Welcome to the 163rd edition of 6 Storm Team Starwatch. This is a blog that will be updated every Friday that will list events happening in the sky.
Thursday, April 20th – Sunday, April 23rd 2023
Thursday night through Sunday night after sunset the crescent Moon will be visible near Venus, Mercury and the star cluster the Pleiades (Sky & Telescope). The bright star Aldebaran will also be visible (Sky & Telescope). You will want to look West-Northwest about 30 minutes after sunset to see these planets and stars (Sky & Telescope). Check out the image below for more details!
Image Courtesy of Sky & Telescope
Saturday, April 22nd 2023 – Sunday, April 23rd 2023
The Lyrids meteor shower peaks late Saturday night into early Sunday morning (NASA)! This meteor shower is known for fast and bright meteors and can produce fireballs (NASA). Typically, about 10-20 meteors can be seen per hour during the shower’s peak (NASA).
The comet of origin for this meteor shower is C/1861 G1 Thatcher and its radiant (or the point where the meteors appear to originate from) is the constellation Lyra (NASA).
If you are hoping to catch a glimpse of this meteor shower, here are a few tips! You will want to make sure you view this shower somewhere away from artificial light (NASA). It is also a good idea to give yourself plenty of time to let your eyes adjust to the darkness so you will be better able to spot any potential meteors (NASA). You want to be sure to look in all directions (NASA). In fact, it is best to not view meteor showers near their radiant because this will make the meteors appear short (NASA).
Finally, since this meteor shower falls within a few days of the New Moon (when the Moon is not visible to the naked eye), moonlight will not interfere with your ability to see this shower (NASA)!
The following sites were used in the creation of this blog:
https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/observing-news/this-weeks-sky-at-a-glance-april-14-23/
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/asteroids-comets-and-meteors/meteors-and-meteorites/lyrids/in-depth/
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/skywatching/whats-up/
