April 17 Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2022 April 17

Shuttle Over Earth

Image Credit: NASA, Expedition 22 Crew

Explanation: What’s that approaching? Astronauts on board the International Space Station in 2010 first saw it far in the distance. Soon it enlarged to become a dark silhouette. As it came even closer, the silhouette appeared to be a spaceship. Finally, the object revealed itself to be the Space Shuttle Endeavour, and it soon docked as expected with the Earth-orbiting space station. Pictured here, Endeavour was imaged near Earth’s horizon as it approached, where several layers of the Earth’s atmosphere were visible. Directly behind the shuttle is the mesosphere, which appears blue. The atmospheric layer that appears white is the stratosphere, while the orange layer is Earth’s Troposphere. Together, these thin layers of air — collectively spanning less than 2 percent of Earth‘s radius — sustain us all in many ways, including providing oxygen to breath and a barrier to dangerous radiations from space.

17 April 2022 Southern Hemisphere’s Planetary Positions

If you need to calculate the planetary positions for a specific use and time, click on this link

Currentplanetarypositions.com

To figure out GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) to your local time use this link

For Your Local Time and Date

Southeastern Hemisphere

The time for these Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Sao Paulo, Brazil, South America

17 April 2022
03:00 pm GMT 12:00 PM BRT
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:27 Aries 35
Moon:08 Scorpio 44
Mercury:12 Taurus 47
Venus:13 Pisces 04
Mars:01 Pisces 53
Jupiter:25 Pisces 06
Saturn:23 Aquarius 25
Uranus:13 Taurus 47
Neptune:24 Pisces 09
Pluto:28 Capricorn 34

True Lunar Node:22 Taurus 35 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:23 Taurus 53 Rx

Lilith (Black Moon):00 Cancer 18

Chiron:13 Aries 15
Ceres:19 Gemini 10
Pallas:24 Aries 31
Juno:28 Aquarius 55
Vesta:17 Aquarius 01

Eris:24 Aries 22

Fire:4
Earth:5
Air:4
Water:6

Cardinal:6
Fixed:8
Mutable:5

Southern Hemisphere

The time for these Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Cape Town, South Africa

17 April 2022
10:00 am GMT 12:00 PM SAST
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:27 Aries 23
Moon:05 Scorpio 44
Mercury:12 Taurus 24
Venus:12 Pisces 50
Mars:01 Pisces 44
Jupiter:25 Pisces 03
Saturn:23 Aquarius 24
Uranus:13 Taurus 46
Neptune:24 Pisces 08
Pluto:28 Capricorn 34

True Lunar Node:22 Taurus 36 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:23 Taurus 54 Rx

Lilith (Black Moon):00 Cancer 17

Chiron:13 Aries 15
Ceres:19 Gemini 05
Pallas:24 Aries 26
Juno:28 Aquarius 50
Vesta:16 Aquarius 56

Eris:24 Aries 22

Fire:4
Earth:5
Air:4
Water:6

Cardinal:6
Fixed:8
Mutable:5

Southwestern Hemisphere

The time for these Custom Planetary Positions is from the local time in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

17 April 2022
02:00 am GMT 12:00 PM AEST
Zodiac: Tropical (Standard Western)

Sun:27 Aries 03
Moon:00 Scorpio 58
Mercury:11 Taurus 47
Venus:12 Pisces 28
Mars:01 Pisces 29
Jupiter:24 Pisces 59
Saturn:23 Aquarius 22
Uranus:13 Taurus 45
Neptune:24 Pisces 08
Pluto:28 Capricorn 34

True Lunar Node:22 Taurus 36 Rx
Mean Lunar Node:23 Taurus 55 Rx

Lilith (Black Moon):00 Cancer 14

Chiron:13 Aries 14
Ceres:18 Gemini 58
Pallas:24 Aries 17
Juno:28 Aquarius 43
Vesta:16 Aquarius 48

Eris:24 Aries 22

Fire:4
Earth:5
Air:4
Water:6

Cardinal:6
Fixed:8
Mutable:5

A Thought for Today

Hoping you have a wonderful Saturday

Blessed be dear sisters, brothers, and honored guests.

April 16, 2022 Current Moon Phase

You can use this link to go forward or backward in time for Moon phase information. If you are curious, you can even find out what phase the Moon was in when you or anyone else was born.

