By Neill Simmons
This is your last chance to see the best of the winter sky. Its constellations, planets, and stars will not be visible by May. Go out each night, look west to see the famous constellation of Orion, the Hunter. Find the three stars aligned to make Orion’s belt. These three stars are 200,000 times brighter than our Sun. Look to the left of Orion to find the brightest star in the sky, Sirius, which is in the constellation Canis Major also known as “The Great Dog” and Orion’s faithful companion. Also, look for Gemini, known as “the twins” and is represented by the bright stars Castor and Pollux.
Look straight up to see the bright point of light which the magnificent planet Jupiter. This is easy to see with the naked eye. If viewed through binoculars or a telescope, four of Jupiter’s largest moons are easily visible – Io, Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa. Europa was featured in the blockbuster movie “2001.” At latest count, Jupiter has 101 known moons. Jupiter is so big that over 1,300 Earths could fit inside it, and it’s more massive than all other planets combined. It takes 12 Earth years for Jupiter to complete one trip around the Sun. No wonder it is known as “The King of All Planets!”
The Lyrid meteor shower will take place this month. This meteor shower comes from debris left behind by Comet Thatcher. When this debris hits and then burns up in our atmosphere, we see the “shooting stars” of a meteor shower. To experience the peak of the Lyrids, look to the east starting at around 10 pm on April 21 and through the night into April 22. The meteor shower takes place nearby the star Vega, the fifth brightest star in the night sky, which can be found in the constellation Lyra, the harp.
April’s full Moon on the 2nd is known as The Pink Moon. Despite its name, the Moon will not appear pink — the name comes from the creeping phlox, one of the first spring flowers to bloom, spreading soft pink colors across the landscape. The moon doesn’t produce its own light, but acts like a mirror, reflecting sunlight. Astronauts can jump six times higher on the Moon due to weak gravity.
Spring will bring the constellation, Leo the Lion. Located between Cancer and Virgo, it is easily identified by a “sickle” or backwards question mark shape forming the lion’s head. Leo is the 12th largest constellation and hosts bright stars and several notable galaxies. Regulus is the brightest star in Leo. It is often seen as the lion’s heart.
Stargazers have reported seeing a “green” colored star. It might be our eyes playing tricks since there are only five known colors of stars – red, orange, yellow, white, and blue. Blue stars are the hottest, followed by white, yellow, orange, and red stars which are the coolest. Every star visible in the sky is bigger than our Sun. There are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on all of Earth’s beaches – mind officially blown!
A free public star party will be held on Saturday, April 25, at the Griffith Park Observatory from 2 to 9:45 pm. There will be a chance for the whole family to look at the Sun, Moon, visible planets, and other objects, to try out a variety of telescopes, and to talk to knowledgeable amateur astronomers about the sky and their equipment.
When not stargazing, Neill Simmons, is an Investment Executive with LPL Financial in Woodland Hills. If you have any astronomy or financial questions, he may be reached at (818) 936-2626 or email at neill.simmons@lpl.com.
