Source: Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Data collation: Yang Yang, Gao Liangchao
The time is 120 degrees east longitude standard time (Beijing time)
The April Lyra meteor shower on April 23 is the first medium-sized meteor shower since the beginning of spring, but this year it is affected by moonlight and visual observation conditions are not good. April 29 Mercury East Distance. April and May are still the best season to photograph the Arches of the Milky Way, which remains in the form of arches in the night sky for a long time.
In April at 20:00 in the evening to watch the starry sky in the open area, in addition to the western sky winter starry sky 7 bright first-class stars, in the east, you can see the northeast oriental Shepherd's Arcturus, and the southeast eastern Virgo horn one, and then with these two bright stars as the base of the positive triangle, near the top of the upward positive triangle can find a second-class star, that is the tail of Leo five Emperors one, these three stars arranged in the shape of a large triangle, we call the "Spring Triangle".
Solar System object dynamics
Sun: Runs from Pisces to Aries.
Mercury: Moving from Pisces via Aries to Taurus, anterograde. On the 3rd, the east is large, the sun is not easy to see in the first half of the day, and it can be seen in the west after the sunset in the second half of the day. Apparent brightness -1.9-2.20.3, etc., apparent diameter 4.9"8.0".
Venus: Moved from Capricorn via Aquarius to Pisces, anterosed, and can be seen in the East before sunrise. Apparent brightness -4.4-4.1, etc., apparent diameter 21.7"16.8".
Mars: Moving from Capricorn to Aquarius, anterograde, visible southeast before sunrise. Apparent brightness 1.10.9 etc., apparent diameter 5.1"5.7".
Jupiter: Moved from Aquarius to Pisces, anterograde, and can be seen in the east before sunrise in mid-to-late japan. Apparent brightness -2.0-2.1, etc., apparent diameter 33.3"34.7".
Saturn: Travels in Capricorn and can be seen southeast before sunrise. Apparent brightness 0.9 etc., apparent diameter 15.7"16.4".
Uranus: In Aries, after sunset can be seen in the west. Apparent brightness 5.9 etc., apparent diameter 3.4".
Neptune: Apocalypse, visible in the East before sunrise. Apparent brightness 8.07.9 etc., apparent diameter 2.2".
2022/4/5 Qingming ★
At 03:20 on April 5, 2022, the sun reached the retinal longitude of 15°. The Qingming Festival, also known as the Treading Green Festival, is on the 108th day after the winter solstice, when mid-spring and late spring intersect. The traditional Qingming Festival of the Chinese nation began around the Zhou Dynasty and has a history of more than 2,500 years. Qingming Festival is the only festival that coincides with the festival.
2022/4/5 Mars joins Saturn (less than 0.4 degrees ★★★★★).
The eastern sky at dawn is very lively! On April 5, 06:05 Mars joined Saturn, and Mars is only 0.32 degrees south of Saturn. Bright red Mars and ochre Saturn snuggle up to each other. Venus can also be seen about 7 degrees to their left. If you don't see it on April 5, don't give up. The distance between Mars and Saturn was 0.9 degrees the day before and 0.6 degrees the day after, which is also very close. If you use binoculars to observe, you can be in the same frame. The next time Mars merges with Saturn occurs on April 11, 2024.
2022/4/9 North River Triad Moon ★
Winded at 14:48 on April 9; 23:50 North River Triad, North River Triad 2.16 degrees north of the Moon, visible at the time of the Moon, located in the low west-north of the moon. Located 33.7 light-years from Earth, Beihesan is one of the closest orange giants to Earth. The next North River Triad moon falls on May 7.
2022/4/12 Xuanyuan 14th Month ★
April 12, 19:01 Regulus 14th Conjunction Moon, Regulus XIV is 5.05 degrees south of the Moon, equivalent to the width of the top of the index finger, middle finger and ring finger after the arm is straightened. Regulus XIV is the closest bright star to the ecliptic , with an apparent magnitude of 1.4.
2022/4/13 Jupiter meets Neptune (0.1 degrees ★★★★).
On April 13 at 04:03 Jupiter joins Neptune, Neptune is only 0.11 degrees south of Jupiter. Located in the constellation of Aquarius, it can be seen in the low eastern sky before dawn. Jupiter is -2.7 magnitudes bright and Neptune is only 7.8 magnitudes bright. If observed with a small astronomical telescope, Jupiter, Pisman and Neptune can be seen in the same field of view, but the brightness difference is large and it is less difficult to shoot. The next time Jupiter and Neptune occurred on March 26, 2025.