From Moongiant.com

Today and tonight the Moon will be in a Full Moon phase. During a Full Moon the moon is 100% illuminated as seen from Earth and is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun. The Moon will be visible throughout the night sky rising at sunset in the east and setting with the sunrise the next morning. The point at which a Full Moon occurs can be measured down to a fraction of a second. The time it takes between full moons is known as a Synodic month and is 29.530587981 days long. Keep track of all the Full Moons throughout the year on the Full Moon Calendar >

Visit the April 2022 Moon Phases Calendar to see all the daily moon phase for this month.

Full Moon Phase

The Full Moon on April 16 has an illumination of 100%. This is the percentage of the Moon illuminated by the Sun. The illumination is constantly changing and can vary up to 10% a day. On April 16 the Moon is 14.44 days old. This refers to how many days it has been since the last New Moon. It takes 29.53 days for the Moon to orbit the Earth and go through the lunar cycle of all 8 Moon phases.

The 8 Lunar Phases

There are 8 lunar phases the Moon goes through in its 29.53 days lunar cycle. The 4 major Moon phases are Full Moon, New Moon, First Quarter and Last Quarter. Between these major phases, there are 4 minor ones: the Waxing Crescent, Waxing Gibbous, Waning Gibbous and Waning Crescent. For more info on the Moon Cycle and on each phase check out Wikipedia Lunar Phase page.

Phase Details

Phase: Full Moon
Illumination: 100%
Moon Age: 14.44 days
Moon Angle: 0.53
Moon Distance: 375,485.95 km
Sun Angle: 0.53
Sun Distance: 150,159,303.93 km

Useful Moon Resources

Check the weather before a night of Moon gazing at weather.com

For a list of all the current meteor showers visit American Meteor Society

April 16 Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2022 April 16

{“SLSFrameType”:”Composite”,”Description”:”Made from 43 light frames. Algorithm: Min Horizon Noise”}

Orion Pines

Image Credit & Copyright: Juan Carlos Casado (Starry Earth, TWAN)

Explanation: Taken with a camera fixed to a tripod, many short exposures were aligned with the stars to unveil this beautiful, dark night sky. Captured near the rural village of Albany`a at the northeastern corner of Spain, the three stars of Orion’s belt stretch across top center in the starry frame. Alnitak, the easternmost (left) of the belt stars is seen next to the more diffuse glow of the Flame Nebula and the dark notch of the famous Horsehead. Easily visible to the naked-eye The Great Nebula of Orion is below the belt stars. A mere 1,500 light-years distant, it is the closest large stellar nursery to our fair planet. Best seen in photographs, the broad and faint arc of Barnard’s Loop seems to embrace Orion’s brighter stars and nebulae though. In the northern spring the familiar northern winter constellation is setting. Near the western horizon toward lower right Orion’s apparently bright blue supergiant Rigel just touches the branches of a pine tree.

April 16 Today in History

Today’s Important Historical Events

1457 BC Battle of Megiddo: Egyptian forces of Thutmose III defeat a large Canaanite coalition under King of Kadesh. First battle recorded with a reliable account.

1705 Queen Anne of England knights Isaac Newton at Trinity College, Cambridge

1746 Jacobite Rising 1745: Battle of Culloden, the last battle on British soil: Royalist troops under the Duke of Cumberland defeat the Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart

1900 US Post Office issues 1st books of postage stamps

1917 Vladimir Lenin issues his radical “April Theses” calling for Soviets to take power during the Russian Revolution [OS Apr 4]

1948 Organization for European Economic Cooperation (EEC) forms in Paris

2003 Treaty of Accession is signed in Athens admitting 10 new member states to the European Union

Today’s Historical Events

1457 BC Battle of Megiddo: Egyptian forces of Thutmose III defeat a large Canaanite coalition under King of Kadesh. First battle recorded with a reliable account.

