be truly astounded you know, and you don’t need to know this is one thing I tried to stress stress, with people as well.
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Chris Beckett: You don’t need to know, like all the craters and what everything is called up there, and I think sometimes that overwhelms people as well, like all the features on the moon are named and you can certainly.
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Chris Beckett: Go and find a really good resources for that one of them in is at the.
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Shane Ludtke: asc.ca.
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Chris Beckett: The Royal astronomical society of Canada.
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Chris Beckett: And they have this really great explore the moon guide So if you go to the er Ay si.ca and you just go to the search box and go explore moon or explore the moon in the search box, you will you will find.
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Chris Beckett: A great little set of Finder charts for the moon everything that you can see through binoculars they had like a little program in that that that you can do and it’s free.
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Chris Beckett: This is just a free.
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Chris Beckett: resource that that our organization, the area see does just as a as a public service.
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Shane Ludtke: yeah yeah and that explore the moon.
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Shane Ludtke: certificate is really or program is really interesting and then the Isabel Williamson lunar observing program is like exceptionally throwing if you’re a lunar nut.
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Shane Ludtke: That Isabel Williamson gives I think it’s like about 100 or so features, but then there’s like a subset list of challenge features which I think brings it to over 200 things to observe.
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Shane Ludtke: So, again for all the winter NUTS out there that’s that’s a great list too.
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Chris Beckett: yeah and his beliefs and, of course, was.
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Chris Beckett: was a great amateur astronomer from from Quebec here in Canada and that’s that end up being how that Program.
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Chris Beckett: got it seems so yeah it’s kind of homage to to her and her great observations and contributions to astronomy here in Canada yeah it’s pretty cool so on April 22 we have.
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Chris Beckett: Probably perhaps the best event of the month, I know, when I was makeup these notes that was going to be the best event of the month, but potentially we might have.
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Chris Beckett: A Comet that’s getting brighter but yeah let’s talk about the lyrics lyrics meteor shower in the early morning of April 22 shame, what do you think.
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Shane Ludtke: um so look, let me just see here yeah early morning it’ll be in the East and the moon is setting at around four in the morning.
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Shane Ludtke: So generally if you want to catch a meteor shower you want the moon, to be not in the sky, because the brightness from the moon can wash out a lot of the meteors.
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Shane Ludtke: So if you’re interested in this meteor shower try to time it with between moon set and sunrise and that’s when you’re going to see the most amount of meteors in the sky.
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Shane Ludtke: i’m not sure what this one peaks oh dad or what it typically has in terms of number of meteors to our do you know that offhand Chris.
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Chris Beckett: yeah see you can get quite a few so this one only averages about five to 20 per hour, and it really an average of.
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Chris Beckett: About 10 meters per hour now when it comes to observing meteor showers you want to try to get to the darkest place that you can you don’t need to telescope or binoculars to observe a meteor shower.
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Chris Beckett: But you do need as dark sky as possible and, fortunately, for for many of us who live in the city, that means you’re going to be going for a bit of a drive.
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Chris Beckett: But this one can be worthwhile, because these meteors can be particularly bright and as well, I should mention that that the meteors from for a meteor shower they actually originate from Comet so there’s comets in orbit around the sun, just like we’re in orbit around the sun.
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Chris Beckett: And then, what happens is as as comets orbit.
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Chris Beckett: They coming close to the sun, they brighten up and that brightening is actually.
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Chris Beckett: A process of the Comet warming and and what we actually see is particles and material coming off of those comments.
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Chris Beckett: And those materials go into into that orbit that the Comet is on so even the Communism isn’t there and visible this material is kind of left over in in that orbit that that the Comet had previously gone through so in the case of the lyrics.
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Chris Beckett: What we’re actually seeing here is cometary debris from Comet see 1861 G one Thatcher, which is, which is a Comet that that was discovered in 1861 though it’s a relatively short period of Comet story short period common in has an orbit of about 14 and 15 years.
