Dining & Nightlife | Astronomy

On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first human being to venture into space when he orbited the Earth for 108 minutes in his Vostok 1 spacecraft. Alan Shepard took off for the skies in his Mercury spacecraft less than one month after the historic Gagarin flight. Those were the days when the future seemed exciting and wide open. It was also a time when there was a push for peace—on April 25, 1967, the US Senate ratified the Outer Space Treaty that banned nations from placing nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction in space; the treaty restricted the use of the Moon and other celestial bodies to peaceful purposes.

In the Sky this April
Longer, warmer days are rapidly on their way with every day gaining roughly 2.5 minutes of additional sunlight.

The only planet visible at night this April is Saturn, but the view will be superb, especially through a telescope.

Important April Dates
April 3: New Moon; Saturn at opposition (closest to Earth and fully illuminated by the Sun, hence a great nighttime viewing experience).

April 18: Full “Paschal” Moon (first Full Moon
of spring).

April 21-22: Lyrid Meteor Shower (average shower with bright dust trails, some meteors from April 16th through the 25th, best viewing after midnight but the bright Moon will obscure dimmer meteors).