This Months Sky | Somerset Levels Stargazers

News on what is visable in this months sky as posted by Adrian Zielonka's in his monthly sky notes.

Thank you Adrian and thank you CADAS.

Here is the astronomy new for April 2020.

Astronomy
News

Night
Sky 2020 - April

Comet
C/2019 Y4 Atlas (10 mag on March 9^th)
is in the constellation of Camelopardalis this month. It is at
perihelion on May 31^st
when it will be just 0.253AU (23,529,000 million miles) from the Sun.
Its closest to the Earth on the the May 22^nd/23^rd
when it will be 0.781AU distance. Unfortunately there are no bright
stars to locate it by. This is a comet that could brighten up to be a
classic – though comets can be unpredictable. The last time it was
near the Sun was 5,520 years ago. (For further information on this
and other comets listed please see the 'Comet' section in the website
above).

Comet C/2017 T2 Panstarrs (8.5 mag on March 9th) is
mainly in Camelopardalis constellation this month. Unfortunately
there are no bright stars to locate it by. It reaches perihelion on
May 4^th when its 1.615AU from the Sun.

Comet 88P Howell (16 mag on March 9th) is within the constellation of
Virgo this month. On the 9^th/10^th
May the comet will be at its closest to Earth at 1.080AU. Around May
20^th it will be
within half a degree of the star Porrima (2.7mag) in Virgo.

There is a close conjunction between Mars and Saturn on
the 1^st. At 5:30am Saturn is 1 degree above Mars and due
south east (135 degrees azimuth) and 7 degrees above the horizon.
Jupiter is 6½ degrees right of Saturn.

At midnight on the 1^st the star Wasat
(3.5mag) in Gemini is just 1 degree below left of the Moon.

During the evenings of the 2^nd - 4^th
of April the planet Venus will be amongst the stars of the Pleiades
star cluster.

On the 2^nd at midnight the Beehive Star
cluster is 5 degrees to the left of the Moon and 2 degrees above.

At 9:00pm on the 4^th the star Eta Leonis (3.4
mag) in Leo is 2 degrees above the Moon with Regulus (1^st
mag) 3 degrees below right. An occultation of this star by the Moon
occurs over southern Africa.

On the 5^th at 9:00pm the star Chertan (3.3
mag) in Leo is 5½ degrees above left of the Moon.

At 8:00pm on the 7^th the star Porrima (2.7
mag) in Virgo is 5 degrees above right of the Moon... then the
following morning at 5:00pm the star Spica (1^st mag) is 7½
degrees to the lower left of the Moon.

Comet C/2020 A2
Iwamoto (11 mag on March 9^th) is in the constellation of
Auriga this month. On the 8^th at 10:00pm Iwamoto will be
between the stars Menkalina (1.9 mag) and Capella (0 mag), and just 3
degrees from Menkalina. It was at perihelion on the January 8^th.

There is a
scheduled launch on the 9^th* at 9:04am* of a Soyuz
spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS). Expedition 63
crew members, Chris Cassidy (NASA) and Russian space agency
Roscomos cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner
will spend six months in space. (See ISS News below)

Comet C/2019 Y1 Atlas (10 mag on March 9^th)
is in the constellation of Cassiopeia this month. On the 9^th
at midnight looking north the comet will be between the stars Schedar
(2.2 mag) and Caph (2.2 mag) with the comet just 1½ degrees from
Schedar. Please note that there are many stars in the close up of
this area.

In October 2018 the BepiColombo mission to Mercury was
launched. On the 10th, a year and a half after the launch it needs
its first gravity assist (flyby) from the Earth to get there. At
9:10pm on this day it will be around 11,000 km from Earth. Its second
gravity assist (flyby) is when it gets to Venus this October.

The Asteroid Vesta (8.4 mag) is approximately midway
between Venus and the star Aldebaran during this month. From the 10^th
- 15^th it passes close to the star Ain (3.5 mag) in
Taurus. On the 14^th at 9:00pm its less than 1 degree from
the star Ain. (For further information please see the 'Asteroid'
section in the website above).

At 1:00am on the night of the 10^th the star
Acrab (2.5 mag) in Scorpius is 1 degree below the Moon.

On the 12^th at 5:00am the star Theta Ophiuchi
(3.2mag) in Ophiuchus is 3½ degrees to the lower left of the Moon.

At 5:00am on the 13^th the star Kaus Borealis
(2.8 mag) in Sagittarius is 3¾ degrees to the left of the Moon and 2
degrees below.

