Take a look at Jupiter and Saturn in April

In April and May, we can expect some rain and storms, but — on the whole — we are heading toward more clear nights than not. This means the night sky is more accessible as spring and summer come on. If you haven’t gotten outside to look at the night sky lately, now is the season where this pays off and, in a sense, you can see forever.

In April, Jupiter will appear in the southeast and will be visible all night long. It will be that somewhat yellowish object that will start in the evening half-way between where the Sun rises in the morning and directly south.

So, if you note where the Sun rises in the morning and then turn directly facing south, half-way turned between these two points, you should see Jupiter after 9 p.m.

Jupiter is a gas giant about 10 times the diameter of the Earth.

It turns on its axis in about 9.5 hours and this is so rapid for a body this size, that its actual shape as seen in a telescope is bulged at its equator and thinner through its poles.

If you were to look at Jupiter in any telescope larger than three inches in diameter, you would see at least two bands, somewhat brownish in color, stretched across Jupiter’s disk.

Those are bands of gas clouds, stretched out by the rapid rotational speed of the planet. The brownish color results from different chemicals in Jupiter’s atmosphere. These chemicals lend their colors to the bands as lighted by the Sun.

The same telescope should reveal four of Jupiter’s moons. You might not see all four on a given night because some of them might be rotated behind the planet and out of view. Jupiter will appear at best all year in April.

Saturn, the ringed gas ball planet, will be visible after April 15. It will follow Jupiter’s path across the sky, trailing it about four hours later in the evening. It will be at its best after May and will be a great sight all summer long.

That 3-inch telescope mentioned above will reveal Saturn’s wonderful rings and its largest moon, Titan. But … be careful! Having once seen Saturn’s rings, you might get addicted to amateur astronomy and begin to want larger and ever large telescopes for the rest of your life! I’m just warning you…

The Earth is moving its around the Sun in a manner such that by summer we will be lined up to see the Milky Way.

This will be viewable conveniently starting about June.

However, if you were to stay up until after 2 a.m., you could easily see that great band of stars arcing from south to north in the sky.

I am beginning to get very excited about the coming total eclipse of the Sun on the morning of Aug. 21, 2017. I have now put together the camera and telescope combination with which I am going to attempt to photograph totality and my travel plans (to Oregon) are settled.

You will see more and more news of this as the date approaches. If you want a preview of what will happen, go out on any search engine you have and type in something like “total solar eclipse 2017” and you should see plenty of articles and photographs of past eclipses and the eclipse path for August.

Better weather and warmer temperatures — it is time to get outside at night and look at the marvelous free show in the night sky!

— Dr. David Cater is a former faculty member of JBU. Email him at star bug352@yahoo.com. The opinions expressed are those of the author.