Monday 17th to Sunday 23rd April 2023
If you venture outside just after dark, say around 9.30pm, on Tuesday 18th and look towards the west, there is an interesting group of objects to spot. Imagine a triangle - Venus will be at the top corner. Down and to the right will be the Pleiades open cluster of stars that I've often mentioned. Down and to the left of Venus, making the third corner of the triangle, will be the bright star Aldebaran and just below Aldebaran, another open cluster known as the Hyades.
The Hyades contains several hundred stars and is the nearest open cluster to us - only around 153 light years away. Aldebaran appears close to the cluster because of the angle we are viewing it from in two dimensions. In reality, Aldebaran is nothing to do with the cluster and it is much closer to us - 65 light years away.
Objects in space always appear two dimensional because the distance they are away from us is huge compared to the distance between your eyes. When objects are very close to you, then the stereoscopic view from your eyes is three dimensional and you can perceive distances. Try looking at some trees in your garden and then some on the horizon and you'll see what I mean!
On the evening of Saturday 22nd, a waxing Crescent Moon will have set below the horizon just before midnight. This is great because the Saturday night / Sunday morning sees the peak of the Lyrid meteor shower. The radiant point of the shower will be located towards the east, a little to the right of the bright star Vega in the constellation of Lyra. The shower has a zenithal hourly rate of 18 meteors and the lack of light pollution from the Moon will be a bonus.
Screenshots courtesy of Stellarium
Copyright Adrian Dening and Radio Ninesprings 2023
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