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.