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Crows, Cosmic Collisions, and the Coming Lyrids · Star Trails: From Backyard Astronomy to Cosmic Wonder

• 0:07
  Howdy Star Gazers and welcome to this episode
• 0:10
  of Star Trails. I'm Drew and I'll be your guide
• 0:14
  to the night sky for the week starting April
• 0:17
  the 13th through the 19th. This week we welcome
• 0:21
  a new comet to the morning sky. We'll take a
• 0:24
  look at a pair of animal -themed constellations
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  that are hiding some intriguing deep -sky objects,
• 0:31
  and the Lyrids meteor shower is on the horizon.
• 0:35
  So grab a comfortable spot under the night sky,
• 0:38
  and let's get started. Early risers are in for
• 0:43
  a treat, because amateur observers have just
• 0:46
  spotted a new comet. Comet C 2025 F2 also known
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  as Swan, was spotted just a couple weeks ago
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  on March 29th, using data from the Solar Wind
• 1:00
  Instrument aboard SOHO, that's the Solar and
• 1:03
  Heliospheric Observatory. It's currently lighting
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  up the morning twilight and is already brightening
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  fast as it heads towards its closest approach
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  to the Sun, which happens on May 1st. In the
• 1:18
  pre -dawn hours, Comet Swan is visible low in
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  the east -northeast, not far from Alpha Rats,
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  the bright star in the corner of Pegasus. You'll
• 1:29
  want binoculars or a small telescope for the
• 1:32
  best view, but if it keeps brightening, we might
• 1:35
  be able to see it with the naked eye by the end
• 1:38
  of the month. This comet is glowing green thanks
• 1:42
  to sunlight exciting carbon molecules in its
• 1:45
  coma. A signature look for a comet nearing the
• 1:49
  Sun. So if you're up early this week, find a
• 1:52
  dark spot with a clear view of the eastern horizon
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  and try to catch a glimpse before sunrise. Prior
• 2:00
  to its current journey, Swan had an orbital period
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  of about 70 ,000 years. Postperihelion gravitational
• 2:08
  interactions are expected to extend its orbital
• 2:11
  period to nearly 740 ,000 years. meaning it won't
• 2:17
  return to the inner solar system for many millennia.
• 2:21
  I'll keep you posted in the coming weeks as it
• 2:24
  climbs towards peak brightness. Comets, as we
• 2:27
  always say, are notoriously unpredictable, so
• 2:31
  we'll be keeping an eye on this one. A little
• 2:38
  closer to home, the moon is in transition this
• 2:41
  week. Last night was the full pink mini moon,
• 2:45
  and it's still nearly full tonight. As the week
• 2:48
  progresses, the moon enters the waning gibbous
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  phase, with its illuminated portion decreasing
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  each night. By April 19th, the moon's illumination
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  will be approximately 64%. Jupiter still dominates
• 3:03
  the evening sky after sunset, although the window
• 3:06
  to observe this gas giant narrows as the days
• 3:10
  lengthen. It's still a magnificent sight in the
• 3:13
  western sky during twilight. Be sure to check
• 3:16
  it out in a telescope if you can. Depending on
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  your instrument, you're likely to see some cloud
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  bands and its four Galilean moons. Mars, the
• 3:27
  red planet, remains positioned near the twin
• 3:30
  stars of Gemini, Castor and Pollux, before moving
• 3:34
  into the constellation Cancer. It's visible in
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  the evening sky, shining slightly brighter than
• 3:40
  the twin stars. Mercury, Venus, and Saturn are
• 3:45
  now targets for early risers. Before dawn, look
• 3:48
  to the eastern horizon to spot them. Venus, in
• 3:52
  particular, will be exceptionally bright and
• 3:54
  hard to miss. This trio will be in a tight grouping,
• 3:58
  clustered in an area of less than 10 degrees
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  for much of the month. As Mercury exited retrograde
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  earlier this month, it will start drifting away
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  from Venus and Saturn, which will be very close
• 4:11
  to one another by month's end. Let's venture
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  farther out on a celestial side quest to view
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  some constellations. While the big players like
• 4:28
  Leo, Virgo, and the Big Dipper tend to hog the
• 4:31
  spotlight this time of year, there are a few
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  lesser -known constellations that deserve some
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  love. Tonight we're zooming in on two underrated
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  groupings, one in the southeast and one just
• 4:44
  hanging out beneath the Dipper's tail. Let's
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  start low on the horizon with Corvus, the crow.
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  Corvus isn't flashy. In fact, it's made up of
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  just four main stars, forming a kind of lopsided
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  square. However, this constellation comes with
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  a dramatic backstory. In Greek mythology, Corvus
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  was Apollo's sacred bird. One day the god sent
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  the crow to fetch water and a cup, represented
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  by the neighboring constellation, Crater. But
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  the crow got distracted, some say by unripe figs,
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  others say he just flaked out, and he came back
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  late, making excuses. Apollo didn't buy it. As
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  punishment he flung the crow, the cup, and a
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  long water snake, that's Hydra, into the sky.
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  And there they sit to this day. Corvus forever
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  reaching for the cup, but blocked by the serpent.
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  You can catch Corvus rising in the southeast
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  around 9 or 10 p .m. Just look for a small boxy
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  pattern of stars beneath Virgo. The brightest
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  of the bunch is a blue -white giant star about
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  165 light years away. It marks the crow's wing.