2022/4/16 Kakujuku Ichiaitsuki ★
On April 16, at 19:19, the horned suku was 5.06 degrees south of the moon; on the 17th, 02:55 was the full moon. Visible all night. Horned One is a giant blue star belonging to the constellation Cynth β variable star. Kakusuichi is about 250 light-years away from Earth. The next kakujuku Ichiga moon falls on May 14.
2022/4/18 Jupiter, Venus, Mars, Saturn equidistant arrangement ★★★★★
In the early morning of April 18, Jupiter, Neptune, Venus, Mars, and Saturn formed a straight line from their lowest altitudes. Looking around 4 a.m. near the eastern horizon, Jupiter (magnitude -2.1) can be seen just rising, with the brightest Venus (magnitude -4.2) in the upper right, and the red Mars (magnitude 1.0) on the upper right, Saturn (magnitude 0.8) on the far right, and Jupiter and Neptune (magnitude 7.9) very close. It's unusual for five planets to be so beautifully arranged! Try to find them as soon as possible before dawn.
2022/4/20 Shinjuku Niaitsuki ★
April 20, 02:08 Heart-To-Date, 3.07 degrees south of the Moon, visible during the Full Moon. Heart-Tou II, also known as "Great Fire", is a red supergiant star, a semi-regular variable star with obvious light changes, and forms a visual binary star system with a blue dwarf star. The next time the heart stays in the second month is on May 17.
2022/4/20 Valley Rain ★
At 10:24 a.m. on April 20, it rained and the sun reached 30° resubjection longitude. In the Tongwei Filial Piety Sutra To Aid the Divine Contract, it is said: "Fifteen days after the Qingming Dynasty, Dou Zhichen, for the valley rain, in the middle of March, Yan Yusheng Hundred Valleys are pure and clear." ”
2022/4/23 April Lyra Meteor Shower Maximum Period (ZHR~18)
The April Lyrids (00006 LYR) occurs between April 14 and 30 and is a moderate-intensity meteor shower whose parent object is comet C/1861 G1 (Thatcher) with a period of 415 years. This year's maximum moment is expected to be around 3 a.m. on the 23rd, and the zenith per hour occurrence rate is ZHR ~18. The radiation point rises at about 21:00 the day before, but as the radiation point rises, the second quarter moon rises eastward around 0:00 on the 23rd, which has a great impact on visual and photographic observation in the second half of the night. The April Lyra meteor shower is characterized by both active and extremely unstable periods. Although the number of meteor showers is small, occasional fire meteors appear.
The world's earliest record of meteor showers comes from China in 687 BC, and the Spring and Autumn Zuo Zhuan Zhuang Gong Seven Years records the April Lyra meteor shower: "In the summer of April, the stars are not seen, and the stars in the night are like rain." ”
Moon flash phenomenon
The flash phenomenon produced by meteoroids hitting the lunar surface is called Lunar flare, or lunar flash for short. Because the appearance of meteors is not easy to predict, during the meteor shower maximum, the lunar meteoroid collision and the greatest chance of lunar flash, so during the meteor shower maximum, and when it encounters a non-full moon or a new moon, the use of video methods to monitor the dark side of the moon at night can record the lunar flash phenomenon.
Lunar flashes must be observed with a telescope with an aperture of 20 cm or more, a focal length of 1,000 mm, a CCD or CMOS of half an inch or greater, an equatorial instrument or a theodolite with a field rotator attached to the telescope, and a lunar tracking speed.
2022/4/23 Asteris π Meteor Shower Maximum Period (ZHR~Var.)
The π pi Puppids (00137 PPU) in the constellation of Asteris appeared between April 15 and April 28, and the maximum period of this year is predicted to fall on the evening of April 23. It is a meteor shower associated with comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup, but only in the year of the return of the mother comet will there be a greater number of meteors. The position of the stern constellation is quite south, at this time, it is already low in the south after nightfall, about 23:00 in the evening southwest into the ground plane, the elevation angle is quite low, greatly affected by atmospheric extinction, making the number of visible meteors more reduced, and not conducive to observation. The best place to observe the π meteor shower in the constellation of Stern is the southern hemisphere, and the suitable observation time is the first half of the night.
Lunar flashes (flashes of light produced by meteoroids hitting the lunar surface) are small probability events. The small white dots are where the moon flash may appear.
