Jacques van Oene
April 21st 05, 10:18 PM
Space Weather News for April 21st
http://spaceweather.com
LYRID METEOR SHOWER: The annual Lyrid meteor shower peaks on Friday, April
22nd, when Earth passes through a stream of dusty debris trailing Comet
Thatcher. This is not an intense shower. Nevertheless, if you wake up an
hour or so before dawn on Friday, and watch the sky, you might see a
sprinkling of meteors emerge from the vicinity of the bright star Vega.
Expect one every 5 to 10 minutes or so. (Note: This is a northern
hemisphere shower; southern observers can stay in bed.)
THE MOON & JUPITER: Here's something you can definitely see: The full Moon
and Jupiter will be pleasingly close together all night long on April
21st-22nd. Look for them rising in the east at sunset on Thursday. Jupiter
is at its closest to Earth this month, so it's absolutely brilliant; only
the Moon itself is brighter. Together they're eye-catching and beautiful.
(If you're outdoors on Friday morning looking for Lyrids, you'll also see
Jupiter and the Moon hovering near the western horizon--a nice bonus.)
AURORA WATCH: Earth is about to run into a high-speed solar wind stream,
and that could spark a geomagnetic storm. Sky watchers in Alaska, Canada and
Scandinavia should be alert for auroras on April 22nd or 23rd.
Visit Spaceweather.com for sky maps and more information.
--
--------------
Jacques :-)
www.spacepatches.info
http://spaceweather.com
LYRID METEOR SHOWER: The annual Lyrid meteor shower peaks on Friday, April
22nd, when Earth passes through a stream of dusty debris trailing Comet
Thatcher. This is not an intense shower. Nevertheless, if you wake up an
hour or so before dawn on Friday, and watch the sky, you might see a
sprinkling of meteors emerge from the vicinity of the bright star Vega.
Expect one every 5 to 10 minutes or so. (Note: This is a northern
hemisphere shower; southern observers can stay in bed.)
THE MOON & JUPITER: Here's something you can definitely see: The full Moon
and Jupiter will be pleasingly close together all night long on April
21st-22nd. Look for them rising in the east at sunset on Thursday. Jupiter
is at its closest to Earth this month, so it's absolutely brilliant; only
the Moon itself is brighter. Together they're eye-catching and beautiful.
(If you're outdoors on Friday morning looking for Lyrids, you'll also see
Jupiter and the Moon hovering near the western horizon--a nice bonus.)
AURORA WATCH: Earth is about to run into a high-speed solar wind stream,
and that could spark a geomagnetic storm. Sky watchers in Alaska, Canada and
Scandinavia should be alert for auroras on April 22nd or 23rd.
Visit Spaceweather.com for sky maps and more information.
--
--------------
Jacques :-)
www.spacepatches.info