April sees the heavens light up with the continuing nova light explosion and a meteor shower. As said before, compared to areas near Boston or New Bedford, the South Coast has pretty good dark skies. We are very fortunate in that regard. For the astrophysicist in us all, please use this month’s guide to assist in your stargazing and cosmic sightseeing.
The star T Coronae Borealis, nicknamed “Blaze Star,” is once again going nova, or exploding with light and radiation. The star system is about 3,000 light years away and is actually two stars: a white dwarf and a red giant. The stars appear to explode, or “flare” around every 80 years due to regular bursts of material from the smaller star. Rather than a supernova, this event is referred to as a “recurrent nova.” The current nova is visible to the naked eye from now until around August and appears similar to the North Star (Polaris).
April’s full moon is referred to as the “Pink Moon,” named after flowers that bloom in spring. It will occur on April 13. Other self-evident names are Breaking Ice Moon and Budding Moon. Due to the moon nearing its farthest point from earth in its orbit, this full moon is actually a “Micro Pink Moon.”
Mercury will be visible around this time and will be most visible on April 21 due to it being the farthest from the sun in its orbit. Mercury, Venus and Saturn will be near each other in the sky and visible in the morning, before sunrise.
The second major meteor shower of the year, the Lyrid Meteor Shower, will peak April 22 and April 23. There will be between 15 and 20 meteors per hour during this time. It will be visible in most of the sky but is concentrated in the East, near the star Vega.
Earth Day is April 22, and if the long tradition of turning down/off lights is continued, it will make it easier to view these astronomic sights! Happy and lucky stargazing to you.
Astronomy Update for April
By Sam Bishop