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Chris Beckett: You know, we still will see meteors every year at about this time and the meteors from the lyrics they haven’t been reported, since about about 67 BC So it goes back quite a long time.
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Shane Ludtke: yeah and just add on a little bit to the you know.
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Shane Ludtke: How meteors are formed that comment debris hits earth’s atmosphere and burns up and then we see you know these streaks of light across the sky, we call the meteor some people call them shooting stars.
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Shane Ludtke: Basically what you’re seeing are grains of sand burning up in the atmosphere, if you see a real bright one that’s probably the size of a like a pea or a small pebble.
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Shane Ludtke: And it just burns up at a high velocity as it’s hitting the atmosphere so kind of a it’s kind of interesting to think about how much light no grain of sand almost or you know something the size of a small grain of sand can can produce.
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Chris Beckett: yeah it’s pretty pretty amazing to to see those come whipping in.
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Chris Beckett: So.
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On.
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Chris Beckett: On a boat the the end of the month on the 27th we’re going to see yet another super moon actually think there’s a super moon this month to on the 28th or something like that.
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Chris Beckett: So I think we’re retreated to yet another super moon, so these super moons are something that people can get pretty excited about and there’s typically.
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Chris Beckett: Quite a few stories in the media that I haven’t seen the stories yet for for this set of super moons.
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Chris Beckett: But the moon, is only about half degree in the nighttime scanning technically it’s like point five, two degrees, now we talked about degrees, earlier we hold your fist at arm’s length.
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Chris Beckett: that’s 10 degrees, you might think the moon is really, really big and it definitely is a big object on the night sky but it’s only half a degree and that actual size would be, but the size of.
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Chris Beckett: A pencil eraser sort of looked at and on so they’re really the moon is really not that large when you actually compare it to.
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Chris Beckett: You know, to to the size of the whole night sky and when something that’s small is only going to be a few percent larger or smaller it’s going to be very difficult to to notice, especially when you don’t have anything to compare it to you.
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Shane Ludtke: yeah yeah it’s it’s more of a like I think it’s an interesting photographic target, you know, take a take a photograph of a super moon.
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Shane Ludtke: And then use the exact same camera settings on a non super moon and then Just compare the photos and see the difference in size, I have seen those published in magazines and online, and it is interesting to see you know the super moon and it’s you know slightly larger diameter.
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Shane Ludtke: But without that photographic kind of a B comparison it’s I don’t know if I would be able to detect it with my eye I don’t think I would.
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Chris Beckett: know and so i’ve actually done a lot of needed naked eye observing of of the moon and i’ve done a lot of sketches alongside my friend Clark.
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Chris Beckett: who’s the Chair of the history committee in our organization and we’ve compared notes, and I would say it’s ambiguous, at best, if we could see it, so we have a pretty dedicated campaign.
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Chris Beckett: One year to do a lot of moon observations without optics and I would say it’s inconclusive, I think, maybe there is there is once I might say that I was able to detect, but it was larger.
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Chris Beckett: But it’s inconclusive, at best, whether or not we can do it, but I think that anybody who is getting interested in looking.
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Chris Beckett: At the nighttime sky should certainly should be encouraged to do so, so if it’s if it’s getting you motivated to go and look at the sky because.
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Chris Beckett: they’re talking about super moons you know hey that’s that’s great, but certainly I think there’s a lot of other more interesting and easier to see things like I said, I think you should go out and look at the first quarter moon.
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Chris Beckett: When that’s happening on the 20th of the month with your binoculars and I think that definitely is something that’s gonna that’s really going to blow you away if you’ve never looked at the moon with binoculars before that that would be the time to do it.
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Shane Ludtke: yeah yeah, in fact, you know if you have binoculars look at the moon during any of its phases.
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Shane Ludtke: As long as it’s not a full moon, the amount of detail that you’ll see is incredible and, if you look at the moon right near where that dark line is like where the light transitions to darkness.
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Shane Ludtke: that’s where you typically see a lot of the detail and we refer to that as the terminator as many people who listen to our podcast are probably getting sick of us saying.