• 6:03
  And if you have a good telescope, check out the
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  antenna galaxies NGC 4038 and 4039, two galaxies
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  in the middle of a cosmic collision. They're
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  fusing together, flinging stars and dust into
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  wild arc shapes. They're not easy to spot. You'll
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  need dark skies and the right optics. Now let's
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  head northward for our next stop. Look just below
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  the handle of the Big Dipper, and you'll find
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  Canes Venetici, the hunting dogs. This constellation
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  has a quirky origin. Back in the 1600s, astronomer
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  Johann Hevelius meant to depict a Boides holding
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  a staff. But a printing error split the stars
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  off into their own constellation, and we got
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  the hunting dogs instead. They're usually imagined
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  as a pair, Asterion and Chara, chasing after
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  the Big Bear alongside their master, Boötes.
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  Canes' Venetici is subtle, there are no bright
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  star patterns, but it's hiding some deep -sky
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  treasures. The constellation's brightest star
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  is Cor Coralli, a binary system whose name means
• 7:21
  Heart of Charles, in honor of King Charles I
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  of England. With binoculars or a small scope,
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  you might catch its companion star, a lovely
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  double, when seeing conditions are right. But
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  the real showstopper here is the Whirlpool Galaxy,
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  M51. Just about 31 million light years away,
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  this face -on spiral galaxy is actually interacting
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  with a smaller companion, creating these incredible
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  tidal tails and swirling arms. It's a favorite
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  among astrophotographers and a great galaxy to
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  spot with a decent backyard telescope. Also tucked
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  in here is the Sunflower Galaxy M63 with its
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  delicate spiral structure, and the Cat's Eye
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  Galaxy M94, a compact galaxy with a bright core
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  and faint ring. This patch of sky is basically
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  a galaxy playground. Before we wrap up this week's
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  tour of the night sky, I want to give you a heads
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  up because something special is on the way. Starting
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  in mid -April, we enter meteor shower season,
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  and the first major shower of the year is right
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  around the corner. I'm talking about the Lyrids,
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  which will peak on the night of April 21st into
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  the early morning hours of April 22nd. There's
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  something extra special about the Lyrids. They're
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  one of the oldest meteor showers ever recorded.
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  Chinese astronomers documented them more than
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  2 ,700 years ago, around 687 BCE. That means
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  people have been watching these same bits of
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  celestial debris burn up in the sky since before
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  the rise of the Roman Empire. So, what are we
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  actually seeing when we catch a meteor streaking
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  across the sky? Every meteor shower is the result
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  of Earth passing through the debris trail of
• 9:29
  a comet, and the Lyrids are no exception. These
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  meteors come from Comet Thatcher, a long period
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  comet that orbits the Sun about once every 415
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  years. As the comet travels through the solar
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  system, it leaves behind tiny bits of dust and
• 9:47
  rock. When Earth crosses that path in April,
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  some of these particles slam into our atmosphere
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  at high speed, about 110 ,000 miles per hour,
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  and they burn up, creating the bright streaks
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  we call meteors. The Lyrids aren't the most prolific
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  meteor shower of the year, but they're a solid
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  mid -tier performer, typically producing 15 to
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  20 meteors per hour at their peak under dark
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  skies. But every once in a while they surprise
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  us. Back in 1982, sky watchers saw a burst of
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  90 meteors per hour. Earlier outbursts in the
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  1920s and 1800s were even more dramatic. So while
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  a big outburst isn't guaranteed, it's always
• 10:34
  a possibility. And that unpredictability makes
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  watching the Lyrids a little more thrilling.
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  The shower gets its name from the constellation
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  Lyra, because that's where the meteors appear
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  to radiate from. More specifically, the radiant
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  point is near Vega, one of the brightest stars
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  in the sky. You don't need to find Vega to enjoy
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  the show. Meteors can appear all over the sky,
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  but knowing the general area helps you orient
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  yourself. Look to the northeast after midnight
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  and give your eyes about 20 minutes to adjust
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  to the darkness. This year, there's one thing
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  to keep in mind. The moon will be in a waning
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  gibbous phase just a few days past full. That
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  means it'll rise late in the evening and brighten
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  the sky quite a bit, potentially washing out
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  the fainter meteors. But don't let that stop
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  you. Even with moonlight, the brighter lyrids
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  can still shine through, and some leave behind
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  glowing trains that linger for a second or two,
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  like contrails. The Lyrids peak around April
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  21st, but you'll be able to see them before and
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  after the peak period. To get the best view,
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  try to find a dark spot away from city lights.
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  Lie back with a wide view of the sky. There's
• 11:53
  no need for a telescope or binoculars. Be patient.
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  Meteors often come in clusters, so you might
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  wait 10 minutes with nothing and then get a sudden
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  flurry. And here's another fun fact. Since the
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  Lyrids were observed more than 2 ,000 years ago,
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  every meteor you see from this shower is part
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  of a cosmic tradition that spans human history.
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  It's the same sky, the same dust, and the same
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  sense of wonder. If you found this episode helpful,
• 12:29
  let me know and feel free to send in your questions
• 12:32
  and observations. The easiest way to do that
• 12:35
  is by visiting our website, StarTrails .Show.
• 12:40
  This is also a great way to share the show with
• 12:42
  friends. Until next time, keep looking up and
• 12:46
  exploring the night sky. Clear skies everyone!