Southern California Desert Video Astronomers
Our Mission.............................
" To share our abilities with astronomy in order to preserve dark starry night skies and a vibrant healthy environment in the California Desert and everywhere else on our Planet for future generations! "
SCDVA, moving the line for dark skies and environmental awareness.
The World's First & Only Live Astronomy Theater.
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Astronomy - Art - Music
Clear Sky Chart for The Joshua Tree Astronomy Arts Theater
January moon, February moon, March moon, April moon, May moon, June moon, July moon, August moon, September moon, October moon, November moon, December Moon
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SCDVA, Official IDA Chapter Serving The High Desert Region
San Bernardino County
IDA International Dark Sky Association
Ask what you can do for dark skies."
Inspired by a quote from JFK
Click the above image to see amazing live views of our earth
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JTAATinfo@gmail.com ________ |
APRIL SKIES
This week, the planet Mars and the Pleiades star cluster are teaming up. They can be seen due west as darkness falls, about a third of the way up the sky. Mars looks like an orange star. The dipper-shaped Pleiades is close to the right.
April 3rd- See Mercury, Venus and Crescent Moon
At about 30 minutes before sunrise, although difficult to see, look east to see Mercury, Venus and a thin crescent moon just above the horizon.
The perfect time for star gazing an to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonlight to interfere.
April 7th-Mercury Reaches Highest Point in Morning Sky
As seen from Joshua Tree, Mercury will reach its highest point in the sky in its March to May morning apparition. It will be shining brightly at mag 0.3.
From Joshua Tree, this apparition will not be one of the most prominent and very difficult to observe, reaching a peak altitude of 12° above the horizon at sunrise on 7 Apr 2019.
April 9th - Mars and the Moon together
The Moon and Mars will make a close approach, passing within 4°35' of each other. The Moon will be 4 days old. From Joshua Tree, the pair will become visible at around 7:24 pm (PDT) as the dusk sky fades, 41° above your western horizon. They will then sink towards the horizon, setting 3 hours and 49 minutes after the Sun at 10:56 pm.
The Moon will be at mag -10.7, and Mars at mag 1.5, both in the constellation Taurus.
The pair will be too widely separated to fit within the field of view of a telescope, but will be visible to the naked eye or through a pair of binoculars.
April 19th - Full Pink Moon
This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Full Pink Moon because it marked the appearance of the moss pink, or wild ground phlox, which is one of the first spring flowers. This moon has also been known as the Sprouting Grass Moon, the Growing Moon, and the Egg Moon. Many coastal tribes called it the Full Fish Moon because this was the time that the shad swam upstream to spawn.
April 22 - Happy Earth Day
Named after constellation Lyra, the Lyrids are one of the oldest recorded meteor showers according to some historical Chinese texts, the shower was seen over 2,500 years ago. The fireballs in the meteor shower are created by debris from comet Thatcher, which takes about 415 years to orbit around the Sun. The comet is expected to be visible from Earth again in 2276.
The Lyrid meteor shower lasts from about April 16 to 25. About 10 to 15 meteors per hour can be expected around the shower’s peak, in a dark sky. It peaks this year on the night of the 22nd and morning of the 23rd. These meteors can sometimes produce bright dust trails that last for several seconds.
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Check out the
Joshua Tree Astronomy Arts Theater
Meetup site
for further & future details
on
Upcoming Events
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Click below to take a journey.
Go to Photos & Events Link
to see pictures of what we've been up to.
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Please Help Support our efforts. To contribute, click the link below.
Or mail your Contributions to
JTAAT
P.O. Box 425
Joshua
Thank you for your support
Note: non tax deductible
Last updated April 2, 2019