The coming one month will be marked by interesting celestial events, starting with a lunar eclipse on April 25 and 26, and a daily meteor shower that will last through the month of May, representatives from the Planetary Society, India informed.
Speaking at a press conference here on Thursday, the Secretary of PSI N. Raghunandan Kumar also talked about the ‘Saturn Opposition’ that will start on April 28 and be visible up to October.
The planet Saturn will be at opposition with the Sun, and visible at its closest, biggest and brightest from the Earth on April 28. One can see the planet rising from East or South-East, after the Sun sets in the West, Mr. Kumar informed.
At midnight, one can see it overhead while in the morning it can be spotted between West and South-West, he said.
The PSI is organising a ‘Saturn Observation Campaign India 2013’ between April 28 and October 17, to create awareness about the planet. It will conduct observation camps at various points in the city and State through astronomical telescopes. For more information on these camps, one can visit the site www.ournewplanets.info.
People can also witness the annual meteor shower of Eta Aquarids between April 19 and May 28. Meteors have their origin in flakes of dust left by Comet Halley during its 1986 visit into the solar system, Mr. Kumar said.
This year, the shower will peak on May 6 at 6.30 a.m., and continue to be brightly visible in pollution-free skies up to May 12. It can be spotted up to May 28, the PSI informed.
To have a glimpse of the shower, one must look at the constellation of Aquarius above East, starting from 4.30 a.m.
These apart, the conjunction of Planet Saturn with Moon will occur on April 26, when both the celestial bodies will be visible very close to each other. This can be spotted by the naked eye.
