One of the side effects of coronavirus lockdown around the world has been the tremendous reduction in pollution level. One can breathe in fresh air. And after ages probably, stars are also visible in the night sky.?
This is an ideal time to stargaze, given the number of constellations one can easily spot in the night sky without a telescope or even binoculars. Hope you did not miss the giant pink supermoon that recently graced the night sky.?
You might not want to miss another major celestial event that is going to occur soon: Jupiter, Saturn, Mars and the moon will appear together for three days! April 14, 15, 16.?
Jupiters, Saturn and Mars are morning planets, which means they are easier to spot in the morning. The three planets have been stretching out gradually and in the middle of April the three would almost be in a single line, visited by the moon.?Keep an eye out for the moon on these three days and you just might spot the three planets near it.
The three were seen together every night in March, but in April,? Mars will keep moving further away from the other two gaseous planets. For the three nights of April 14, 15, 16, the three will be close together, highlighted by the moon. Seeing the four together will indeed be a treat and if you are in the country, they will be really easy to spot. On April 14th the beautiful event will be visible around 3am, on April 15th 3.30am and then on April 16th- 4am.?
However, if by chance you are unable to catch this rare sighting, it is still worth to get a view of Mars, Saturn and Jupiter together. You can simply use some stargazing apps to find their location in the night sky. They will split up soon and the three would not come together until the middle of 2022, according to NASA.
Apart from these, daily, Venus shines brighter than any star in the night sky these days (given that it is a planet). It is hard to miss as it is so bright and can easily be spotted.?
The night sky these days is a treat to look at, and given there is barely any pollution, it just might be the only chance for you to be able to look at rare celestial phenomena and occurrences from your terrace or the balcony of your house without any binoculars. Make sure to give the stars a visit every night, now that you do not have to especially rush to the mountains to look at them!?