1178 BC A solar eclipse may have marked the return of Odysseus, legendary King of Ithaca, to his kingdom after the Trojan War

73 Masada, a Jewish fortress, falls to the Romans after several months of siege, ending the Jewish Revolt

556 Pelagius I begins his reign as Catholic Pope

1071 Bari falls to Robert Guiscard’s Norman forces, ending Byzantine rule in Italy

1346 The Serbian Empire is proclaimed in Skopje at an Easter assembly and Stephen Uroš IV Dušan crowned Emperor over much of the Balkans

1395 Azzo X d’Este is defeated at the Battle of Portomaggiore by Venetian-Ferrarese troops

1509 French army under Louis XII enters the Alps

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1787 1st American comedy, “The Contrast,” makes its debut in NYC

1932 Short film “The Music Box” released in the US, starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy (1932 Academy Award Best Live Action Short Film)

1953 WAND TV channel 17 in Decatur, IL (ABC) begins broadcasting

1954 KVAL TV channel 13 in Eugene, OR (CBS) begins broadcasting

1958 5th National Film Awards (India): “Do Aankhen Barah Haath” wins the Golden Lotus

1962 Walter Cronkite begins anchoring CBS Evening News

1978 NBC’s premiere of miniseries “Holocaust”

1990 August Wilson‘s play “The Piano Lesson”, starring Charles S. Dutton, opens at Walter Kerr Theater NYC for 320 performances

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1849 Giacomo Meyerbeer’s opera “Le prophète” premieres in Paris

1854 Franz Liszt‘s symphonic poem “Mazeppa” premieres at the Court Theatre in Weimar

1940 Heitor Villa-Lobos’ opera “Izaht” premieres in Rio de Janeiro

1952 “4 Saints in 3 Acts” opens at Broadway Theater NYC for 15 performances

1959 “Party with Comden & Green” opens at John Golden NYC for 44 performances

1967 “Walking Happy” closes at Lunt Fontanne Theater NYC after 161 performances

1972 “That’s Entertainment” closes at Edison Theater NYC after 4 performances

1974 “Words & Music” opens at John Golden Theater NYC for 127 performances

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1900 4th Boston Marathon won by Canadian Jim Caffrey in race record 2:39:44.4

1906 10th Boston Marathon won by 18-year old Tim Ford in 2:45:45; youngest race winner

1912 Pirates turn a rare 5-3-7 doubleplay (left fielder covers 2nd base)

1917 21st Boston Marathon won by Bill Kennedy in 2:28:37.2

1923 27th Boston Marathon won by Clarence DeMar in 2:23:37.4 for second straight year; 3rd race victory

1928 32nd Boston Marathon won by Clarence DeMar in 2:37:07.8; back-to-back wins for his 6th race title

1929 New York Yankees become first MLB team to permanently feature numbers on backs of uniforms; numbers correspond to position in batting order

1934 38th Boston Marathon won by Dave Komonen of Canada in 2:32:53.8

Scientists Come Up with Fresh Take on Moon Mystery

A very interesting article about the Moon’s surface and interior many, many millions of years ago.

https://share.newsbreak.com/urkkhkcj

Spell for Today – A Spell to Request Peace in the World

A Spell to Request Peace in the World

This can be done at any time, there is so much civil strife and uneasiness that people must remember to ask for peace.

Burn jasmine incense and light a blue candle. Chant:

We strive toward Spirit again and again,
With faltering steps, unsure of the way.
Open the gates of enlightenment.
Make for us a new day
Of karmic purpose and goal,
A path to a new Earth soul.

Sit quietly visualizing a blue cloud of healing and peace slowly covering the Earth. If you have a specific area, work on mentally permeating that area with the blue cloud. Send out vibrations of love, understanding, cooperation, and peace. Do not visualize how this is to be done, just that it will. Follow the blue cloud of peace with a pink fog of universal love. Say:

Let there be peace among all lands.
Let there be harmony among all peoples.
Cosmic love enters every heart and mind.
All strife is replaced by peace.
By the powers of the Supreme Creator within me,
It is so!

April 15 Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2022 April 15

The Gator-back Rocks of Mars

Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, MSSS

Explanation: Wind-sharpened rocks known as ventifacts, cover this broad sloping plain in the foot hills of Mount Sharp, Gale crater, Mars. Dubbed gator-back rocks their rugged, scaly appearance is captured in these digitally stitched Mastcam frames from the Curiosity rover on mission sol 3,415 (March 15, 2022). Driving over gator-back rocks before has resulted in damage to the rover’s wheels, so Curiosity team members decided to turn around and take another path to continue the rover’s climb. Curiosity has been on an ascent of Gale crater’s central 5.5 kilometer high mountain since 2014. As it climbs, it’s been able to study layers shaped by water on Mars billions of years ago.

