[NatureNS] Upcoming Night Sky Highlights - April 26 - May 4

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From: Blake Maybank <bmaybank@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 28 Apr 2013 09:54:48 -0300
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Courtesy of Nelson Poirier:

*This Week's Sky at a Glance

Some night sky sights for April 26 - May 4*

It's entering May, yet the winter star *Sirius *still twinkles low above
the west-southwest horizon in late twilight.

On Thursday, May 2, the *Moon *will go into its Last Quarter Phase meaning
we it will rise at midnight and set at noon.

As soon as it's fully dark, look for the *Big Dipper* very high in the
north-northeast. It's upside down, with its handle to the right and its
bowl to the left. It's "dumping water" directly into the bowl the much
dimmer *Little Dipper* down below.

The three brightest stars of the May dusk are all 0 magnitude: *Capella *in
the northwest, *Vega *lower in the northeast, and *Arcturus *high in the
east.

On Saturday, April 27, the *Sun *rose at 6:13 a.m. and will set at 8:21
p.m. giving 14 hours 9 minutes of daylight hours.  On Saturday, May 4, the
sun will rise at 6:02 a.m. and set at 8:30 p.m. to give 14 hours 29 minutes
of daylight hours (these values are for Moncton, New Brunswick).

*This Week's Planet Roundup*

*Mercury *is lost in the glow of dawn.

*Venus *(magnitude -3.9) is just beginning an evening apparition that will
continue for the rest of the year. Use binoculars to look for Venus a mere
15 or 20 minutes after sunset, barely above the west-northwest horizon.
It's far to the lower right of Jupiter.

*Mars *remains hidden in the glare of the Sun. Not until summer will it
emerge in the dawn.

*Jupiter *(magnitude -2.0) is the first "star" to come out in the west
after sunset, a little lower every day. It descends in the evening and sets
around  11 p.m. Below Jupiter twinkles orange *Aldebaran*.

*Saturn *(magnitude +0.1) is at opposition Saturday night April 27th. All
week it glows low in the east-southeast as twilight fades (to the lower
left of *Spica *and farther lower right of *Arcturus*). It rises higher all
evening and shines highest in the south in the middle of the night.

Blake's NASA Picks of the Week (two of them this time):


*Wringing a Wet Towel in Orbit <http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130424.html>*
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130424.html

You must see this video by Canadian Chris Hadfield, the Space Station
Commander.

*Airglow, Gegenschein, and Milky Way*<http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130420.html>
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130420.html

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