Northern Hemisphere Forecast for April and May: Showers - With A Chance Of Bolides!

This time of year, presents us with a unique, "all-sky", observing situation: double-header meteor showers - and, the possibility of 'fireballs', and/or, 'bolide' meteors, thrown in!

First comes the Lyrid meteor shower, peaking on 22APR and followed by the Eta Aquarids, peaking on 5MAY.

Ah-Ha! But - the bases are loaded...

There is also, a good chance, for spotting a 'fireball' meteor or two, and, even a "near-once-in-a-lifetime" bolide. This annual recurring situation is where the term, "April Fireballs" comes from (see my article, "The Great Fireball of 1966").

A meteor from the Lyrids meteor shower crossing the milky way - single exposure. Image credit: iStock by Getty Images.

Lyrid meteors originate with the short, long-period comet, C/1861 G1. This comet has one of the shortest periods of all, long-period comets, at just over 400 years. Therefore, its 'wake' is broad and rather dense. Zenithal Hourly Rates (ZHR), are only around 10, for most years - but, with meteor showers, one can never tell. The Lyrids have provided, in, roughly, 60-year outbursts, up to 90 meteors, per hour! The Lyrid radiant in Lyra is close to that constellation's brightest star, Vega, which rises around 8:30 p.m., in the east.

The Eta Aquarids, peaking on 5MAY, is the debris train, left, by the 76-year period comet, 1P/Halley (yes, that one - "Halley's Comet", for you newcomers (oh, you'll learn!))

The Eta Aquarids radiant rises at around 2:45 a.m. and the hour or two just before dawn will be the best viewing (That's what you get for becoming an Astronomer!) The Eta Aquarids occur, this year, near the full moon - but a full moon was never a deterrent to me, for a meteor shower. And, there is assistance at hand...

Meteor showers are the type of event that, you don't want to use a telescope at; at least, not for watching meteors. Typically, meteor showers are viewed with the unaided eye. Some observers will use, low powered, standard-style binoculars - I've tried that myself and, probably, missed, half of the meteors during a shower, by constricting my field of view in using them!

Orion 2 x 54 Ultra Wide-Angle Binoculars

Orion Telescopes and Binoculars have come up with a unique-sounding aid directed at the meteor shower, and, Milky Way density viewer: Orion 2 x 54 Ultra Wide-Angle Binoculars! Somebody finally did it!

Although I haven't tried these, for myself, I get it -- I've imagined similar optics in my, "deep-astronomical" past (around 50 yrs., total!)

Rather than missing out on some meteors by using the confined field of a standard pair of binoculars - these 2x54 ultra-wides sound, more like, an enhanced, 'unaided-eye' field of view, with their offering of a 36° FOV, and 70°, apparent field of view. I can only imagine what the denser portions of the Milky Way look like through these!

IF YOU DO HAPPEN ACROSS A BOLIDE – LET ME KNOW ABOUT IT!

Dale Alan Bryant
Senior Contributing Science Writer

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What's In The Sky - April 2020

Explore the starry skies of April! There will be a number of intriguing celestial sights to enjoy with the help of a binocular or telescope. Here are a few of Orion Telescopes and Binoculars favorites:

Comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) Imaged on ATEO-1 by Muir Evenden as it makes its way thru the constellation Camelopardalis on March 30, 2020.

Comet ATLAS

C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) was discovered by the ATLAS comet survey in December 2019 but grabbed the observer's attention when it dramatically surged in brightness in January 2020. So far the comet has reached a magnitude of approximately 8.0, and it's predicted that in April it might get bright enough to see with the naked eye. The comet is located in the constellation Camelopardalis throughout April and is placed well for Northern hemisphere observers during April nights. Grab a telescope or some binoculars to observe the comet, or if it gets bright enough try observing without equipment!

International Dark-Sky Week

Sunday, April 19th through Sunday, April 26th, celebrate International Dark Sky Week by keeping your outdoor lights turned off after sunset to reduce light pollution. Endorsed by the International Dark-Sky Association and the American Astronomical Society, International Dark Sky Week presents an opportunity to appreciate the beautiful night sky without the adverse effects of light pollution from outdoor lighting. Turn out those lights and enjoy views of the starry sky from your own backyard! Find out more at https://www.darksky.org/dark-sky-week-2020/.

NGC 4565 Galaxy in Virgo was imaged on ATEO-1 by Muir Evenden back in 2018.

Spring Brings Galaxy Season

April skies provide stargazers with ample opportunities to observe far-off galaxies. With the Virgo Galaxy Cluster and bright galaxies in the Big Dipper and Coma Berenices well-positioned in the sky, April evenings are truly a gift for galaxy hounds. Check out a few of our favorite galaxies: M101, M51, and M106 near the Big Dipper asterism; M86, M87, M84, and M104 in the Virgo Galaxy Cluster; and don't miss NGC 4565, M64, M99, and M100 in the constellation Coma Berenices. While a humble 80mm telescope will show most of the galaxies we mention, a big reflector like our SkyQuest XT10 Classic Dobsonian will provide jaw-dropping views of these distant beauties!

