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Steve Cariddi tells us where to see the Moon and planets this week:
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The Moon is on the wane this week, reaching third quarter on Friday the 9th. The early evening sky will be moonless as the Moon rises later each evening, so this is a good week to look for the Moon in the south or southwest sky on your way to work or school in the morning. Bright Venus and dimmer Mercury are low in the western sky at dusk. Jupiter is rising before midnight and is well placed in the southwest before sunrise. Mars rises around 2:00 AM, and Saturn about an hour later. Look for the waning crescent Moon to be between Mars and Saturn on the morning of the 10th about an hour before sunrise in the southeastern sky.

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What might you see in the night sky over the next few months? The graphic gives a few highlights. Viewed as a clock face centered at the bottom, sky events in March fan out toward the left, April toward the top, and May toward the right. Objects relatively close to Earth are illustrated, in general, as nearer to the cartoon figure with the telescope at the bottom center -- although almost everything pictured can be seen without a telescope. Sky highlights this season include a bright Venus in the evening sky during March, the Lyrids meteor shower during April, and Jupiter entering the evening sky during May. As true in every season, the International Space Station (ISS) can be sometimes be found drifting across your sky if you know just when and where to look
.

Illustration Credit & Copyright: Universe2go.com
Description: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)

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Deborah Byrd reminds us that Mars will be a special treat this year.
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Remember Mars in 2003? That was the year the red planet came closer to Earth than it had been in some 60 thousand years. Mars can be a bright planet. It can outshine most stars. But, in 2003, for a few months, Mars was exceedingly spectacular in our sky, outshining all the stars and planets except brilliant Venus. In 2018, Mars won’t be quite as bright as it was in 2003. But nearly!

It’ll dramatically brighten over the coming months to appear as a red dot of brilliant flame in our sky around July, 2018.

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Steve Cariddi's sky hints for this week
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The moon is waning this week, having turned full on March 31. It will reach last quarter on Sunday, April 8. This is the week when it's easy to spot the Moon in the south or southwestern sky in the early morning, on your way to work or school. In the western sky after sunset, Venus is bright and hard to miss. Jupiter is rising around 10 or 11pm local time. By 3am it reaches its highest point in the south. Before dawn it's in the southwestern sky. Also before dawn, look for Mars and Saturn, which are 1-2° apart any morning this week. They are a beautiful sight, especially on Saturday morning, when the waning gibbous Moon is right next to Saturn. Although nearly equal in brightness, the planets are easy to tell apart because Mars has a distinctly red-orange hue compared to more yellow-white Saturn.

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I've recently come come across the site Our Wide Sky and they're offering a "Naked Eye Checklist". You can download it from as a pdf. It's a guide to things you can see without binoculars or telescope. Could be a good way for you to start observing.

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Steve Cariddi's quick guide for this week:
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The Moon is a waning crescent this week and it will be new on Sunday, making this a good week for watching the sky in relatively moonless conditions. Look for Venus after sunset, shining bright and low in the western sky. Jupiter is rising around 10 pm local time, so it's well placed for viewing in the south at around 3 am. By dawn it is shining low in the southwest sky. Jupiter will reach opposition next month, when it will be visible all night long. Also before dawn, Mars and Saturn are close together in the southeast sky among the stars of Sagittarius. They begin the week 3° apart, and by week's end they have doubled that distance.

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With the new moon tonight (April 15/16), you might be able to see a sliver of a new crescent soon after sunset Monday evening - look below Venus. (Venus is the very bright object you can see in the sunset sky.)

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The Sky This Week from Steve Cariddi:
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The Moon is waxing this week, and you should be able to see it as a crescent in western sky after sunset, growing fatter and moving farther east (left) each night. On Tuesday night it will be near bright Venus, low in the western sky at sunset. On Wednesday night it will be among the stars of the Hyades cluster in Taurus. Jupiter rises about an hour after sunset, and it is visible most of the night. It is best placed for viewing around 2 am , when it will be moderately high in the southern sky. Mars and Saturn are rising around 1 am local time, and before dawn you can seen them among the stars of Sagittarius, low in the southeastern sky. The separation between the two planets will increase each night, from about 7° to 10° during the week. Saturn is on the right and whiter; Mars is on the left and noticeably redder.

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Meteor shower has begun.

Bruce McClure of EarthSky reports:
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The annual Lyrid meteor shower is starting! It’s active each year from about April 16 to 25. In 2018, the peak of this shower – which tends to come in a burst and usually lasts for less than a day – is expected to fall on the morning of April 22, with little or no interference from the waxing moon.

No matter where you are on Earth, expect the greatest number of meteors to fall during the few hours before dawn.

All in all the Lyrid meteor shower prospects look pretty good for 2018, though meteor showers are notorious for being fickle and not totally predictable.

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