April 15 Today In History

Today’s Important Historical Events

1755 Samuel Johnson‘s “A Dictionary of the English Language” published in London

1861 Federal army (75,000 volunteers) mobilized by US President Abraham Lincoln (US Civil War)

1874 First ‘Impressionist’ exhibition opens in Paris, features Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Pierre Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro and Berthe Morisot

1877 Boston-Somerville installs the world’s 1st telephone in Massachusetts

1912 RMS Titanic sinks at 2:27 AM off Newfoundland as the band plays on, with the loss of between 1,490 and 1,635 people

Today’s Historical Events

69 Battle at Bedriacum, North-Italy

1205 Battle at Adrianople: Bulgaria beats Emp Boudouin of Constantinople

1250 Pope Innocent IV refuses Jews of Cordova, Spain their request to build a synagogue

1250 Kublai is acclaimed the Great Khan by a Mongol Great Council

1450 French defeat English at Battle of Formigny in 100 Years’ War

1493 -20/4] Columbus meets with the Spanish monarchs Isabella I and Ferdinand II in Barcelona

1528 Pánfilo the Narváez, Spanish conquistador arrives in Florida with 350 men to a hostile reception from native indians

1534 Thomas Cromwell is appointed Chief Secretary to King Henry VIII of England

Today’s Historical Events in Film and TV

1948 KCPX (now KTVX) TV channel 4 in Salt Lake City, UT (ABC) 1st broadcast

1953 WHP TV channel 21 in Harrisburg, PA (CBS) begins broadcasting

1954 KARK TV channel 4 in Little Rock, AR (NBC) begins broadcasting

1954 WHO TV channel 13 in Des Moines, IA (NBC) begins broadcasting

1957 KTVI TV channel 2 in Saint Louis, MO (ABC) begins broadcasting

1958 10th Emmy Awards: Gunsmoke, Robert Young & Jane Wyatt win

1963 Steve Allen‘s musical “Sophie”, based on the life of American singer, and comic actress Sophie Tucker, opens at Winter Garden Theater, NYC; runs for 8 performances

1966 KHET TV channel 11 in Honolulu, HI (PBS) begins broadcasting

Today’s Historical Events in Music

1729 Johann Sebastian Bach‘s “St Matthew Passion” premieres in Leipzig

1738 Premiere in London of “Serse”, an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel

1960 Guy Carawan sings “We Shall Overcome” to a Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in Raleigh – popularising the song as a protest anthem

1961 Meredith Willson’s musical “The Music Man”, starring Robert Preston and Barbara Cook, closes at Majestic Theater, NYC. after 1375 performances, 5 Tony Awards, and a Grammy

1966 The Rolling Stones release “Aftermath”, their fourth studio album in UK (6th in US)

1967 “Wait A Minim!” closes at John Golden Theater NYC after 457 performances

1970 “Cry for Us All” closes at Broadhurst Theater NYC after 8 performances

1971 “70, Girls, 70” opens at Broadhurst Theater NYC for 35 performances

Today’s Historical Events in Sports

1896 1st modern Summer Olympic Games close in Athens, Greece; USA wins gold medal count, 11; Greece wins total medal count, 46; IOC has retroactively assigned gold, silver & bronze medals to 3 best placed athletes in each event

1901 5th Boston Marathon won for second straight year by Canadian Jim Caffrey in race record 2:29:23.6

1907 11th Boston Marathon won by Canadian Tom Longboat in race record 2:24:24

1910 William Howard Taft is first US President to throw out the 1st ball at a baseball game

1911 Walter Johnson pitches a record tying 4 strike outs in an inning

1912 16th Boston Marathon won by Mike Ryan in race record 2:21:18.2

1918 22nd Boston Marathon won by Camp Devens relay team; race run as relay for 10-man military teams

1925 NHL’s NY Americans (formerly Hamilton Tigers) 1st game, lose 3-1

Solar storm could supercharge northern lights as far south as New York | Space

https://www.space.com/solar-storm-northern-lights-april-2022