Poster production: Feng Juan
Total solar eclipses, meteor showers, and bright comets are the three celestial phenomena that many astronomy enthusiasts are most interested in, and coincidentally, the sky will gather all three in the coming April.
On April 9, a total solar eclipse will take place in North America, with the eclipse zone passing through large swaths of land in Mexico, the United States, and Canada, and people in the eclipse belt will enjoy a total eclipse of up to 4 minutes and 28 seconds.
This is a total solar eclipse photographed on August 21, 2017 in Corvallis, Oregon, USA. Xinhua News Agency
"Due to geographical limitations, the total solar eclipse continent is not visible, and the interested public can use the Internet, television, mobile App and other ways to understand and pay attention to this 'Tengu Eclipse Day', and the public with conditions can bring observation equipment to the United States, Canada and Mexico to observe, and meet this astronomical feast with astronomical enthusiasts from all over the world. Xiu Lipeng, a member of the Chinese Astronomical Society and an expert in astronomical science popularization, said.
On the western shore of the beautiful Milky Way, there is a well-known bright star, Vega, which, together with a number of small stars around it, forms the constellation Lyra. Mid to late April is the active season for meteor showers named after this constellation.
Dai Jianfeng, a starry sky photography enthusiast in Chongqing, photographed the Lyrid meteor shower in Karamay, Xinjiang, on April 23, 2023. (Photo courtesy of me)
The Lyrid meteor shower is a medium-flow meteor shower with a maximum ZHR (the number of meteors that can be seen per hour when the radiant is directly above the head under ideal viewing conditions) of about 20. Although the flow is not very large, very bright meteors occasionally appear.
"This year's Lyrid meteor shower will reach its maximum on April 22, and the maximum is expected to occur around 3 p.m., and interested members of the public can try to observe it on the nights of the 21st and 22nd. However, the moon phase of these two days is close to the full moon, the bright moonlight has a great impact on the observation, and the meteor shower itself has a normal flow, so it takes a little luck to observe the meteor. Xiu Lipeng said.
Bright comets are the darlings of astronomy enthusiasts. This year, Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks has returned to the solar system, causing concern. The short-period comet, which returns to the solar system every 71 years or so, will pass perihelion on April 21 and reach its closest position to the Sun.
Star photographers Li Shengyu and Wang Shenning photographed the 12P comet in Daocheng, Sichuan Province on March 6. (Photo courtesy of Starlink CSVA)
Recently, the comet has appeared in the northwest low altitude shortly after sunset, and many star photography enthusiasts have captured this cute elf with the help of professional equipment. For most of the Northern Hemisphere, there is still an opportunity to observe in early to mid-April, but the comet's horizon is somewhat low, and after mid-April, the comet's horizon will continue to decline and become increasingly difficult to observe. Xiu Lipeng said.
Wang Tianwei, a starry sky photography enthusiast in Shaanxi Province, photographed the Pleiades with the moon at Guanshan Ranch in Baoji, Shaanxi Province on May 2, 2022. (Photo courtesy of me)
In addition to a total solar eclipse, meteor showers, and bright comets, the April "Celestial Theater" will also stage the Pleiades with the Moon (on the evening of the 11th) and several pairs of planets in close proximity: Mars and Saturn are extremely close before dawn on the 11th, Jupiter and Uranus are extremely close on the evening of the 20th, and Mars and Neptune are extremely close before sunrise on the 29th.
Source: Xinhua News Agency