This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2025 Apr 5 – Apr 12
This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2025 Apr 5 – Apr 12
As the Sun is setting this week, Spica is rising in the east. This blue giant star is the brightest in the constellation Virgo the Maiden, and the 14th brightest star of the night sky. It is usually located by following the arc of the Big Dipper’s handle to Arcturus and driving a spike to Spica. With Arcturus in Boötes and Regulus in Leo, or dimmer Denebola in Leo’s tail, it forms the Spring Triangle. If you toss in Cor Coroli in Canes Venatici, below the handle of the Big Dipper you get the Spring Diamond.
Spica represents an ear of wheat in the hand of Virgo. In Greek mythology she was Demeter, the goddess of wheat or agriculture (Ceres to the Romans). The Sun passes through this constellation in harvest time and it is in the head of Virgo at the autumnal equinox. Virgo is the second largest of the 88 constellations in terms of area of sky, trailing only Hydra the Water Snake. Coincidentally, it also trails Hydra in the sky, which can be seen stretching below Leo. The constellation is home to 11 Messier objects, second to Sagittarius in this distinction, and all of them are galaxies.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise is at 6:56 and sunset will occur at 7:57, giving 13 hours, 1 minute of daylight. Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 6:43 and set at 8:06, giving 13 hours, 23 minutes of daylight.
The Moon is one day past first quarter this Saturday and full next Saturday. Jupiter sets about an hour past midnight this week, and telescope users might see its Red Spot within an hour of 10:30 pm on Sunday and 9:45 on Friday. Midweek Mars makes a straight line with the Gemini Twins, Pollux and Castor, and next weekend it crosses the constellation border into Cancer. Mercury rises 40 minutes before the Sun this weekend, and it increases that gap slightly by next weekend when it is a binocular width left of Saturn. Venus will be about 7 degrees above them at the time. Both Mercury and Venus are stationary this week, when they begin moving eastward against the stars.
The Saint John Astronomy Club meets in the Rockwood Park Interpretation Centre this Saturday at 7 pm. Tune in to the Sunday Night Astronomy Show at 8 pm on the YouTube channel and Facebook page of Astronomy by the Bay.