Howdy Star Gazers and welcome to this episode
of Star Trails. I'm Drew and I'll be your guide
to the night sky for the week starting April
the 6th through the 12th. This week we welcome
another full moon. Three planets become morning
risers. Hydra dominates the night sky, and we
take a moment to celebrate the anniversary of
the first human in space, Russia's Yuri Gagarin.
So grab a comfortable spot under the night sky
and let's get started. We're building up to a
full moon on Saturday, April the 12th. This one
is known as the pink moon. Now, despite what
that name might suggest, this moon won't actually
turn pink. The name comes from a North American
wildflower, moss phlox, which blooms around this
time each spring and has a pink hue. Ancient
traditions, especially among indigenous peoples
and early European settlers, gave each month's
full moon a name tied to seasonal change. And
April's pink moon is all about new life blossoming
after winter. But this pink moon has a little
twist. It's also a micro moon. That means it
reaches its full phase just a day before the
moon hits apogee, the farthest point in its orbit
around Earth. Because it's farther away than
usual, this full moon will appear slightly smaller
and dimmer in the sky, about 14 % smaller than
a so -called supermoon. It's a reminder that
the moon's orbit isn't a perfect circle, but
rather an ellipse. Now on to the planets. You'll
want to grab a cup of coffee for this. In the
pre -dawn hours, there's a fascinating gathering
happening low in the eastern sky. Venus, Saturn,
and Mercury are forming a tight celestial trio.
Venus is by far the brightest, shining like a
beacon before sunrise. Just nearby are Saturn
and Mercury. Now here's the catch, because they're
so close to the horizon and the sun is coming
up fast, Mercury and Saturn will be tricky to
spot. You'll need an unobstructed view of the
eastern horizon, think open fields or the ocean,
and a bit of luck with atmospheric clarity. Binoculars
can help, but be sure the sun is fully below
the horizon to avoid eye damage. If you catch
them though, it should be a stunning sight, three
planets clustered less than 10 degrees apart
in a small corner of the sky. In the evening,
Jupiter and Mars are also making appearances.
Jupiter sets before midnight and shines brightly
in the west, hanging out in the constellation
Taurus. Mars is further east in Gemini, fading
a bit now that it's slipping away from Earth,
but still visible with its signature reddish
glow. This week, let's take a look into the cosmic
coils of Hydra, the largest constellation in
the night sky. Hydra slithers across the southern
sky in April, stretching more than 100 degrees
from just below Cancer in the west to Libra in
the southeast. It's a massive, winding constellation
that can take some effort to trace. In mythology,
Hydra was the serpent slain by Hercules as one
of his twelve labors. The creature had multiple
heads, and when one was cut off, two more would
grow in its place. Hercules had to burn each
neck after decapitation to stop the heads from
regenerating. The constellation captures that
serpentine nature with a long meandering line
of stars that slinks across the sky. Hydra's
brightest star is Al Fard, which means the solitary
one in Arabic. Al Fard sits alone in a relatively
dark patch of sky, glowing with an orange hue.
It's a giant star more than 50 times the size
of our Sun and about 177 light years away. Within
Hydra's boundaries, you'll also find a few deep
sky gems if you have binoculars or a small telescope.
Look for the Ghost of Jupiter Nebula, also known
as NGC 3242, a planetary nebula that looks like
a small pale disk. sort of like a tiny version
of Jupiter, hence the name. There's also the
Hydra cluster of galaxies, though that one's
best left to larger telescopes under dark skies.
Despite its size, Hydra doesn't have many bright
stars, which makes it a bit of a challenge. Once
you find Alphard, start tracing eastward and
let your imagination wind along the serpent's
spine. Before we wrap things up, let's shift
our gaze from the stars we see to the people
who have dared to go there. April the 12th marks
the 61st anniversary of a moment that changed
the course of human history. On this day, in
1961, a 27 -year -old Soviet pilot named Yuri
Gagarin climbed aboard a tiny, spherical spacecraft
called Vostok 1. and became the first human being
to travel into space. It's one of those before
and after moments, not just for science or space
exploration, but for how we see ourselves as
a species. Before Gagarin's flight, space was
something distant, something untouchable. After
his single orbit around the Earth, we knew it
was possible. A human had left the atmosphere
and come back. Gagarin's fame took off. He became
an international icon, a symbol of hope, curiosity,
and the courage it takes to go where no one has
gone before. Let's set the scene. The Cold War
was in full swing. The space race between the
Soviet Union and the United States was accelerating
after the launch of Sputnik in 1957, and both
nations were pouring resources into developing
manned spaceflight. The Soviets had a lead in
the early stages, and on April 12, 1961, they
stunned the world again. Gagarin was chosen from
more than 200 cosmonaut candidates. By all accounts,
he was calm under pressure, highly skilled, and
incredibly charismatic, which didn't hurt when
the mission made him a global celebrity overnight.
Vostok 1 launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
in Kazakhstan at 6 .07 am UTC. The spacecraft
was fully automated with no manual controls,
just in case Gagarin became disoriented in microgravity.
Gagarin's job was to monitor systems, report
back to ground control, and survive. The flight
lasted just 108 minutes, completing one full
orbit of the Earth at a peak altitude of about
200 miles. Gagarin saw something no human had
seen before, the curve of the Earth. He conveyed
the experience to mission control, saying, I
see the horizon of the Earth, and I see a beautiful
blue halo along the horizon, along the edge of
the Earth. For the first time, we had confirmation
from someone who had been there, looking down.
The reentry process was just as dramatic. The
Vostok capsule didn't have a soft landing system
like modern spacecraft. Gagarin ejected from
the capsule at about 23 ,000 feet and parachuted
to the ground separately. The Soviets kept that
detail secret for years because it didn't technically
comply with the international definition of a
complete spaceflight, which required the pilot
to land with the spacecraft. But he went to space
and made it back, so he earned his wings. When
he landed in a rural area of Russia, he surprised
a farmer and her daughter, who weren't quite
sure what to make of the man in the orange suit
and helmet. According to reports, he smiled and
reassured them, don't be afraid, I am a Soviet
like you, who has descended from space and I
must find a telephone to call Moscow. Overnight,
Yuri Gagarin became the most famous person on
Earth. He was paraded through Red Square, visited
by heads of state, and sent on goodwill tours
across the globe. But even as he became a symbol
of Soviet success, people everywhere, regardless
of politics, recognized the deeper significance
of what he had done. He wasn't just the first
Soviet in space. He was the first human in space,
and for one brief moment, the boundaries between
nations faded away and all of humanity had something
to cheer for. Tragically, Gagarin's life was
cut short. He died in a training jet crash in
1968, just seven years after his historic flight.
But his legacy endures in statues, in spacecraft
bearing his name, and in the hearts of everyone
who dreams of the stars. Every year on April
12th, space agencies, museums, and fans around
the world celebrate Yuri's Night, an international
party for space that honors not just Gagarin's
flight, but all of human space exploration. It's
a reminder that space belongs to all of us. If
you found this episode helpful, let me know and
feel free to send in your questions and observations.
The easiest way to do that is by visiting our
website, StarTrails .Show. This is also a great
way to share the show with friends. Until next
time, keep looking up and exploring the night
sky. Clear skies everyone!