On April 10, Jupiter and the crescent Moon will be observed for two days in a special conjunction, and Uranus and the comet 12P/Pons-Brooks will also be seen with the help of the hand-held telescope, Svábhegy Observatory. Announced on Thursday.
On April 10, Jupiter, still bright on an early spring evening, will be clearly visible to the naked eye, and to its right, just 3.5 degrees, 5 percent phase, a thin two-day crescent. At 8:20 p.m., the pair is still 15 degrees high in the lower western sky.
The announcement stated that it would be easy to see celestial bodies with the naked eye if the western horizon was clear and free of features. As it is written,
Also visible in the sky are the blue-green planet Uranus – barely more than 2 degrees above Jupiter – as well as one of the most beautiful comets of the year, 12P/Pons-Brooks, which can be seen 3 degrees below the crescent moon.
According to information, it is useful to wait until the sky is completely dark in order to see the faint planet Uranus and the comet, which cannot be seen with the naked eye. At about 8:50 p.m., both celestial bodies could be observed in the night sky, but by then the pair of Jupiter and the Moon had fallen to an altitude of 10 degrees, and the comet to only 7 degrees. To see them, you need a clear sky and a larger, hand-held telescope.
There are only a few days left until the total solar eclipse
On April 8, there will be a total solar eclipse, and lucky residents in parts of the United States, Mexico and Canada will be able to admire it.
Jupiter, now at the end of its visibility, returns to the morning sky in May 2023, but as it approaches the sun, it slowly disappears in the evening twilight. This is also the last chance to view Uranus.
Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks will reach perihelion, the closest point of its orbit to the Sun, on April 21, but will no longer be visible.
It will then approach Earth again after 71 years. Like Jupiter and Uranus, 12P/Pons-Brooks will be visible during the evening.
A crescent moon about two days long with 5 percent illumination will still be visible. The announcement said that the glow of the unlit side of the moon, that is, grayish-gray light, would be clearly visible to the naked eye. Between April 11 and 13, interested parties can also observe the craters of the ever-waxing vernal crescent at the Svábhegy Star Observatory, the summary said.
The featured image is an illustration. (Photo: MTI/Peter Kumka)