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Shane Ludtke: But you know we like to mention some of those details for anybody that might be listening to it for the first time.
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Chris Beckett: So shane we started.
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Chris Beckett: This this session today we’re actually late in starting our recording.
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Chris Beckett: And the reason why we relate was because.
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Chris Beckett: Well, we we make up these notes and we actually made up most of our notes, some time ago, and then we we go over them a little bit prior to to the recording and then we see what else might be of interest there and we use.
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Chris Beckett: Some some resources online, to see if there’s any break comments and there hasn’t been and no break comments to be expected.
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Chris Beckett: But when we actually took a look at.
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Chris Beckett: And, and the the website is is E R I T h.net and slash comment, and this is a.
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Chris Beckett: well known common.
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Chris Beckett: website for for finding out information on comets we actually discovered that Comet or for atlas appears to be brightening there’s some estimates that that comment is actually.
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Chris Beckett: being reported as getting close to eight magnitude and brightness which puts it well in the range of small telescopes and.
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Chris Beckett: Now, sometimes comets will just flare up but certainly this this flare up has been lasting for a couple weeks now going from 13th magnitude to eighth magnitude and to give people a general idea of how bright that is so, a 13th magnitude star would be really difficult to see.
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Chris Beckett: From the city through a telescope but with with a pretty good eight inch telescope in a really, really dark location you’d probably be able to see 13th magnitude stars reasonably.
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Chris Beckett: And, and so, if a Comet was 13th magnitude in probably be even a little bit more difficult to see them those stars now an eighth magnitude star.
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Chris Beckett: From the city in a in an eight inch telescope is going to actually be relatively easy to see and an eighth 22 Comet would be.
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Chris Beckett: possible to see likely be able to see it so that’s the difference, more or less right there that these these magnitudes are such that.
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Chris Beckett: If if it does, continue to brighten in this in this way that this Comet could become relatively easy to see, maybe even in binoculars in the coming weeks so right now we’re looking at.
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Chris Beckett: last quarter moon on the fourth so we’re looking at at least probably another week or so.
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Chris Beckett: From when this podcast goes live i’m going to say probably about I have lunar phase calendar APP looks like the the waning crescent moon.
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Chris Beckett: By Thursday the aid is going to be thin enough and fair enough on the horizon, that it’s not going to be impinging too much on the nighttime sky and that.
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Chris Beckett: let’s see by April 8 the common atlas will be long the ecliptic it will be in aquarius and it will be I don’t know it looks like maybe 10 degrees, just so.
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Chris Beckett: west of the bright star altair and then in the constellation of equivalent and certainly if it is brightening up into magnitude or so, you should be able to pick it up in a wide field telescope in that area from a dark side.
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Shane Ludtke: yeah this is this is really exciting.
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Shane Ludtke: This Comet like right now.
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Shane Ludtke: Roughly it should be, or the original estimates, had it at like around magnitude or 11 it looks like.
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Shane Ludtke: Which is a not a spectacular comment, but the actual observed magnitudes are closer to eight and a half, it looks like or somewhere between eight and a half and 10.
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Shane Ludtke: Which is pretty substantial and the brightest this thing was forecasted or estimated to be would have been probably somewhere between nine and 10 magnitude but we’re already getting reports that it’s brighter than that.
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Shane Ludtke: Now as we’ve stated before Comet estimates and trying to determine how bright, they are is.
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Shane Ludtke: it’s it’s almost it’s very difficult to predict with accuracy, because there’s so many variables that impact the comments brightness.
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Shane Ludtke: So the thing to do is, if you have an opportunity to look at this thing do it because.
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Shane Ludtke: You know, it may not get any brighter, but it may continue to get brighter and brighter So if you have some observations along the way, it would be neat to watch this this Comet grow and evolve in terms of its magnitude.
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Shane Ludtke: Not very sure if it has like the traditional Comet tail I see one photograph here of its discovery when it was closer to 20 magnitude, which you know, is quite dim.