2022/4/25 Saturn Moon ★★
25 April 04:55 Saturn closes the moon, Saturn is 4.51 degrees north of the moon. Saturn and the Moon are both in Capricorn. Capricorn is the best of the autumn signs, but even in the spring, you can see it in the early morning. The next Saturn conjunction moon is on May 22.
2022/4/26 Mars Conjunction Moon ★★★
06:05 Mars On April 26, Mars is 3.90 degrees north of the moon. Located in the constellation of Aquarius, it can be seen in the eastern sky at dawn. Saturn is in the upper right corner of Mars, and Venus and Jupiter are in the lower left corner. Mars is located right between Saturn and Venus. The interval is wide, and with the addition of the moon, it seems to be a rare sight. The next Martian conjunction is on May 25.
2022/4/27 (447)Valentine Mask HIP 102310(Excellent)
When an asteroid moves in the background starry sky, it sometimes obscures distant stars, a phenomenon known as asteroid occultation. At 3:00 Beijing time on April 27, 2022, with a diameter of about 82km and an apparent magnitude of 14.66 asteroids (447) Valentine masked the Capricorn 8.42 star HIP 102310 (J2000.0 coordinates: equatorial longitude 20h43m47.731s, declination -21° 14'00.37"), the longest occultation time is 4.7 seconds, the light reduction (brightness decrease) is 6.4, and the moon is below the horizon. It is necessary to familiarize yourself with the observation target in advance and start timed observations 5 to 15 minutes before the intermediate time of the occultation forecast, with an error of no more than 1 second.
2022/4/27 Venus Gtsuki + Neptune Aizuki + Jupiter Gingetsu ★★★★
April 27, 09:51 Venus conjunction, Venus is 3.78 degrees north of the moon; 11:20 Neptune moon (apparent equatorial longitude 23h41m24s), the center of the Earth as seen Neptune is 3.71 degrees north of the moon; 16:26 Jupiter is 23h51m29s, and Jupiter as seen in the center of the Earth is 3.65 degrees north of the moon. In the early morning of the 27th and 28th, the three brightest celestial bodies - Jupiter, Venus and the remnant moon - gathered in the range of 10 degrees, which was very spectacular.
2022/4/28 Venus meets Neptune (less than 0.1 degrees ★★★★).
Neptune followed Jupiter on the 13th, and on April 28 at 03:08 Venus joined Neptune, neptune was only 0.01 degrees north of Venus. Suitable for small astronomical telescopes to observe Venus and Neptune in the same field of view, Neptune rises after 3 o'clock, and the elevation angle before dawn is higher than that of 13 days, which is easier to observe. Venus has a brightness of -4.2 magnitudes and Neptune is 7.9 magnitudes. Since the brightness difference is more than 60,000 times, it is less difficult to shoot. On this day, both the brightest Venus and the second brightest Jupiter are close to 2.9 degrees. This will be a hot topic. The next time Venus meets Neptune on February 15, 2023.
2022/4/29 Mercury East Macro + Mercury Pleiadian Cluster ★★★
At 16:09 on April 29, Mercury had a large distance to the east, with a solar distance angle of 20.61 degrees, an apparent brightness of 0.2 magnitude, and an apparent diameter of 7.9". Located in the constellation Taurus, it is seen in the low west-north of the sun. The conditions of this large distance are the best of the year.
Fortunately, on this day, Mercury meets the famous Pleiades (M45, the Seven Sisters). Mercury is about 1.4 degrees away from its brightest star, Pleiades. A great opportunity for astrophotography. However, mercury of magnitude 0.2 can only be seen with the naked eye, and it is recommended to use astronomical telescopes or binoculars to view it.
Forecasts are available for all places in the Eastern Eight Time Zones (UTC+08:00), including: China, Mongolia, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei.
Resources:
1. Chinese Astronomical Calendar, Science Press
2. Li Guangyu and Zhang Peiyu, "PMOE 2003 Planetary Calendar Framework", Purple Mountain Observatory Journal, Vol. 22, No. 3-4 (December 2003)
3. Interesting astronomical wonders
2022 weather forecast data is available under the "Interesting Astronomical Wonders" website, welcome to use more! https://interesting-sky.china-vo.org/category/year/2022astronomical_events/
Editor-in-charge: Yuan Fengfang
National Astronomical Journal of China, March 2022
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