2018 Week 16: (April 15-April 21)

This week may signal the end of the snow on the ground.  Although it is supposed to snow on Monday and Tuesday we seem to be in for double digit temperatures for the rest of April.

What do we have going on this week?  The most exciting thing will be the launch of the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, also known as TESS.  The official NASA webpage for TESS can be found below.

https://www.nasa.gov/tess-transiting-exoplanet-survey-satellite

With state of the art CCD cameras TESS will search for exoplanet candidates based on the transit method.  As an exoplanet transits the face of its star it causes a measurable dip in the magnitude of observable light.  As an added bonus it will also seek transient stellar activity such as gamma ray bursts.  Nearly half a million stars will be analyzed and it is hoped that planets similar to Earth will be found in the habitable zone of the target stars.  TESS will also act as a prequel to the James Webb Space Telescope by developing a list of targets that will be examined further.

TESS (Image Credit: MIT)

TESS is scheduled to launch on Monday, April 16 at 4:32pm MDT.  Be sure you don't miss this great launch.  Tune in to the following webpage several minutes before the launch.

https://spaceflightnow.com/

Hopefully we will have clear skies later in the week to see some stars and planets.  Also, this upcoming Saturday, April 21, Fish Creek Park and the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada - Calgary Centre will be hosting a star night.  This is a great free event for everyone.  My kids look forward to this every year.  With amazing exhibits inside and telescopes setup outside there is always something to do!  Join us for free crafts and a tour of the wonderful night sky!  See below for details!

http://calgary.rasc.ca/fishcreek2018a.htm

Fish Creek Star Night

For more details about getting the most out of these events check out my blog post from last October linked below.

Community Outreach

With all the events going on this week we should not forget about what is happening in the sky!  The chart below highlights our week!

Date	Event
April 15	New Moon
April 16	Falcon 9 Launch of TESS (4:32pm MDT)
April 17	Venus 5°N of Moon
April 17	Saturn Stationary
April 18	Uranus in conjunction with the Sun
April 19	Aldebaran 1.1°S of Moon

A new lunar cycle begins on Sunday so you should be able to start seeing a slim waxing crescent early in the week in the West.  If you look to the West on Tuesday you should see the Moon pairing up with our closest planetary neighbour -- Venus.  The same evening Saturn will be stationary and thus beginning its retrograde motion.

Uranus will be in conjunction with the Sun which means in the months ahead we should start seeing it in the morning sky. 

The angry red eye of Taurus is starting to set in the West early in the evening thus removing a great constellation from the evening sky for the year.  See if you can catch Aldebaran and the Moon in the same binocular or telescopic field Thursday evening.

Stay tuned for the Lyrid Meteor shower peaking next weekend.  There will be a blog post on this observing opportunity later in the week!

For those who are serious about astronomy the annual Royal Astronomical Society of Canada General Assembly is happening this year right here in Calgary, Alberta.  It will be celebrating the 150th anniversary of RASC with a lineup of great events and renowned speakers.  Learn more about this once in a lifetime opportunity below.

https://rascga2018.ca/

When the snow stops and the sky clears be sure to look up.  You may see some amazing transient event that you will remember for the rest of your life!