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Dark Sky Maine—April, 2022

Newsletter Contents:

1. Richard Luecke’s April 2022 Sky Highlights

2. American Astronomical Society’s Solar Eclipse Planning Workshop

3. Mindfulness Under the Stars at Whitehead Light Station

April 2022 Sky Highlights
by Richard Luecke

The Canterbury Tales tell us that April is the month . . .

Whan that with his shours soot
The droughte of March has perced to the roote . . .and the young sonne . . . Hath in Aries his half cours yronne . . .

As in Geoffrey Chaucer’s time, the Sun in April is moving eastward this month from Aries to Taurus on its annual “course run” through the Zodiac. As it does so, its position in the daytime sky of the northern hemisphere will rise higher each day until the summer solstice thanks to the tilt of the earth relative to its orbital plane. For us stargazers, more sunlit hours—coupled with daylight saving time—will delay the arrival of darkness. By mid-April, don’t expect full darkness until 9 p.m. Warmer nights will be our compensation.

The bright constellations of winter—Orion, Auriga, Gemini, and Taurus—decline toward the western horizon during April with the Milky Way in tow. Their places will be filled by Leo, Virgo, Coma Berenices. Ursa Major and Canes Venatici will ride high overhead—well-placed for viewing. As experienced sky watchers know, hundreds of distant galaxies accessible to amateur telescopes can be found within these constellations; the reason why is straightforward: they are outside the plane of the Milky Way, whose stars, dust and gas clouds would otherwise obscure our view.

Planets Naked-eye observers are in for some April treats. Tiny Mercury will be low in the western sky just after sunset on April 19. Binoculars will help you find it. It will rise higher and be more readily observable as the days go by, reaching greatest “elongation” on May 2 when it will be cheek-to-jowl with a tiny sliver of the new moon.

Look for a pre-dawn alignment of Jupiter, Venus, Mars, and Saturn later in April. The crescent Moon will be joining those planets from 24-27 April, creating a nice sight. Binoculars will help you to find dimmer Mars and Saturn.

Meteors The annual Lyrid shower (April 14 – 30) should peak on the morning of the 22nd. Bright moonlight will interfere on some of those nights. However, if you go out at midnight on the 22st and subsequent evenings, you’ll have a hour or more window of moonless viewing. Five to ten meteors per hour are likely.

Map courtesy Michael Zeiler, GreatAmericanEclipse.com.

American Astronomical Society
Solar Eclipse Planning Workshop
April 8-9, 2022, Virtually Anywhere

North America will soon be treated to two major solar eclipses, when the Sun, Moon, and Earth align. On both occasions, nearly everyone in the Americas will have at least a partial solar eclipse. For more information, visit the AAS solar eclipse website.

The virtual eclipse-planning workshop to be held Friday-Saturday, April 8-9, 2022. This event — organized by the American Astronomical Society (AAS) Solar Eclipse Task Force — will bring together more than 160 astronomers, educators, local and state officials, and others involved (or wanting to become involved) in preparing their communities for the 2023 and 2024 North American solar eclipses. Each day’s program will run from 12 pm to 5 pm EDT on Zoom, followed by a 2-hour networking and poster session in Gather.

In addition to talks, panel discussions, and breakout sessions on strategies for eclipse-related engagement, we now invite contributed posters. The oral sessions will focus on best practices in eclipse-related formal and informal education and public outreach, including effective ways to reach underserved and indigenous populations. Posters may be on any eclipse-related topic, including resources to help individuals and communities prepare for the 2023 and 2024 eclipses.

How to Register

Advance registration is required for the workshop; the fee is $20. If you cannot afford to pay, email the AAS Solar Eclipse Task Force to explain your situation, and we’ll consider granting a fee waiver.

Register for the Virtual Workshop

Click the button above to register and pay your $20 fee. (If you are not a member of the AAS and don’t already have an account with us, you will need to create one — but you do not have to join the Society in the process.) You’ll then receive two emails: (1) a receipt from imis_no-reply@aas.org with the subject “American Astronomical Society - Order Confirmation” and (2) a message from meetings@aas.org with the subject “Eclipse Planning Workshop: More Information.” If you don’t see these emails in your in-box, check your spam/junk folder.

Questions? Email the AAS Solar Eclipse Task Force. To receive future workshop announcements, join our email list.

Angela Speck & Claire Raftery, Co-Chairs
Rick Fienberg, Project Manager

Mindfulness Under the Stars at Whitehead Light Station
August 27-30, 2022

Join Dark Sky Maine’s President, Nancy Hathaway, and Vice President, John Meader for 3 nights and days at Whitehead Light Station.

Relax and refresh your mind and body through meditation, mindful movement, stress reduction, healthy nutrition and stargazing. This program will teach a unique focus on wellness allowing you to learn methods of integrating healthy habits and mindfulness into everyday life.

Sessions will include mindfulness practices, lectures and discussions.

Wake up with the sunrise for optional stretching and meditation or lounge in bed listening the sounds of the sea, your choice. Evening sessions will be held before viewing the stars over the ocean. The beauty of being away from the mainland will become evident in seeing the stars without light pollution. Whitehead offers some of the darkest skies east of the Mississippi.

Ample time will be available for relaxing walks, reading or solo meditation outside in nature. Meals including local organic products will be enjoyed outdoors or in the restored former light keepers quarters.

One evening will of course include a lobster feed (vegan option) cooked and enjoyed outside with the open fire on the rocks beside the ocean.

Single Occupancy: $1,090.50
Double Occupancy: $959.70
Prices are per person and include tuition, lodging, all meals (sample menu), and boat transportation to the Light Station from our mainland base. An additional 9% Maine state lodging tax will be charged on the meals and lodging portion of the fee.

Call or email with any questions:
(207) 200-7957
info@whiteheadlightstation.org
www.whiteheadlightstation.org

Learn more at: DarkSkyMaine.com

Help keep Maine’s skies the darkest in the eastern United States. Donate to Dark Sky Maine and help us keep our skies dark and full of stars.

Dark Sky Maine, a 501c3 nonprofit, promotes an appreciation of the night sky through education and by supporting measures that use appropriate lighting to provide security on the ground, promote the health of humans and nocturnal wildlife, while maintaining dark skies overhead.

Thank you for your support!