On the 14^th at 5:00am Jupiter is 10½ degrees
to the left of the Moon. The star Nunki (2nd mag) in Sagittarius is
3½ degrees to the right of the Moon.

At 5:00am on the 15^th low in the south east
Jupiter will be 4 degrees upper right of the crescent Moon. Saturn is
4½ degrees to the upper left of the Moon. All three forming a nice
triangular shape with the gap between Saturn and Jupiter now only 5½
degrees.

On the 16^th at 5:00am Mars is 3 degrees above
left of the crescent Moon which is just 4¼ degrees above the horizon
at 132.5 azimuth. Saturn is 10 degrees above right of the Moon.

At 5:00am on the 17^th the crescent Moon is 1
degree above the horizon at 121.5 azimuth. Mars is 11½ degrees upper
right of the Moon.

There is a
scheduled landing on the 17^th* of the Expedition 62 crew.
NASA astronauts Andrew Morgan and Jessica Meir and cosmonaut Oleg
Skripochka of Roscosmos return to Earth from the ISS aboard their
Soyuz spacecraft, landing in Kazakhstan.

On the 18^th at 6:30am the crescent Moon is 2¼
degrees above the horizon at 117 degrees azimuth. Because the Moon on
this day is 5½ degrees below the ecliptic plane (which the Sun is
on) the Moon will not be visible pre-dawn now till the evening of the
24^th, unless its a clear blue sky at the time of sunrise.

The Eta Aquarids meteor shower reaches its peak on the
5^th/6^th May though they can be seen between
18^th April - 27^th May.

From the 19^th April - 4^th May low
in the south east Mars passes by a trail of stars in Capricornus. At
5:30am each day Mars position as follows: On the 19^th
Theta Capricorni (4 mag) is 1 degree above left of Mars, on the 25^th
Iota Capricorni (4.2mag) is less than a ¼ of a degree to the upper
left, on the 1^st Nashira (3.6 mag) is 1 degree above and
on the 4^th May Delta Capricorni (2.8 mag) is 1 degree
below right.

At 7:00am on the 19^th the crescent Moon is 12
degrees above the horizon at 123.5 degrees azimuth (if its a clear
sky).

On the 20^th at 7:00am a thin crescent Moon
may be seen at 10 degrees above the horizon and at 113 degrees
azimuth (if its a clear sky).

The Lyrids meteor shower reaches its peak on the
21^st/22^nd though they can be seen between the
13^th - 29^th.

At 9:00pm on the 24^th a very thin crescent
Moon is 7 degrees above the horizon at 286 degrees azimuth. The
Pleiades star cluster is 10 degrees above the Moon and 2½ degrees to
the right.

On the 25^th at 10:30pm the crescent Moon is
3¼ degrees above the WNW horizon. Venus is 12½ degrees above the
Moon. Aldebaran (1^st mag) in Taurus is 4½ degrees to the
left of the Moon. This month is ideal for viewing the phases Venus as
you would with the Moon.

Saturn is at superior conjunction (with the Sun) on the
26^th.

At 10:30pm on the 26^th Venus is 6½ degrees
to the upper right of the crescent Moon. The star Zeta Tauri (2.9
mag) in Taurus is 6 degrees upper left of the Moon.

On the 27^th at 9:30pm the star 28734 (from
the Hipparcus Catalogue) (4.1 mag) in Gemini is about a quarter of a
degree to the upper right of the Moon.

At midnight on the 28^th the star Mekbuda (4
mag) in Gemini is 2¾ degrees to the lower left of the Moon.

Around 10:00pm on the 29^th the stars Castor
(1.5 mag) and Pollux (1.1 mag) in Gemini point the way to the Moon.

At 5:00am on the 30^th low in the SSE Saturn
and Jupiter are just 5 degrees apart

On the 30^th at 10:00pm the Beehive Star
Cluster is 4 degrees to the lower right of the Moon.

At 11:00pm on the 30^th the star Elnath (1.5
mag) in Taurus is 3½ degrees above left of Venus low in the WNW.

* = Dates and times
are subject to change.

News: Solar
Orbiter: The science payload is
composed of 10 instruments.

1) SWA - Solar
Wind Plasma Analyser (UK) consists of a suite of sensors that will
measure the ion and electron bulk properties (including density,
velocity and temperature) of the solar wind, thereby characterizing
the solar wind between 0.28 and 1.4 AU from the Sun. In addition to
determining the bulk properties of the wind, SWA will provide
measurements of the solar wind ion composition for key elements (e.g.
the C, N, O group and Fe, Si or Mg).