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Shane Ludtke: That it didn’t have much of a tail but if you’re looking for this thing essentially what you’re looking for is like kind of a fuzzy puff of light almost.
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Shane Ludtke: Amongst the stars that you can’t focus into you know.
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Shane Ludtke: pinpoint and that there’s likely if you’re in the right part of the sky.
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Shane Ludtke: And then you know use some different magnification and use averted vision so i’ve heard of vision is you get the Comet in your field of view but then don’t look directly at it.
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Shane Ludtke: Look at a you know just above it or just below it or whatever, and then use your peripheral vision, because it’s a little more sensitive to that faint diffuse light.
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Shane Ludtke: Then you might actually see more of the extent of the Comet using your peripheral vision so i’m definitely going to give this a try even for my backyard just to see what it looks like.
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Shane Ludtke: But definitely would like to get outside of the city as well, to see what it might look like under a darker sky.
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Chris Beckett: yeah and and although it’s coming up in the morning sky and in the morning, Sir, are getting shorter in the northern hemisphere, just because we’re getting more sunlight.
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Chris Beckett: By by the 19th of the month it’s going to be up into Hercules.
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Chris Beckett: So that’s going to be fairly high up in the nighttime sky and then as as we get into the end of April and beginning of of May you know, hopefully.
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Chris Beckett: You know, we get some some good nights there when the moon stars in the sky it actually will end up in the in the evening sky in intimate and if it is bright at that time, it could be, it could be a nice next comment for for me skies.
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Shane Ludtke: yeah yeah i’m excited for this one, hopefully it continues to brighten up.
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Shane Ludtke: yeah you know it’s exciting yeah you never know.
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Shane Ludtke: And this is part of I think this is part of the intrigue because you don’t know it’s it’s sort of like you know Christmas time.
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Shane Ludtke: Or you know you’re the anticipation, sometimes is more than the actual result but it’s still fun to.
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Shane Ludtke: be able to observe these things, because sometimes you can like we were really treated last year to you know, an outstanding Comet.
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Shane Ludtke: But that’s not very common in fact even like good telescopic comets you might only get a couple of year, and even then sometimes you go through long dry spells where there’s just really nothing to observe so.
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Shane Ludtke: yeah let’s see what this one turns into i’m quite excited.
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Chris Beckett: yeah so you know and other good websites out there will will be will be publicized that if if it does break now, but you know, probably two weeks out now and.
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Chris Beckett: In here we go like it looks like we might have have a comment that you can see you’ll need a telescope and I would definitely say like you’re looking at using at least a five inch.
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Chris Beckett: or large telescope probably have a really good chance having this down won’t be a break comment at this time, but something that you can see, in.
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Chris Beckett: In a good size amateur telescope so I just want to make that clear, this is not like going to be a repeat of what we had last summer, which was a bright naked eye comment.
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Chris Beckett: This is, this is something telescopic but we didn’t think we were going to have any telescopic comments this month, and here we go looks like we We probably have have one that can be seen with with good size amateur equipment.
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Shane Ludtke: And if it does get to that magnitude eight range, you know even a decent pair of binoculars have the possibility of bringing it in so.
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Shane Ludtke: yeah if all you have is binoculars give it a try, maybe you’ll be able to observe it, and if you do.
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Shane Ludtke: You know I think we definitely love to hear about it we’ve kind of stopped promoting our email address.
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Shane Ludtke: Because we we’ve launched a website actual astronomy COM, we have a contact form there that you can use to reach out to us.
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Shane Ludtke: But we’d love to hear about observing reports, whether it’s this Comet or whatever you might be looking at, and you know if you do want to share your observing report just email us at actual astronomy@gmail.com.
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Chris Beckett: Well shane that sounds like a good place for us to end things for the month.
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Shane Ludtke: yeah perfect well thanks Chris.
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Chris Beckett: yeah Thank you so much.
End of podcast:
365 Days of Astronomy
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