Derekscope

• On the late-night of Wednesday 22nd April
  After 9pm dark through early dawn around 4am (BST) on Thursday 23rd are your best to catch the Lyrids Meteor Showers at its peak.

• Lyrids Meteor Shower Information
  – Beginning to ending date: 15th April to 28th May
  – Peak Date: 22nd April (9pm – 4am BST)
  – Rating: Strong
  – Zenith Hourly Rate (ZHR): around 15 per hour
  – Radiant Position: RA: 18h 08m / DEC: +32°
  – Comet: Comet Thatcher
  – Note: Normally rather activity, but fine display in 1803, 1922 & 1982.
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• Quite favourable
  The Moon will be waxing crescent to just before First Quarter, meaning it is relatively thin and not very bright, because the Moon is low in brightness, it won’t significantly wash out the sky, so you can still see Lyrid meteors clearly.
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• The Moon and Jupiter will come together in the constellation Gemini.
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• One of the four Galilean moons, Europa will go behind the planet and disappear from view.
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• On that same night, the Moon will be very close to Jupiter in the sky, and you might also see “shooting stars” from the Lyrid meteor shower.
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• Best viewing
  – Start looking between 30 minutes and 45 minutes before sunrise.
  – Just before sunrise, looking toward the eastern horizon with a very clear, unobstructed view.
  – Face East and find a low, clear horizon free of buildings or trees.
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• Binoculars help with Mercury, which will be low and faint.
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• Mercury also has a close conjunction with Saturn in the morning twilight.
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• Mercury will still be quite low and faint in bright twilight, so binoculars greatly improve chances of spotting it.
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• Mercury (magnitude: -0.6) will be brighter than Mars (magnitude: +1.2) and Saturn (magnitude: +0.9) but still low on the horizon in early morning twilight.
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• Look about 30–60 minutes after sunset when the sky is a bit darker but the horizon still bright enough to catch Venus and the thin crescent.
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• Face west with an unobstructed horizon.
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• Binoculars will help you pick out the Pleiades cluster more easily once the sky darkens.
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• The Moon will reach perigee, its closest point to Earth, at 8:54am today, sits in the constellation Taurus (The Bull).
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• The Moon will rise in the east-southeast sky.
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• There are three planets near the Moon might disappear quickly as the sky brightens;
  
  – Mercury (very small and tricky to spot!)
  – Mars (looks like a tiny reddish dot.)
  – Saturn (looks like a steady pale light ~ you need a telescope to see its rings.)
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Mission communication from Derek
A Q&A for Deaf members about the Artemis landing.
(With signWOW iPads,
our video calls open a clear visual path,
giving Deaf members full sign‑language
access wherever they are.)
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Artemis II is COMPLETE!

• Orion splashed down safely in the Pacific.
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• The crew are healthy and smiling.
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• This is the first human return from the Moon’s neighbourhood since Apollo.
  
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What next now?

• A big step toward humans walking on the Moon again ~ the next human Moon walk is currently targeted for Artemis IV, not Artemis III.
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• Artemis III is now an Earth‑orbit test mission
  – Full Orion spacecraft checkout.
  – Life‑support and long‑duration crew systems.
  – Docking tests.
  – Mission‑duration rehearsal for lunar operations.
  – Possibly testing interfaces needed for future Starship docking.
  – 4 crew astronauts will spend roughly 30 days in space, validating everything needed for Artemis IV.
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• Next Moon walk: planned for 2028 ~ Artemis IV will take two astronauts to the Moon’s South Pole.
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• The Moon reaches its exact Last Quarter phase at 05:51am in the constellation Sagittarius.
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• Moonrise at 03:44am on 10th April, Transit at 07:23am (South 180º) and moonset at 11:02am.
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• The Moon reaches apogee ~ the farthest point in its orbit from Earth.
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• The Moon appears slightly smaller and dimmer in the sky compared to perigee.
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• Mercury reaches its greatest eastern elongation – that’s meaning it will be difficult visible in the early morning sky, so at these times.
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• Mercury will be at its farthest apparent distance from the Sun as viewed from Earth.
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