New Moon, Dark Skies

Take advantage of the dark skies provided by the New Moon on April 22nd to scope out the many star clusters, galaxies, and other deep-sky gems April has to offer. Bundle up, grab a telescope and your astrophotography gear and get out there to view and image those elusive fainter deep sky objects.

Lyrids Meteor Shower

Get outside after midnight on the night of April 16th to enjoy the start of the Lyrids Meteor Shower. Look for meteors to radiate outwards from the constellation Lyra at the peak of the shower, after midnight on the 21st into the early hours of April 22nd. The Lyrids is a medium shower, which should produce about 18 per hour this year. The peak is close to the new moon, presenting almost no interference. The Lyrids shower often produces meteors with impressive dust trails that can last several seconds. You don't need a telescope to enjoy the show — just sit back in a comfy chair and watch bright dust trails flare across the sky. More information is available at https://www.amsmeteors.org/meteor-showers/meteor-shower-calendar/#Lyrids.

April's Deep-Sky Challenge: M87 in the Virgo Galaxy Cluster

This is a great challenge for experienced observers. It's been said that the jet of light, famous in photographs, emanating from the core of M87 can be observed visually in telescopes possibly as small as 10" from a dark sky location, on the clearest of nights.

If you're up for the challenge, try to view M87 as high in the sky as possible, and use as much magnification as the conditions permit. Look for a short streak of light emanating from the core, slightly brighter than the surrounding haze. The key to this challenge is finding the right viewing condition. When trying on different nights, note the visibility of the stellar core — this is a good indicator of the quality of the night and the suitability of a particular eyepiece. A Barlow like the Orion Shorty 1.25" 2x Barlow Lens and an eyepiece such as the 15mm Orion Expanse Telescope Eyepiece provide a good starting point for viewing.

With some patience and a dark, clear night, you may just find Virgo's hidden treasure. Good luck and clear skies!

This challenge is adapted from "Focus on Downtown Virgo" by Observing Skyhound at Skyhound.com.

All objects described above can easily be seen with the suggested equipment from a dark sky site, a viewing location some distance away from city lights where light pollution and when bright moonlight does not overpower the stars.

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Methods for Observing the Lyrid Meteor Shower

This month’s Lyrid meteor shower isn't one of the year's strongest displays, and with Moon being in a thin, waxing crescent, it won't offer much competition. As with January’s Quadrantids, the Lyrids put on a fairly brief performance, and this year they are predicted to peak on April 22nd at 23:00 UT.

Lyrid meteor photographed back in the 2012 shower

The Lyrid meteors appear to radiate from a location near the Hercules-Lyra border, which is high in the sky from about 11 p.m. until dawn. The Lyrid meteor shower has been observed for more than 2,000 years; Chinese records say "stars fell like rain" during the shower of 687 BC. But in recent times, the Lyrids have generally been weak, though at intervals of about 12 years the shower occasionally delivers up to 10 times more meteors than normal. The Lyrids did show a brief surge to a Zenith Hourly Rate of 90 back in 1982, but a spike like that has not been reported in any of the Lyrids since.

Here are a few methods on how to record the Lyrid meteors...

Visual Meteor Observing - An easy way to observe meteors visually is known as the "'counting method". An observer notes the meteors seen on a tape recorder or just a piece of paper. He or she gives the estimated magnitude of the meteor and whether or not it belonged to the observed shower (e.g. Lyrid or non-Lyrid). This method is most applicable for major showers like the Quadrantids, Perseids, and Geminids. You have to decide which observing method, plotting or counting, can be used most favorably. Personally, my preferred method of recording meteors is photocopying a page from a star atlas that includes the shower's radiant, and when a meteor is spotted, I would then draw an arrow on the photocopied page of the star atlas pointing in the direction I saw the meteor moving in across the sky. The length of the arrow represented how far it traveled.

Recording meteors on a star atlas

Photographing Meteors - The first thing you have to have if you want to capture a meteor in a photograph is a camera capable of doing so. I realize there are still folks who use film cameras but the cost and effort of using film to shoot meteors are too great to include as a method, therefore, I will recommend just digital. However, when I did use film years ago, I used a Pentax K1000 camera and use it during meteor showers for long exposures.

There are a lot of digital cameras out there capable of capturing excellent images of meteors. It is possible to catch a meteor on nearly any camera that allows for manual or semi-manual control and exposures of at least 15 seconds. Once you have your camera there are several other things you really need to have.

1. Sturdy tripod - No images shot during dark/dusk or in any low light condition will work without it. 

2. Cable release - You don't want to be hovering over your camera all night with your finger pressed on the shutter and if you did your photographs wouldn't be as good as they could have been b/c you will cause a slight movement every time you touch the camera. Some cable release cords have settings that allow exposure length (bulb) to be specified which is a big help. 

3. AC adapter or several batteries - Most digital SLR cameras have AC adapters available but if not several batteries should do the trick.

4. Memory cards - More than likely you will be taking lots of pictures in attempting to catch a meteor so make sure you have enough memory. An 8 GB card should be good for all night. A 4 GB card should work if your exposures are longer (1-2 mins). Another option is connecting your camera to a computer and controlling it via the computer and having the images saved directly to your computer. The downside here is that a slight delay between shots (1-3 seconds) could cause the observer to miss something.

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