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Astronomy Events for April 2023

April 10, 2023

WEST MICHIGAN — Clear skies will be pretty prominent headed into the second week of April. That will be helpful for those out there with a knack for sky watching.

On Thursday, April 6, the Pink Moon was really showing off. Jim Amsler from Muskegon shared his photos of the full moon. The full moon also goes by other names, like the Sprouting Grass Moon, the Growing Moon and the Egg Moon.

If you missed the full moon, don’t fret. There are plenty of other astronomical events to catch this month!

On April 11 Mercury will reach its greatest eastern elongation, which is 19.5 degrees from the Sun. It will shine bright, and the best time to view Mercury will be at it’s highest point above the horizon in the evening sky. Experts say to look for the planet low in

Astronomy April, astronomy, Events

Astronomy zone April 2023: Texas stargazers will get to see ‘Pink Moon’ and Lyrid meteor showers this spring

April 1, 2023

ByAlan Shoemaker Astronomy zone April 2023: Texas stargazers will get to see ‘Pink Moon’ and Lyrid meteor showers this spring

Friday, March 31, 2023 11:00AM

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — In the night sky this month, check out the full moon rising on the evening of April 5. This moon is sometimes called the “Pink Moon” in reference to the pink color of Phlox flowers blooming in the spring.

If you witness a few flashes of light in the night sky, you might be seeing the Lyrid meteor shower. The meteor shower occurs from April 16-25, with a peak in activity during the night of April 23. For best viewing, get out in the late evening in darker skies away from city lights. Look more to the northwestern half of the sky for the best chance to see meteors.

SEE ALSO: Super Blood Wolf Moon makes appearance in Houston

The moon and Venus will be in conjunction (closest together from our perspective) on April 23. They will appear

Satellites and space junk may make dark night skies brighter, hindering astronomy and hiding stars from our view

March 27, 2023

Since time immemorial, humans around the world have gazed up in wonder at the night sky.

The starry night sky has not only inspired countless works of music, art and poetry, but has also played an important role in timekeeping, navigation and agricultural practices in many traditions.

For many cultures, the night sky, with its stars, planets and the Milky Way, is considered just as important a part of the natural environment as the forests, lakes and mountains below.

Starlink satellites already leave streaks on astronomical photographs – but growth in satellites and debris will make the whole sky brighter. ( Rafael Schmall / NOIRLab, CC BY)

Countless people around the world gaze at the night sky: not only amateur and professional astronomers, but also casual observers who enjoy looking up at the stars to contemplate our place in the cosmos.

However, the night sky is changing.

Not only is

Astronomy expert squashes extra-terrestrial rumors about mysterious lights

March 25, 2023

What we know about the lights that streaked across the sky in Sacramento

02:26

SACRAMENTO – When a sudden string of lights raced through the sky Friday night, people whipped out their cell phones to capture it.

“Wow. What is that?!” You could hear the excitement on one viewer’s cell phone video. “I’ve never seen a tail like that. Are these spaceships? That is amazing.”

Raj Dixit says it’s just an old satellite that went ‘belly up.’ The Vice President of the Sacramento Valley Astronomical Society put all the extra-terrestrial rumors to rest.

“This was an old Japanese communication satellite known as ICS. It was lost to the International Space Station back in 2009 and then quickly died and became space junk,” Dixit told CBS13.

While that satellite was launched back in 2009, it took more than

The forgotten maths genius who laid the foundations for Isaac Newton | Astronomy

March 23, 2023

On a cloudy afternoon in England in 1639, 20-year-old Jeremiah Horrocks became the first person to accurately predict the transit of Venus and measure the distance from the Earth to the sun.

His work proved, for the first time, that Earth is not at the centre of the universe, but revolves around the sun, refuting contemporary religious beliefs and laying the foundations for Isaac Newton’s groundbreaking work on gravity.

Yet today Horrocks has been “almost forgotten” and few are aware of the important contributions he made to the field of astronomy. Due to his untimely death at the age of 22, his work was never published in his lifetime and he never gained widespread recognition for his dazzling mathematical achievements.

“Without Horrocks, all the pieces wouldn’t have been