Hello ...
Here's your Cosmic Pursuits newsletter for April 2024!
1. Mars and Saturn emerge in the early morning sky, Jupiter exits the evening sky, and a meteor shower arrives along with the stars of northern spring. Here's what to see in the Night Sky This Month...
2. There is indeed a solar eclipse coming to North America on April 8. The narrow band of totality passes across Mexico, the U.S., and southeastern Canada. But most of the continent off this path will see some version of a partial eclipse. Here's a link to a few resources to help
you see this spectacular event - including a live video stream of the eclipse. Get out and see this thing, in person or online, if you can!
3. As April begins, Comet 12/P Pons-Brooks remains (barley) visible low in the evening sky after sunset in Aries and Pisces. Check the current position and distance from Earth of the comet at TheSkyLive.com.
4. As most astrophotographers know, the Jellyfish Nebula is a beautiful remnant of an exploding star at the foot of the constellation Gemini. But while it looks lovely, it also sounds, well, interesting, as a team from NASA found out when they "translated" its visible, radio, and X-ray emission into audio.
5. A touching and updated 'obituary' of the great Henrietta Swan Leavitt who made an astonishing discovery in the early 20th century that, in a fairer world, would have won her a Nobel Prize (gift link from the NY Times).
And the astronomy quote of the month...
“What you see in a total eclipse is entirely different from what you know."
- Annie Dillard
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Wishing you clear skies!
Brian Ventrudo
Publisher
CosmicPursuits.com