ISS
News: Christopher J Cassidy (b.1970) was selected as an
astronaut by NASA in 2004 and is a veteran of two space flights. He
is a U.S.Navy SEAL, and has been deployed twice to the Mediterranean
and twice to Afganistan. He has been the recipient of Bronze Star
with combat 'V' and Presidential Unit Citation for leading a nine-day
operation at the Zharwar Kili Cave on the Afghanistan/Pakistan
border. This is third time in space.

Anatoly
Ivanishin (b.1969) is married
to Svetlana Ivanishina. They have one son, Vladislav (b.1993).
Anatoly has served in combatant units of the Russian Air Force. Since
1992, he served as a senior fighter pilot in the 159th Fighter
Aviation Regiment based in Petrozavodsk, Karelia, part of the 6th Air
Army. During the Service he flew Su-27 jet fighter aircraft. He has
logged 507 hours of flying time and has successfully made 180
parachute jumps. This is also Anatoly's third time in space.

Ivan
Viktorovitch Vagner (b.1985) is a Russian Engineer and Cosmonaut
who was selected in October 2010. He graduated from the Baltic State
Technical University in 2008, before working as an engineer for RKK
Energia. This will be Ivan's first flight into space.

Facts:
Crew members of Expedition 44, the 44th trip to the ISS, back in 2015
successfully grew lettuce onboard the Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft. New
research shows the produce was just as nutritious as Earth-grown
lettuce, despite the challenging growing conditions in deep space.

Here is the astronomy news for March 2020.

Astronomy
News

Night
Sky 2020 - March

From the Feb 29^th
– March 9^th
Comet C/2017 T2 Panstarrs (9th mag on Feb10th) will be within 2½
degrees of the star Epsilon Cassiopeiae (3.3mag) in Cassiopiea. On
the 9th it is 1.759AU from the Earth It reaches perihelion on May
4^th when its
1.615AU from the Sun. (For further information on this comet or
others listed, please see the 'Comet' section of the website above)

At 5:30am on the 1^st the asteroid Vesta is 6 degrees above
the Moon and 2 degreesto the left. (For further info please see the
'Asteroid' and 'Sky chart' section in the website above)

Comet C/2020 A2 Iwamoto (11.5 mag Feb 10^th) is half a
degree to the upper right of the star Errai (3.2 mag) in Cepheus on
the 1^st at 9:30pm in the north. Errai is 11 degrees from
the Pole Star. It was at perihelion on Jan 8^th.

On the 1^st at 9:30pm the Pleiades star cluster is 7½
degrees to the upper right of the Moon. The star Lambda Tauri (3.4
mag) in Taurus is 4¾ degrees to the lower left of the Moon.

There is a scheduled launch on the 2^nd* at 6:45am* from
Cape Canaveral in Florida. A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft will
deliver NASA science investigations, supplies, and equipment to the
International Space Station (ISS).

At 7:00pm on the 2^nd Aldebaran in Taurus is 3¾ degrees
below the first quarter Moon.

On the 3^rd at 7:00pm the star Zeta Tauri (2.9 mag) in
Taurus is ¾ of a degree below the Moon.

At 11:00pm on the 4^th the star Mebsuta (3 mag) in Gemini
is 2¼ degrees above right of the Moon.

On the 5^th at 11:00pm the star Kappam Geminorum (3.5 mag)
in Gemini is 2 degrees above right of the Moon

At 11:00pm on the 6^th The Beehive Cluster is 1 degree
below right of the Moon.

There is a close conjunction between Venus and Uranus on the 7^th
& 8^th. At 7:00pm on the 7^th Uranus is 2½
degrees to the left and on the 8^th Uranus is 2¼ degrees
lower left.

Neptune is at superior conjunction (with the Sun) on the 8^th.

On the 8^th at 5:30am low in the west the star Eta Leonis
(3.4 mag) in Leo is 2½ degrees above left of the Moon.

At 5:30am on the 9^th the star Chertan (3.3 mag) in Leo is
6½ degrees directly above the Moon.

On the night of the 9^th at 1:00am the star Denebola (2.1
mag) in Leo is 8½ degrees directly above the Moon.

At midnight on the 10^th the star Porrima (2.7 mag) in
Virgo is just 2 degrees below the Moon.

On the 11^th at midnight the star Spica (1^st
mag) in Virgo is 6 degrees below right of the Moon.

At 5:30am on the 13^th the star Zebeneschamali (2.6 mag) in
Libra is 4 degrees to the lower left of the Moon.

