WEBVTT 00:00:07.869 --> 00:00:10.710 Howdy Star Gazers and welcome to this episode 00:00:10.710 --> 00:00:14.609 of Star Trails. I'm Drew and I'll be your guide 00:00:14.609 --> 00:00:17.149 to the night sky for the week starting April 00:00:17.149 --> 00:00:21.230 the 13th through the 19th. This week we welcome 00:00:21.230 --> 00:00:24.739 a new comet to the morning sky. We'll take a 00:00:24.739 --> 00:00:27.539 look at a pair of animal -themed constellations 00:00:27.539 --> 00:00:30.519 that are hiding some intriguing deep -sky objects, 00:00:31.079 --> 00:00:34.320 and the Lyrids meteor shower is on the horizon. 00:00:35.100 --> 00:00:37.780 So grab a comfortable spot under the night sky, 00:00:38.079 --> 00:00:43.340 and let's get started. Early risers are in for 00:00:43.340 --> 00:00:46.320 a treat, because amateur observers have just 00:00:46.320 --> 00:00:52.990 spotted a new comet. Comet C 2025 F2 also known 00:00:52.990 --> 00:00:56.530 as Swan, was spotted just a couple weeks ago 00:00:56.530 --> 00:01:00.329 on March 29th, using data from the Solar Wind 00:01:00.329 --> 00:01:03.969 Instrument aboard SOHO, that's the Solar and 00:01:03.969 --> 00:01:08.049 Heliospheric Observatory. It's currently lighting 00:01:08.049 --> 00:01:11.310 up the morning twilight and is already brightening 00:01:11.310 --> 00:01:14.030 fast as it heads towards its closest approach 00:01:14.030 --> 00:01:18.560 to the Sun, which happens on May 1st. In the 00:01:18.560 --> 00:01:22.120 pre -dawn hours, Comet Swan is visible low in 00:01:22.120 --> 00:01:25.480 the east -northeast, not far from Alpha Rats, 00:01:25.980 --> 00:01:29.620 the bright star in the corner of Pegasus. You'll 00:01:29.620 --> 00:01:32.439 want binoculars or a small telescope for the 00:01:32.439 --> 00:01:35.540 best view, but if it keeps brightening, we might 00:01:35.540 --> 00:01:38.180 be able to see it with the naked eye by the end 00:01:38.180 --> 00:01:42.560 of the month. This comet is glowing green thanks 00:01:42.560 --> 00:01:45.900 to sunlight exciting carbon molecules in its 00:01:45.900 --> 00:01:49.319 coma. A signature look for a comet nearing the 00:01:49.319 --> 00:01:52.680 Sun. So if you're up early this week, find a 00:01:52.680 --> 00:01:55.879 dark spot with a clear view of the eastern horizon 00:01:55.879 --> 00:02:00.099 and try to catch a glimpse before sunrise. Prior 00:02:00.099 --> 00:02:03.540 to its current journey, Swan had an orbital period 00:02:03.540 --> 00:02:08.599 of about 70 ,000 years. Postperihelion gravitational 00:02:08.599 --> 00:02:11.860 interactions are expected to extend its orbital 00:02:11.860 --> 00:02:17.289 period to nearly 740 ,000 years. meaning it won't 00:02:17.289 --> 00:02:20.770 return to the inner solar system for many millennia. 00:02:21.789 --> 00:02:24.050 I'll keep you posted in the coming weeks as it 00:02:24.050 --> 00:02:27.490 climbs towards peak brightness. Comets, as we 00:02:27.490 --> 00:02:31.289 always say, are notoriously unpredictable, so 00:02:31.289 --> 00:02:38.759 we'll be keeping an eye on this one. A little 00:02:38.759 --> 00:02:41.740 closer to home, the moon is in transition this 00:02:41.740 --> 00:02:45.139 week. Last night was the full pink mini moon, 00:02:45.479 --> 00:02:48.659 and it's still nearly full tonight. As the week 00:02:48.659 --> 00:02:51.400 progresses, the moon enters the waning gibbous 00:02:51.400 --> 00:02:54.340 phase, with its illuminated portion decreasing 00:02:54.340 --> 00:02:58.599 each night. By April 19th, the moon's illumination 00:02:58.599 --> 00:03:03.419 will be approximately 64%. Jupiter still dominates 00:03:03.419 --> 00:03:06.879 the evening sky after sunset, although the window 00:03:06.879 --> 00:03:10.159 to observe this gas giant narrows as the days 00:03:10.159 --> 00:03:13.599 lengthen. It's still a magnificent sight in the 00:03:13.599 --> 00:03:16.879 western sky during twilight. Be sure to check 00:03:16.879 --> 00:03:20.020 it out in a