The skies, they are a changin'

The skies, they are a-changin' or so might a song title go. That is part of the enjoyment of stargazing, the scenery is always changing.

Looking west this evening Orion, Taurus, and Auriga, who have been ruling the winter skies, are sinking toward the horizon. Looking south Cancer, Leo, and Virgo, the champions of spring, hold the middle ground across the sky.

In the evening looking east, just above the horizon, mighty Hercules is rising with the bear herder Bootes who is marked by bright Arcturus. They are harbingers of summer with the promise of more to come. At the present time Arcturus is the brightest star in the eastern sky.

Looking to the right of Arcturus is another bright star, Spica, the brightest star in Virgo, the Maiden. On April 26, an almost-full moon will be just to the right of Spica.

Of course you remember the saying about using the arc in the handle of the Big Dipper to find Arcturus and Spica? Follow the "arc" to Arcturus, then "speed on" to Spica. That little saying is quite useful these warming spring evenings.

How about to the north? High overhead are two of our old friends. Leo, the Lion, and the Big Dipper. The Big Dipper is not a constellation, it is an asterism. That is, a group of stars making a pattern that may or may not be part of a constellation.

Both of the celestial beasties are exactly overhead with the dipper upside down as if pouring out its liquid contents on the Earth in the form of spring rain. Leo is also upside down only because we are not used to looking at him from this perspective.

There were two momentous events in astronomical history this month. Forty years ago in April of 1970 the world watched with collective baited breath as three astronauts faced the distinct possibility of becoming the first space travelers to die while in space.

James Lovell, Fred Haise, and Jack Swigert were aboard Apollo 13 on their way to becoming the third crew to set foot on the Moon when a devastating explosion crippled their ship.

For the next four days the world watched as the scientist and engineers at NASA feverishly worked to devise a way to bring them safely home. We were all watching, again holding our breath, as they left space on April 17 for their return home.

I don't know about anyone else, but I was extremely relieved when that triple-canopy of parachutes opened depositing their small capsule into the ocean for recovery.

The other historic event was twenty years ago in April of 1990 when the space shuttle Discovery deposited the Hubble Space Telescope, a potentially awesome piece of equipment, into orbit.

Hopes were dashed a few weeks later when it was discovered the observatory's primary mirror was flawed. Everyone had to wait for three years until another shuttle mission installed what was, in effect, a pair of glasses.

There was great rejoicing when the first, clear, focused, and absolutely astounding photographs came back from the instrument. In the years since the Hubble telescope has continued to send amazing photographs of things astronomers never could have even imagined were "out there."

SKY WATCH:

The moon, Mars, and M-44, the Beehive star cluster, will all be in a group in the early evening southwest. Great view for binoculars. Catch the moon below Saturn in the east on April 24 and Venus left of the Pleiades on April 25.

NEXT TIME:

More astronomical blathering.