THE SKY THIS APRIL: PLANETS PRACTICALLY OUTSHINE STARS THIS MONTH

The Planets have dominated the night and morning skies since before the beginning of the year. This month they put on a dazzling display before heading for a grand alignment in early May.

During the first week of April the three planets Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn will dance a dance low in the western sky with the Moon at sunset. On April 4, 5, 6 the very close grouping of the three planets changes from night to night. On April 6 the Saturn will be very close to the thin crescent Moon and binoculars should be able to frame all three planets and the Moon in one view. Mars may be hard to see but Jupiter still shines bright and Saturn is still respectable. Meanwhile, Venus and Mercury do a bit in the morning sky but they are low and close to the glare of the Sun and difficult to see.

The Big Dipper is very high in the northeast and will soon almost be overhead. Remember the last two stars of the dipper actually point to the North Star. Our winter long guardian, Orion the Hunter, is sinking faster into the western horizon while Leo the Lion has charged up from the east and looms nearly overhead staring at us. If we do not move, perhaps he will not notice and pass us by. Meanwhile, the first of the summer constellations are peaking over the horizon in the east preparing to claim their place.

In the fall the constellations tend to hover above the horizon from week to week because the Sun is setting earlier and earlier. In the spring the Sun rises earlier and sets later causing the constellations to spring up from the eastern horizon and dive into the western horizon at an accelerated rate. This, in combination with the switch to daylight savings time on the second, really presents us with a different looking sky over a short period of time. The Lyrid meteor shower occurs on the 21st but at only 10 meteors per hour this is not the best shower of the year.

Another interesting phenomena happens in late April but may be to obscure for most readers. The solar system actually has dust left over from old comets and by products of collisions among the asteroids. The sunlight reflected off this dust produces a glow known as the Zodiacal Light. In late April, at a clear, dark site you should be able to see a large, diffuse, cone shaped glow near the point where the sun was at sunset.

In the 16th century, Montezuma II emperor of the Aztec Empire was looking for omens to predict the return of the white-bearded god Quetzalcoatl. After witnessing a particularly bright Zodiacal Light followed by two bright comets later that year, he was convinced that the time was near. That is when the white-bearded Hernan Cortes (Quetzalcoatl) marched to the Aztec capital and with less than 500 men was handed the keys to the city by Montezuma II. Boy, if there were such a thing as time travel, we could sure change history with a little modern knowledge.

As the spring showers begin to lessen and clear skies return, reacquaint yourself with the night sky. I bet it looks a lot different than the last time you looked. Remember a grand alignment of the planets will occur on May 4. Should we prepare? Should we worry? Tune in next month, if you can, and we will discuss the true science of planetary alignments.

Dr. Michael L. Cobb, chairman of the physics department at Southeast Missouri State University, may be reached at 651-2172.