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Eagle Eye Observatory ~ Dark Sky Program
April 10, 2019 @ 9:30 pm - 11:30 pm
Join us for our Dark Sky Program that takes place after our Twilight Program.
Escape to the stars with the help of Eagle Eye’s high-tech telescopes and knowledgeable astronomer. Our telescopes offer research quality views of the moon, distant stars, and deep sky objects, while also offering a vibrant, naked-eye look on the dark, night sky. Enjoy night sky constellation tours and views of celestial objects. Fun for the whole family.
Complimentary for in-house guests.
$7/per person park entry fee for day-use guests (ages 11 and over).
SKY WATCHER EVENTS ~ APRIL
As we move into April, the Great winter circle of bright stars, located in six different constellations, are moving into the western sky during the evening. They are Sirius (Alpha Canis Majoris), Rigel (Beta Orionis), Aldebaran (Alpha Tauri), Capella (Alpha Aurigae), Castor (Alpha Geminorum) and Pollux (Beta Geminorum), then Procyon (Alpha Canis Minoris). See if you can locate these stars with an app or sky map.
Moving East below the Gemini twins is the constellation Cancer the crab which is devoid of any bright magnitude stars. Below Cancer along the Zodiac (Ecliptic) is the constellation Leo rising above the eastern horizon. Leo’s head looks like a sickle (part of a circle and looks like a backward question mark. The handle of the sickle is the bright star in Leo called Regulus (Alpha Leonis). Regulus is 77.5 light-years from our solar system. It is a main-sequence Star like the Sun that is fueled by the internal fusion of hydrogen into helium. Regulus is a blue white star of spectral class B7 V with a surface temperature of 12,000k, twice as hot as our Sun.
By about 11:00 p.m. during April the next constellation rising along the ecliptic is Virgo. Virgo’s brightest star is Spika (Alpha Virginis) and will rise to about 10 degrees above the eastern horizon. Spika is about 250 light years away and has a visual luminosity about 2300 times the Sun’s. Spika actually consists of two stars so close to each other they orbit each other with a period of 4 days.
These are a few things to look for during April’s warming weather. Come to the Eagle Eye Observatory and see for yourself.
Jim Sheets
Astronomer