Sunday 31-03-2019 - 12:58

With Lent term over, the Easter vacation rolls in with plenty in store in the skies, and, as we approach Summer with daylight savings in place, the nights are getting later, but clearer for sure. This month features a lot of easy spots as the Moon passes many naked eye targets, and the peak of the Lyrids meteor shower.

• Thursday 4th: Mars lies between the Pleiades and red giant Alderbaran in the evening sky. Use binoculars or a small telescope to see that the Pleides cluster is much larger than the 7 bright stars or "sisters" visible to the naked eye.
• Friday 5th: New Moon. For any Astronomers with an interest in deep sky objects, tonight would be the best night to observe.
• Monday 8th: Mars is again between the Pleiades and Alderbaran in the evening skies, but this time are joined by a thin crescent Moon. You can see the group again on the days before and after this date.
• Friday 12th: The half Moon forms a triangle with Castor and Pollux in the constellation of Gemini in the evening.
• Saturday 13th: The Moon is in the skies below the Beehive Cluster. 
• Tuesday 23rd:
  • The Moon is to the right of Jupiter in the morning.
  • Peak of the Lyrids meteor shower. While meteors are visible throughout the second half of the month, this would be the best chance at seeing the most meteors. Look 90 degrees to the sides of constellation Lyra for the best shot at seeing the longest trails!
• Thursday 25th: The Moon lies to the right of Saturn in the morning sky. The next day, the Moon lies to Saturn's left. 

The second half of the month is also the right time to be spotting the Eta Aquarids meteor shower. These have a radiant in the constellation of Aquarius, in a different part of the sky to Lyra, so if you see meteors going towards Lyra, they are likely to be Eta Aquarids instead. The Eta Aquarids peak in May and will be featured in next month's article.