telescope if you can. Depending on 00:03:20.020 --> 00:03:22.460 your instrument, you're likely to see some cloud 00:03:22.460 --> 00:03:27.509 bands and its four Galilean moons. Mars, the 00:03:27.509 --> 00:03:30.310 red planet, remains positioned near the twin 00:03:30.310 --> 00:03:34.370 stars of Gemini, Castor and Pollux, before moving 00:03:34.370 --> 00:03:37.849 into the constellation Cancer. It's visible in 00:03:37.849 --> 00:03:40.569 the evening sky, shining slightly brighter than 00:03:40.569 --> 00:03:45.270 the twin stars. Mercury, Venus, and Saturn are 00:03:45.270 --> 00:03:48.810 now targets for early risers. Before dawn, look 00:03:48.810 --> 00:03:52.090 to the eastern horizon to spot them. Venus, in 00:03:52.090 --> 00:03:54.449 particular, will be exceptionally bright and 00:03:54.449 --> 00:03:58.259 hard to miss. This trio will be in a tight grouping, 00:03:58.639 --> 00:04:01.199 clustered in an area of less than 10 degrees 00:04:01.199 --> 00:04:05.580 for much of the month. As Mercury exited retrograde 00:04:05.580 --> 00:04:08.219 earlier this month, it will start drifting away 00:04:08.219 --> 00:04:11.340 from Venus and Saturn, which will be very close 00:04:11.340 --> 00:04:21.209 to one another by month's end. Let's venture 00:04:21.209 --> 00:04:24.470 farther out on a celestial side quest to view 00:04:24.470 --> 00:04:28.189 some constellations. While the big players like 00:04:28.189 --> 00:04:31.870 Leo, Virgo, and the Big Dipper tend to hog the 00:04:31.870 --> 00:04:34.410 spotlight this time of year, there are a few 00:04:34.410 --> 00:04:37.069 lesser -known constellations that deserve some 00:04:37.069 --> 00:04:40.970 love. Tonight we're zooming in on two underrated 00:04:40.970 --> 00:04:44.449 groupings, one in the southeast and one just 00:04:44.449 --> 00:04:47.990 hanging out beneath the Dipper's tail. Let's 00:04:47.990 --> 00:04:51.449 start low on the horizon with Corvus, the crow. 00:04:52.430 --> 00:04:55.709 Corvus isn't flashy. In fact, it's made up of 00:04:55.709 --> 00:04:59.810 just four main stars, forming a kind of lopsided 00:04:59.810 --> 00:05:03.389 square. However, this constellation comes with 00:05:03.389 --> 00:05:07.449 a dramatic backstory. In Greek mythology, Corvus 00:05:07.449 --> 00:05:11.750 was Apollo's sacred bird. One day the god sent 00:05:11.750 --> 00:05:15.009 the crow to fetch water and a cup, represented 00:05:15.009 --> 00:05:18.449 by the neighboring constellation, Crater. But 00:05:18.449 --> 00:05:22.649 the crow got distracted, some say by unripe figs, 00:05:22.730 --> 00:05:26.149 others say he just flaked out, and he came back 00:05:26.149 --> 00:05:30.730 late, making excuses. Apollo didn't buy it. As 00:05:30.730 --> 00:05:33.949 punishment he flung the crow, the cup, and a 00:05:33.949 --> 00:05:37.750 long water snake, that's Hydra, into the sky. 00:05:38.029 --> 00:05:41.930 And there they sit to this day. Corvus forever 00:05:41.930 --> 00:05:44.829 reaching for the cup, but blocked by the serpent. 00:05:45.930 --> 00:05:48.410 You can catch Corvus rising in the southeast 00:05:48.410 --> 00:05:52.050 around 9 or 10 p .m. Just look for a small boxy 00:05:52.050 --> 00:05:55.370 pattern of stars beneath Virgo. The brightest 00:05:55.370 --> 00:05:58.250 of the bunch is a blue -white giant star about 00:05:58.250 --> 00:06:02.769 165 light years away. It marks the crow's wing. 00:06:03.560 --> 00:06:06.660 And if you have a good telescope, check out the 00:06:06.660 --> 00:06:13.300 antenna galaxies NGC 4038 and 4039, two galaxies 00:06:13.300 --> 00:06:16.620 in the middle of a cosmic collision. They're 00:06:16.620 --> 00:06:19.899 fusing together, flinging stars and dust into 00:06:19.899 --> 00:06:23.600 wild arc shapes. They're not easy to spot. You'll 00:06:23.600 --> 00:06:27.939 need dark skies and the right optics. Now let's 00:06:27.939 --> 00:06:32.209 head northward for our next stop. Look just below 00:06:32.209 --> 00:06:34.709 