Asteroid Comes to Earth, Artemis Takes to the Sky

By Matthew Johnson

The last two weeks of March witnessed exceptional astronomical events. At 9 a.m. on March 17, a meteor sped across the Cleveland, Ohio, sky at 45,000 miles per hour before splitting apart in a thunderous boom that shocked and frightened residents. NASA stated that the nearly six-foot wide, seven-ton asteroid unleashed energy that was equivalent to more than 250 tons of TNT when it broke apart in the atmosphere. The meteor was first seen about 50 miles above Lake Erie and traveled more than 34 miles through the upper atmosphere before fragmenting and mostly vaporizing. Three days later, on the first day of spring, a magnetic storm of high intensity was emitted by the sun causing auroras visible into a few of the middle states. They were created by the arrival of coronal mass ejections, which are eruptions of plasma and associated magnetic fields ejected from the sun’s outer atmosphere. We begin April with a full moon. Also scheduled for April 1 is the launch of Artemis II, although it could be delayed. The Artemis space program aims to put humans back on the moon, build a lunar orbiting space station and ultimately send humans to Mars. Artemis II won’t put humans back on the moon yet – instead, the mission will involve a crewed flight just beyond the moon, taking four humans the farthest we have ever been in space.

Forming the crew are astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover, Jeremy Hansen and Reid Wiseman. This is the first time in 50 years that humans have ventured beyond low earth orbits into what is termed deeper space. Once launched from NASA’s Space Launch System rocket, the crew will direct the Orion module, containing the astronauts, almost 9,000 kilometers (nearly 5,600 miles) past the moon, completing a flyby and returning to earth. Gathering data on the Orion module’s life support systems is an important aspect of the mission, which will last eight to 10 days.

The Planets

A number of planets are grouped together during April, but some are too near the horizon for the observer to view without difficulty. On April 15 and 16, Saturn, Mars, Mercury and the moon will appear very low during the predawn eastern sky, although they will be washed out quickly by the rising sun. An alternative is to view in the western sky from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Look for brilliant Venus low in the sky with Jupiter, the gas giant, floating above. On April 18, observe Venus to the left of the tiny crescent moon. On April 22, Jupiter will be below the moon.

Comet

Perhaps as early as April 4, the comet C/2026 A1 (Maps) may become visible to the naked eye. The newly discovered comet may be visible half an hour after sunset. To view the comet, look to the west just after the sun has set. It

has the possibility of becoming quite dazzling and is classified as one of the “Krutz” comets. Krutz comets are rare because their orbit brings them unusually close to the sun’s radiant energy, causing the comet to form a bright nucleus and long tail. The evening of April 7 is predicted to be the best night for viewing.

Lyrid Meteor Shower

The Lyrids originate from Comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher, which orbits the Sun once every 415 years, leaving a dust and debris-trail in its wake. When the earth’s orbit passes through these particles, the bright streaks of the Lyrid shower are formed. This is the oldest recorded meteor shower still visible today; it was first recorded by the Chinese 2,700 years ago in 687 BCE. Although it is not one of the most active yearly meteor showers, the Lyrids can still impress: some meteors have bright dust trails that glow in the sky for several seconds. The shower peaks on the night of April 22 and morning of April 23. The moon will be entering its first quarter phase, so there will be only minor effects on the less bright meteor streaks.

The Moon

April 1: Full moon; the “Pink Moon”

April 10: Last quarter

April 17: New moon

April 23: First quarter

Despite its name, April’s full moon won’t actually appear pink. The name comes from the moss phlox, an early spring wildflower that blooms with vibrant pink colors across fields and hills as winter fades away.