Astroblog: Southern Skywatch April 2018 edition is now out!

Saturday, March 31, 2018

Southern Skywatch April 2018 edition is now out!

The northern morning sky on April 2, 90 minutes before sunrise showing Saturn and the Mars close, Inset shows Saturn, Mars, and M22 through a widefield telescopic eyepiece. (similar views will be seen Australia wide 90 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen).

The April edition of Southern Skywatch is now up.

This month still sees most of the planetary action move to the evening sky. Speedy Mercury returns to the morning sky but Venus and Jupiter become more prominent in the evening sky and Mars and Saturn enter the late evening sky.

Jupiter becomes more prominent the evening sky, and is closes to the Moon on the 3rd and 30th.

Mars is closest to Saturn and M22 (spectacularly so to M22) on the 2nd.

Saturn is close to the globular cluster M22 this month.

UPDATE: never post early in the morning before catching a plane, fixed the wrong dates.

~~March~~ April 3, 30; Moon close to Jupiter. ~~March~~ April 7; Mars, Saturn and Moon close

~~March~~ April 8; Moon at Apogee. ~~March~~ April 21 Moon at Perigee.

~~March~~ April 14-15, Crescent Moon close to Mercury in the twilight.

~~March~~ April 18, Crescent Moon above Venus

Labels: southern skywatch

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 7:45 am

Comments:

I saw what looked to be a shooting star, the biggest & brightest I've ever seen around 10:30pm SA time out toward south area of the sky when viewing from northern area in outer Adelaide. Did anyone else see it?

# posted by