Jupiter will shine bright and appear large on April 7 as it reaches opposition. The moon will be nearly in its New moon phases during the peak of the Lyrid meteor showers making skywatching conditions optimal. Also, the meteor shower will radiate thought the “Summer Triangle” of stars.
PASADENA, Calif. — NASA’s veteran Cassini mission will officially kick off its farewell tour of the Saturn system on April 22 with a final close encounter of the ringed planet’s largest moon, Titan. Five months later, on Sept. 15, Cassini will spectacularly burn up in Saturn’s crushing atmosphere.
But before that happens, Cassini will dive through a 1,200-mile (1,930 kilometers) gap between the planet and its innermost ring to carry out science that is only possible now that the mission is running out of fuel.
The „Grand Finale“ will begin when Titan’s gravity hurls the spacecraft close to Saturn’s atmosphere, ending the probe’s series of ring-grazing orbits and causing Cassini to dive through a gap in the rings.
Over the next 22 orbits between the planet and the innermost ring, Cassini will embark on a completely different phase of discovery. The spacecraft will carry out scientific measurements of the apparently empty environment between the planet’s upper-atmosphere gases and the innermost edge of Saturn’s D-ring.
„The Grand Finale is a brand-new mission,“ said Linda Spilker, Cassini project scientist at JPL. „We’re going to a place that we’ve never been before … and I think some of the biggest discoveries may come from these final orbits.“
Since arriving in Saturn orbit in 2004, Cassini has steered clear of the planet’s icy ring material, opting for a more distant (and safer) orbit where the gas giant’s family of moons could be studied and Saturn could be observed from afar. But now that the mission is in its final months, more risks can be taken to carry out observations that scientists would have only dreamed of earlier in the mission. During the daring ring dives, Cassini will be closer to the planet than ever before. The probe will use its mass spectrometer to „taste“ the chemistry of the tenuous gases on the outermost edge of Saturn’s atmosphere and return the most detailed observations ever obtained of Saturn’s high-altitude clouds and ring material.
Cassini also discovered Enceladus’ amazing water plumes, which in turn helped reveal that the satellite hosts an ocean of liquid water beneath its icy shell. And the probe has imaged Saturn’s diverse family of moons in detail that was not possible before.
Cassini has been a decades-long odyssey for the scientists involved, and the probe’s 3-minute final dive into Saturn’s atmosphere on Sept. 15 will be a bittersweet moment, the researchers said.
„I think that once the signal is lost, it would mean the heartbeat of Cassini is gone,“ said Spilker. „I think there will be a tremendous cheer and applause for the completion of an absolutely incredible mission. Hugs, tears — the Kleenex box will be passed around — but we will rejoice at being part of such a wonderful mission.“
Mercury – is an evening „star“ setting soon after dusk. On April 1 it reaches its greatest elongation, when it is 19 degrees east of the sun and is almost directly above it at sunset. In mid-twilight (45 minutes after sundown), Mercury is still 10 degrees above the western horizon. Look quick, however, because within 10 days Mercury fades to invisibility as it passes through its crescent phases and slides back toward the sun. Mercury passes through solar (inferior) conjunction on April 20, but remains too dim to see before dawn, even by month’s end.
Venus – shines very low in the dawn.On the morning of April 23, if you look low to the east-southeast about 45 minutes before sunrise you’ll see a waning crescent moon and well to its upper left, Venus will dazzle.
Mars – low and just north of west at dusk, passed from Aries into Taurus on April 12. It’s now readily identified as the only bright object well to the right of Aldebaran.On the evening of April 28, a 9-percent waxing crescent moon sits about 3 degrees to the upper left of Aldebaran and both are positioned well to the left of Mars.
Jupiter – comes to opposition on April 7, rising in the east near sunset and remaining visible all night long. Around opposition Jupiter is at its closest to the Earth for the year lso brightest and biggest in telescopes.
Saturn – peeks up over the southeast horizon around the middle of the night. By dawn it’s high in the south.On the following morning (April 17), the moon will have shifted its position relative to Saturn, appearing well off to the left of the ringed planet.
Space and galaxy 