Tuesday, April 15, 2025
Thursday April 17 to Thursday April 24
The Last Quarter Moon is Monday April 21. Jupiter and Mars are visible in the evening sky. Jupiter forms a line with the stars Aldebaran and Elnath and sets mid evening. Mars is high in the early evening sky forming a line with the bright stars Castor and Pollux. Look for the constellation Corona Borealis in the morning skies, the blaze star T Coronae Borealis (TCrB) may go Nova eventually. Saturn, Venus and Mercury are visible in the morning twilight. Mercury is close to Neptune on the 17th and 18th and at its highest on the 22nd.
The Last Quarter Moon is Monday April 21.
Saturn is visible in the twilight forming a triangle with Mercury and Venus. Mercury is close to Uranus
The inset is the binocular view of Mercury and Uranus at this time. (click to embiggen).
Saturn is visible in the twilight close to Venus with Mercury below. The waning moon is above making a nice lineup.
The inset is the telescope view of Venus at this time. (click to embiggen).
If you look to the North at astronomical twilight (90 minutes before sunrise), you will see a prominent bright white star, Vega, if you look northwest you will see a dainty circlet of stars. Corona Borealis, the northern crown. The blaze star T CrB is located on the right-hand side to the circlet, where the line of stars turns down, there are no other bright stars in the region, so when it erupts it will be easily visible. Viewing tips at my T CrB post.
Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset).
Elsewhere in Australia will see a similar view at the equivalent time (90 minutes after sunset).
Mercury climbs higher in the morning twilight. Mercury is close to Neptune on the 17th and 18th and at its highest on the 22nd.
Venus climbs higher in the morning twilight. It forms a pair with Saturn.
Mars is high in the evening sky. Mars forms a line with the bright stars Castor and Pollux.
Jupiter is sinking in the the north-western evening sky when the sky is fully dark. Jupiter forms a line with the stars Aldebaran and Elnath.
Saturn is rising in the morning the twilight. It forms a pair with Venus.
Star Map via Virtual sky. Use your mouse to scroll around and press 8 when your pointer is in the map to set to the current time.
Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.
Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/
Labels: weekly sky
Monday, April 07, 2025
Thursday April 10 to Thursday April 17
The Full Moon is Sunday April 13. Jupiter and Mars are visible in the evening sky. Jupiter forms a line with the stars Aldebaran and Elnath and sets in the late evening. Mars is high in the early evening sky forming a line with the bright stars Castor and Pollux. Look for the constellation Corona Borealis in the morning skies, the blaze star T Coronae Borealis (TCrB) may go Nova eventually. Saturn, Venus and Mercury are visible in the morning twilight. Mercury is close to Saturn between the 10th and 12th forming a triangle with Venus.
The Full Moon is Sunday April 13. Apogee, when the Moon is furthest from the earth, is on the 14th.
Saturn is visible in the twilight forming a triangle with Mercury and Venus.
The inset is the telescope view of Venus at this time. (click to embiggen).
If you look to the North-west at astronomical twilight (90 minutes before sunrise), you will see a prominent bright orange star, Arcturus, if you look northwardst you will see a dainty circlet of stars. Corona Borealis, the northern crown. The blaze star T CrB is located on the right-hand side to the circlet, where the line of stars turns down, there are no other bright stars in the region, so when it erupts it will be easily visible. Viewing tips at my T CrB post.
Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset).
Elsewhere in Australia will see a similar view at the equivalent time (90 minutes after sunset).
Mercury climbs higher in the morning twilight. On the 10th to the 12th Mercury is close to Saturn forming a triangle with Venus.
Venus climbs higher in the morning twilight. It is near to Mercury and Saturn
Mars is high in the evening sky. Mars was at opposition, when it is biggest and brightest as seen from Earth, on January the 16th. Mars forms a line with the bright stars Castor and Pollux.
Jupiter is sinking in the the north-western evening sky when the sky is fully dark. Jupiter forms a line with the stars Aldebaran and Elnath.