the handle of the Big Dipper, and you'll find 00:06:34.709 --> 00:06:40.029 Canes Venetici, the hunting dogs. This constellation 00:06:40.029 --> 00:06:44.550 has a quirky origin. Back in the 1600s, astronomer 00:06:44.550 --> 00:06:48.129 Johann Hevelius meant to depict a Boides holding 00:06:48.129 --> 00:06:51.750 a staff. But a printing error split the stars 00:06:51.750 --> 00:06:54.810 off into their own constellation, and we got 00:06:54.810 --> 00:06:58.529 the hunting dogs instead. They're usually imagined 00:06:58.529 --> 00:07:02.850 as a pair, Asterion and Chara, chasing after 00:07:02.850 --> 00:07:06.329 the Big Bear alongside their master, Boötes. 00:07:07.430 --> 00:07:10.589 Canes' Venetici is subtle, there are no bright 00:07:10.589 --> 00:07:13.490 star patterns, but it's hiding some deep -sky 00:07:13.490 --> 00:07:17.050 treasures. The constellation's brightest star 00:07:17.050 --> 00:07:21.129 is Cor Coralli, a binary system whose name means 00:07:21.129 --> 00:07:24.129 Heart of Charles, in honor of King Charles I 00:07:24.129 --> 00:07:27.629 of England. With binoculars or a small scope, 00:07:27.870 --> 00:07:30.769 you might catch its companion star, a lovely 00:07:30.769 --> 00:07:33.829 double, when seeing conditions are right. But 00:07:33.829 --> 00:07:37.009 the real showstopper here is the Whirlpool Galaxy, 00:07:37.350 --> 00:07:42.329 M51. Just about 31 million light years away, 00:07:42.670 --> 00:07:46.209 this face -on spiral galaxy is actually interacting 00:07:46.209 --> 00:07:49.870 with a smaller companion, creating these incredible 00:07:49.870 --> 00:07:53.680 tidal tails and swirling arms. It's a favorite 00:07:53.680 --> 00:07:57.100 among astrophotographers and a great galaxy to 00:07:57.100 --> 00:08:01.079 spot with a decent backyard telescope. Also tucked 00:08:01.079 --> 00:08:06.420 in here is the Sunflower Galaxy M63 with its 00:08:06.420 --> 00:08:10.139 delicate spiral structure, and the Cat's Eye 00:08:10.139 --> 00:08:15.379 Galaxy M94, a compact galaxy with a bright core 00:08:15.379 --> 00:08:19.379 and faint ring. This patch of sky is basically 00:08:19.379 --> 00:08:31.089 a galaxy playground. Before we wrap up this week's 00:08:31.089 --> 00:08:33.710 tour of the night sky, I want to give you a heads 00:08:33.710 --> 00:08:37.289 up because something special is on the way. Starting 00:08:37.289 --> 00:08:40.990 in mid -April, we enter meteor shower season, 00:08:41.549 --> 00:08:44.049 and the first major shower of the year is right 00:08:44.049 --> 00:08:47.090 around the corner. I'm talking about the Lyrids, 00:08:47.409 --> 00:08:50.190 which will peak on the night of April 21st into 00:08:50.190 --> 00:08:54.500 the early morning hours of April 22nd. There's 00:08:54.500 --> 00:08:57.539 something extra special about the Lyrids. They're 00:08:57.539 --> 00:09:00.500 one of the oldest meteor showers ever recorded. 00:09:01.480 --> 00:09:03.940 Chinese astronomers documented them more than 00:09:03.940 --> 00:09:09.919 2 ,700 years ago, around 687 BCE. That means 00:09:09.919 --> 00:09:12.600 people have been watching these same bits of 00:09:12.600 --> 00:09:15.860 celestial debris burn up in the sky since before 00:09:15.860 --> 00:09:19.419 the rise of the Roman Empire. So, what are we 00:09:19.419 --> 00:09:22.320 actually seeing when we catch a meteor streaking 00:09:22.320 --> 00:09:26.159 across the sky? Every meteor shower is the result 00:09:26.159 --> 00:09:29.019 of Earth passing through the debris trail of 00:09:29.019 --> 00:09:33.379 a comet, and the Lyrids are no exception. These 00:09:33.379 --> 00:09:36.879 meteors come from Comet Thatcher, a long period 00:09:36.879 --> 00:09:40.700 comet that orbits the Sun about once every 415 00:09:40.700 --> 00:09:44.379 years. As the comet travels through the solar 00:09:44.379 --> 00:09:47.320 system, it leaves behind tiny bits of dust and 00:09:47.320 --> 00:09:50.370 rock. When Earth crosses that path in April, 