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Celestial
Events Calendar
Friday, April 1, 2005:
The Neal Site is open.
Saturday, April 2, 2005:
4:51 PM CST – Last Quarter Moon
The Neal Site is open.
Sunday, April 3, 2005:
2 AM CST – All clocks should be changed to 3 AM CDT.
10 AM CDT – Jupiter is at opposition. Jupiter rises when the
Sun sets and Jupiter sets when the Sun rises. It is visible all night.
The Russian spacecraft Luna 10 was the first to orbit the
Moon on this day in 1966.
Monday, April 4, 2005:
6 AM CDT – The Moon is at perigee, the point in its orbit
where it is closest to the Earth ~ 231,000 miles.
Friday, April 8, 2005:
3:34 PM CDT – New Moon, the beginning of
lunation cycle 1018.
Annular Total Eclipse of the Sun – the moon is too far from
the earth for it to cover up the whole disc of the Sun and during mid-eclipse
you see a ring of sunlight around the Sun. The eclipse path goes through
northern South America. The northern limit of the partial eclipse goes
through Oklahoma making it visible from Houston. Mid-eclipse 3:34 PM CDT
The Neal Site is open.
Saturday, April 9, 2005:
9:60 PM CDT – The Moon is at its ascending node, it is
crossing the plane of the Earth’s orbit (ecliptic) and heading northeast.
4:00 PM CST – “JUP OPP” NHAC BBQ/Star Party at
the Neal Site
BBQ: 4 – 6 PM, Novice Instruction 7 PM, All food is
furnished by the club. Attendees need to bring a lawn chair, personal
beverages, insect repellent…. Restroom facilities will be available.
Sunday, April 10, 2005:
7 AM CDT – Saturn is at east
quadratue, that is, the Earth-Sun line makes a right angle with the Saturn-Sun
line where Saturn appears overhead around sunset.
1 PM CDT – Mercury is at its
descending node, that is, it is crossing the plane of the Earth’s orbit and
moving northeast.
9 PM CDT – Mercury is stationary
in the sky relative to the stars. It ceases its retrograde westward drift
through the stars and begins its normal eastward drift.
Tuesday, April 12, 2005:
The Russian Yuri Gagarin was the
first human to orbit the Earth on this day in 1961.
The first space shuttle Columbia
was first launched on this date in 1981.
Wednesday, April 13, 2005:
7 AM CDT – Mars is 1.2o
from Neptune rising about 4 AM in the morning sky.
3 PM CDT – Jupiter is at aphelion,
the point in its orbit where it is furthest from the Sun ~ 5.46 AU, where an AU
(astronomical unit) is the average Earth-Sun distance, 93 million miles.
Friday, April 15, 2005:
7 AM CDT – The equation of time
is zero, that is, the midpoint between sunrise and sunset occurs at 12:00 PM.
The Neal Site is open.
Saturday, April 16, 2005:
Rain Date for the “JUP OPP”
NHAC BBQ/Star Party at the Neal Site
National “Astronomy Day” Astronomy
Day in the Houston area will be on Saturday, October 22 2005.
9:38 AM CDT – First Quarter
Moon
2 PM CDT – The Moon is at apogee,
the point in its orbit where it is furthest from the Earth ~ 254,000 miles
Monday, April 18, 2005:
7 PM CDT – The Sun leaves the
astronomical constellation of Pisces the Fish and enters the astronomical
constellation of Aries the Ram.
Tuesday, April 19, 2005:
7 PM CDT – The Sun leaves the
astrological sign of Aries the Ram and enters the astrological sign of Taurus
the Bull.
Wednesday, April 20, 2005:
Piscid radio meteor shower
Thursday, April 21, 2005:
9 PM CDT – Mercury is at
aphelion, the point in its orbit where it is furthest from the Sun ~ 43 million
miles.
Friday, April 22, 2005:
Lyrid meteor shower – active April 16 – 25, ZHR ~ 18 meteors/hour, maybe 90.
72nd Meeting of the
North Houston Astronomy Club – 6th
Anniversary Meeting
Saturday, April 23, 2005:
Pi Puppid meteor shower – active April 15 to April 28. ZHR ~ 0 – 40.
Sunday, April 24, 2005:
Delta Piscid radio meteor shower
5:08 AM CDT – Full Moon,
the grass or egg moon.
Monday, April 25, 2005:
The Hubble Space Telescope was deployed on this date in
1990.
Tuesday, April 26. 2005:
11 AM CDT – Mercury is at its greatest elongation east –
that is, it is 27.2o east of the Sun before it sets. This is the
best time to view Mercury in the evening.
Friday, April 29, 2005:
5 AM CDT – The Moon is at perigee ~ 232,000 miles
Saturday, April 30, 2005:
Cross-quarter Day – half way between the spring equinox and
the summer solstice.