Cast Your Eyes to the Heavens

April's new moon begins on April 22 and peaks on April 23.  A new moon occurs when our moon's orbit around Earth moves it between Earth and the Sun.  As a consequence of this we are rewarded with exceptionally dark skies and star-gazing opportunities optimized.        

Why is this important?  The darker sky coincides with the Lyrid meteor shower. This meteor shower is made up of the remains of the Comet Thatcher and could produce up to 10-20 meteors per hour. Your best viewing opportunities begin late night tonight until sunrise on Tuesday.  They're expected to peak in the early morning hours on April 22.  But you can also catch them Wednesday night and before sunrise on Thursday.   

Look to the northeast for these shooting stars to originate from the radiant.          

Bonus - as long as you’re up and out of bed turn your gaze to the southeast and you’ll spot three planets - Jupiter, Saturn and Mars.        

Fingers-crossed for clear skies the next three nights.