On the 15^th at 5:00am the star Antares (1^st
mag) in Scorpios is 5½ degrees below the Moon and 2 degrees to the
right.

At 5:00am on the 16^th the star Theta Ophiuchi (3.2 mag) in
Ophiuchus is 3 degrees to the right of the Moon and 1 degree below
with a few fainter stars between them.

On the 17^th at 5:00am the star Kaus Borealis (2.8 mag) in
Sagittarius is 1½ degrees to the lower right of the Moon.

At 5:30am on the 18^th low in the south east, Mars will be
2 degrees to the upper left of the crescent Moon with Jupiter 1½
degrees to the left of Mars. Saturn is 10 degrees to the left of the
Moon. There is also an occultation of Mars by the Moon today, though
this will only be visible across the southern ocean and the lower
half of South America.

On the 19^th at 5:30am Saturn will be 4 degrees above the
crescent Moon and 1½ degrees to the left. Jupiter and Mars to the
right of them are just 1 degree apart.

Venus is at perihelion (its closest to the Sun in its orbit) on the
20^th.

At 5:33am on the 20^th the crescent Moon is in the south
east at 126 degrees azimuth and 1½ degrees above the horizon.

From the 20^th March - 1^st April Mars passes
between Jupiter and Saturn which are 6½ degrees apart in the early
morning sky. They will be low in the south east from 5:00am. There is
a close conjunction between Jupiter and Mars on the 20^th
when they are only ¾ of a degree apart. On the 31^st there
is a close conjunction between Saturn and Mars when they are just 1
degree apart. Later on this year there is a close conjunction between
the two giant planets.

On the 23^rd at 5:40am Mercury will be in the ESE at 109
degrees azimuth and just 1½ degrees above the horizon.

Mercury will be at maximum western elongation from the Sun on the
24^th.

Venus will be at maximum eastern elongation from the Sun on the 24^th.

At 7:09pm on the 25^th a very thin crescent Moon will be
seen due west (270 degrees azimuth) and just 4 degrees above the
horizon.

On the 26^th at 8:00pm Uranus is 4½ degrees above the thin
crescent Moon and 2½ degrees to the right.

Mercury is at aphelion (its most distant from the Sun in its orbit)
on the 27^th.

At 8:00pm on the 27^th Venus is 12 degrees above the
crescent Moon. Uranus is 8 degrees to the right of the Moon and 6
degrees below.

On the 28^th at 9:30pm Venus is 7½ degrees to the right of
the crescent Moon. The Pleiades star cluster is 5½ degrees to the
upper left of Venus.

Comet 88P Howell (14 mag on Feb 10th) is between the stars Zeta
Virginis (3.3 mag) and Spica (1st mag) in Virgo on the 27^th
and 28^th. It is 4½ degrees approx from Zeta Virginis. On
the 27^th it is 1.289 AU from Earth. On the
9^th/10^th
May the comet will be at its closest to Earth at 1.08 AU. Around May
20^th it will be
within half a degree of the star Porrima (2.7mag) in Virgo.

An occultation of the star Ain (3.5 mag) in Taurus by the Moon occurs
on the evening of the 29^th. It disappears behind the Moon
at 7:20:51pm and reappears at 8:29:28pm. Aldebaran is 3 degrees to
the left of them. (These times are set from Yeovilton)

On the 30^th at midnight the star Zeta Tauri (2.9mag) in
Taurus is 2¼ degrees above left of the Moon.

At midnight on the the 31^st the star Mu Geminorum (2.8
mag) in Gemini is half a degree below left of the Moon.

* = Dates and times
are subject to change.

News: If all goes
according to plan the Solar Orbiter that was launched on February
10^th will begin its official mission in November 2021,
when it will capture its first polar closeup by autumn 2022. It'll be
fixed at the same orbital speed as the Sun, and will be in lockstep
with the star, co-rotating around it so that it can image the same
spot over the course of the Sun's 25-day rotation. It's also equipped
with 10 incredible instruments (more on these, in later issues)
designed to withstand extreme conditions near the Sun. Ultimately, it
will make 22 elliptical orbits around the Sun before the mission
concludes. Its first gravity assist manoeuvre is with Venus, and will
be on December 26^th. At its closest approach to the Sun,
it will get within a distance of about 26 million miles, and thats
closer than Mercury's orbit.

Facts: A thin
layer of frozen nitrogen ice covering the Tombaugh Regio (the heart
shape region) of Pluto, vapourises into the atmosphere each day, only
to condense each night as the Sun sets. This rhythmic pattern sends
billowing plumes of nitrogen gas into the atmosphere.