Saturn is rising in the morning the twilight. On the 10th to the 12th Mercury is close to Saturn forming a triangle with Venus.
Star Map via Virtual sky. Use your mouse to scroll around and press 8 when your pointer is in the map to set to the current time.
Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.
Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/
Labels: weekly sky
Friday, April 04, 2025
Seeing the Lunar X and sunrise on the Moon, Saturday, April 5, 2025
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| The Lunar X and V (indicated) as visible in telescopic views. Click to embiggen for a clearer view. | Western evening sky on Saturday April 5 as seen from Adelaide at 23:17 ACDST | Western evening sky on Saturday April 55 as seen from Brisbane at 22:43 AEST |
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| Sunrise on the Moon: Moon at 20:00 ACDST, the Lunar V is just visible. | Sunrise on the Moon: Moon at 21:00 ACDST, the Lunar V is becoming visible. Some crater walls are beginning to light up | Sunrise on the Moon: Moon at 21:00 ACDST, the Lunar V is visible. Some crater walls are lighting up and the frist hints of the Lunar X are there |
The Lunar X (also known as the Werner X) and the Lunar V will be visible this Saturday as the moon reaches First Quarter.
The Lunar X is a chiaroscuro effect in which strong contrasts of light and shadow create the appearance of a letter 'X' on the rim of the Lunar craters Blanchinus, La Caille and Purbach and a letter V from the rim of the crater Ukert, along with several smaller craters.
The X and V are seen at first quarter, visible on the lunar surface for about 4 hours. However, the Moon is not always above the horizon from a given vantage point when this happens. This month is okay for Australian observers, with the Moon low to the horizon in the eastern sates, and reasonably high on the west coast.
Lunar X occurs on Saturday April 5, 12:43 UT, 23:43 AEDST, 22:43 AEST, 23:17 ACDST, 22:17 ACST, 20:43 AWST). This is later than official first Quarter which occurs at 12:45 ACDST.
This is a telescope (and maybe good binoculars) only event. For the west coast the start of the Lunar X occurs with the Moon being 25° above the horizon, central states see it at 11° above the horizon, and for the east coast at 6° above the horizon.
Upcoming Lunar X' s are shown below:
Dates and time Lunar X and V are visible. Typically visible from about 4hours from the starting time, times in colour are daylight saving times.
| Date | UT | AEST | ACST | AWST |
| Feb 5 | 08:13 | 21:13 | 20:43 | 16:13 |
| Apr 5 | 12:43 | 23:43 | 23:17 | 20:43 |
| June 3 | 13:18 | 23:18 | 22:30 | 21:18 |
| Aug 1 | 10:57 | 20:57 | 20:17 | 18:57 |
| Sep 29 | 08:46 | 18:46 | 18:16 | 16:46 |
| Nov 27 | 10:43 | 21:43 | 21:15 | 18:43 |
If you are setting up to see the Lunar X, why not start early so you can watch sunrise on the Moon? You can watch the sides of crater walls light up as hours progressStarting from nautical twilight, an hour after sunset, image the Moon through binoculars of a telescope every hour until around moon set and you can see the walls of the Lunar V light up, then the walls of the X.
Also if you are setting up early, catch the reappearance of Iota Geminorum from occultation by the Moon.
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| Iota Geminorum about to be occulted by the Moon as seen from Brisbane at 19:09 AEST | Iota Geminorum emerging from behind the Moon as seen from Brisbane at 20:09 AEST |
| City | Disappear dark | Reappear bright |
| Adelaide ACDST | - | 20:26 |
| Brisbane AEST | 19:09 | 20:09 |
| Canberra AEDST | 19:53 | 21:13 |
| Hobart AEDST | 19:49 | 21:08 |
| Melbourne AEDST | 19:44 | 21:08 |
| Sydney AEDST | 19:59 | 21:15 |
Labels: Lunar X, Moon, telescope
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