Astronomical Events April 2023

Astronomical Events April 2023

 

This article lists major Astronomical Events of April, 2023. It also briefly explaining the causes of phenomenon. Conjunctions, Moon Phases and Comets are also being mentioned.

April 11 — Mercury at Greatest Eastern Elongation. The planet Mercury reaches greatest separation from the Sun. This is the best time to view Mercury since it will be at its highest point above the horizon in the evening sky. Look for the planet low in the western sky just after sunset.

April 20 — Hybrid Solar Eclipse. The Moon will pass in front of the Sun, creating a hybrid total/annular solar eclipse visible from western Australia, East Timor and eastern Indonesia between 01:36 and 06:59 UTC. A hybrid solar eclipse occurs when the Moon is almost too close to the Earth to completely block the Sun. This type of eclipse will appear as a total eclipse to some parts of the world and will appear annular to others.

 

April 23 — Lyrid meteor shower. The Lyrid meteor shower will be active from 16 April to 25 April, producing its peak rate of meteors around 23 April. At its peak, the shower is expected to produce a nominal rate of around 18 meteors per hour (ZHR). Meteors will radiate from the constellation Lyra, but can appear anywhere in the sky.

April 30 — Asteroid 7 Iris at Opposition. Asteroid 7 Iris will be well placed, lying in the constellation Libra. Regardless of your location on the Earth, 7 Iris will reach its highest point in the sky around midnight local time. On this occasion, 7 Iris will reach a peak brightness of magnitude 9.6. Nonetheless, even at its brightest, 7 Iris is a faint object beyond the reach of the naked eye; binoculars or a telescope of moderate aperture are needed.

Moon Phases:

- Full Moon: Apr. 06

- Last Quarter: Apr. 13

- New Moon: Apr. 20 & Hybrid Solar Eclipse

- First Quarter: Apr. 27

Conjunctions:

- Moon/Saturn: Apr. 16–3°29'

- Moon/Mercury: Apr. 21–1°53'

- Moon/Venus: Apr. 23–1°18'

- Moon/Mars: Apr. 26–3°13'

Comets:

- updates to come

Thank You for reading, I hope this was informative.

The Tantalizing Biology of Art- Ⅰ

Abstract

The relationship between art and science dates back to the Italian Renaissance, where science often informed the way people painted. Leonardo da Vinci’s concept of the ten functions of the eye was later confirmed by neurophysiologists. In recent years, they have discovered ways in which artists exploit the way vision works to create illusions of reality. Evolutionary biologists are also asking what art is for, and some believe it’s a specific, evolved capacity with a purpose. The visual cortex of the brain is divided into several areas and is where artists play their games. Research has shown that certain areas of the visual cortex are particularly sensitive to certain stimuli, such as color or movement. These findings have been used to better understand artistic technique. 

“All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. All these aspirations are directed towards ennobling man’s life, lifting it from the sphere of mere physical existence and leading the individual towards freedom.”

-Albert Einstein

Admiring a Van Gogh or Moner painting, people often forget the role of science in art. However, during the Italian Renaissance, science and art were closely intertwined. Artists used their knowledge of geometry and anatomy to create more accurate works, and they also speculated about the perception of art. Today, artists rarely seek scientific advice, but the legacy of this interconnection can still be seen in the conventions of Western art established during the Renaissance.

Leonardo da Vinci, that archetypal Renaissance man. conceived of what he called the ten functions of the eye. These were darkness, light, body, colour, shape, location, distance, closeness, motion and rest. He also came up with the idea that although the images of objects travel physically from the front of the eye to the imprensiva (now called the retina), they are actually formed in the sensus communis (the imagination or the brain).

Those were bold guesses. But as neurophysiologists have investigated the way in which vision works, they have found that Leonardo was right on both counts.

On top of that, over the past few years, they have discovered ways in which the tricks employed by artists exploit these divisions of labour to create illusions of reality. That provides some answers to the question “how?”. Neither is the question “why?” being ignored. Evolutionary biologists are now asking themselves just what art is for. And some are concluding that it is not merely an accidental manifestation of human intelligence, but a specific, evolved capacity with a clearly defined purpose.