Celestial events to keep sky enthusiasts interested

, April 26: The next one month will be a interesting phase for sky enthusiasts with a number of celestial events lined up starting with Thursday's lunar eclipse. Sources in the Planetary Society, India (PSI) informed this on Thursday.

PSI secretary N Raghunandan Kumar said in a press conference that the 'Saturn Opposition' will begin on April 28 and continue till October. The planet, Saturn, will at opposition with the sun and seen at its biggest and brightest from the Earth on April 28.

One can see the planet emerging from the east or south-east, once the sun sets, Kumar said, adding that the planet can be located overhead in the midnight while it can be spotted between the west and south-west in the morning.

The PSI will organise a 'Saturn Observation Campaign India 2013' between April 28 and October 17 to create awareness about the ringed planet. It will also conduct observation camps at various parts of the city and Andhra Pradesh through astronomical telescopes. One can visit www.ournewplanets.info for more information on these camps.

Sky enthusiasts can also witness the annual meteor shower of Eta Aquarids which started on April 19 and will continue till May 28. Meteors origin in the flakes of dust left by Halley's Comet, which had last visited the solar system in March 1986.

The shower will peak on May 6 at 6.30 am and will be brightly visible in pollution-free sky upto May 12. One has to look at the constellation of Aquarius above east, starting from 4.30 am, to have a glimpse of the shower.

Besides, the conjunction of Planet Saturn with the moon will occur on April 26, when both the celestial bodies will be visible very close to each other. This conjunction can be seem with naked eye.

OneIndia News