00:09:50.730 --> 00:09:53.509 some of these particles slam into our atmosphere 00:09:53.509 --> 00:09:58.009 at high speed, about 110 ,000 miles per hour, 00:09:58.269 --> 00:10:00.889 and they burn up, creating the bright streaks 00:10:00.889 --> 00:10:05.309 we call meteors. The Lyrids aren't the most prolific 00:10:05.309 --> 00:10:07.870 meteor shower of the year, but they're a solid 00:10:07.870 --> 00:10:11.450 mid -tier performer, typically producing 15 to 00:10:11.450 --> 00:10:14.590 20 meteors per hour at their peak under dark 00:10:14.590 --> 00:10:17.730 skies. But every once in a while they surprise 00:10:17.730 --> 00:10:22.549 us. Back in 1982, sky watchers saw a burst of 00:10:22.549 --> 00:10:26.529 90 meteors per hour. Earlier outbursts in the 00:10:26.529 --> 00:10:31.429 1920s and 1800s were even more dramatic. So while 00:10:31.429 --> 00:10:34.169 a big outburst isn't guaranteed, it's always 00:10:34.169 --> 00:10:37.570 a possibility. And that unpredictability makes 00:10:37.570 --> 00:10:39.950 watching the Lyrids a little more thrilling. 00:10:40.649 --> 00:10:43.549 The shower gets its name from the constellation 00:10:43.549 --> 00:10:46.230 Lyra, because that's where the meteors appear 00:10:46.230 --> 00:10:49.789 to radiate from. More specifically, the radiant 00:10:49.789 --> 00:10:53.169 point is near Vega, one of the brightest stars 00:10:53.169 --> 00:10:56.929 in the sky. You don't need to find Vega to enjoy 00:10:56.929 --> 00:11:00.230 the show. Meteors can appear all over the sky, 00:11:00.750 --> 00:11:03.269 but knowing the general area helps you orient 00:11:03.269 --> 00:11:06.450 yourself. Look to the northeast after midnight 00:11:06.450 --> 00:11:09.169 and give your eyes about 20 minutes to adjust 00:11:09.169 --> 00:11:12.769 to the darkness. This year, there's one thing 00:11:12.769 --> 00:11:15.629 to keep in mind. The moon will be in a waning 00:11:15.629 --> 00:11:19.190 gibbous phase just a few days past full. That 00:11:19.190 --> 00:11:21.590 means it'll rise late in the evening and brighten 00:11:21.590 --> 00:11:24.250 the sky quite a bit, potentially washing out 00:11:24.250 --> 00:11:27.230 the fainter meteors. But don't let that stop 00:11:27.230 --> 00:11:30.149 you. Even with moonlight, the brighter lyrids 00:11:30.149 --> 00:11:33.070 can still shine through, and some leave behind 00:11:33.070 --> 00:11:35.990 glowing trains that linger for a second or two, 00:11:36.250 --> 00:11:40.509 like contrails. The Lyrids peak around April 00:11:40.509 --> 00:11:44.210 21st, but you'll be able to see them before and 00:11:44.210 --> 00:11:47.570 after the peak period. To get the best view, 00:11:47.629 --> 00:11:50.409 try to find a dark spot away from city lights. 00:11:50.830 --> 00:11:53.629 Lie back with a wide view of the sky. There's 00:11:53.629 --> 00:11:57.389 no need for a telescope or binoculars. Be patient. 00:11:57.789 --> 00:12:00.389 Meteors often come in clusters, so you might 00:12:00.389 --> 00:12:03.450 wait 10 minutes with nothing and then get a sudden 00:12:03.450 --> 00:12:07.480 flurry. And here's another fun fact. Since the 00:12:07.480 --> 00:12:10.419 Lyrids were observed more than 2 ,000 years ago, 00:12:10.740 --> 00:12:13.259 every meteor you see from this shower is part 00:12:13.259 --> 00:12:16.779 of a cosmic tradition that spans human history. 00:12:17.399 --> 00:12:20.860 It's the same sky, the same dust, and the same 00:12:20.860 --> 00:12:29.620 sense of wonder. If you found this episode helpful, 00:12:29.860 --> 00:12:32.559 let me know and feel free to send in your questions 00:12:32.559 --> 00:12:35.659 and observations. The easiest way to do that 00:12:35.659 --> 00:12:39.480 is by visiting our website, StarTrails .Show. 00:12:40.059 --> 00:12:42.419 This is also a great way to share the show with 00:12:42.419 --> 00:12:46.220 friends. Until next time, keep looking up and 00:12:46.220 --> 00:12:49.320 exploring the night sky. Clear skies everyone!