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Jimmy Westlake

Jimmy Westlake's Celestial News column appears Tuesdays in the Steamboat Today.

Now that spring is here, stargazers are heading outdoors to enjoy Northwest Colorado's clear, dark skies. Here are some of the celestial highlights you can look forward to during April:

- The International Year of Astronomy 2009 presents "100 Hours of Astronomy" from Thursday to Sunday, featuring lots of online activities. Take, for example, the "Around the World in 80 Telescopes" program to air Friday. It's a 24-hour live Webcast from 80 of the world's biggest and best observatories. Then, there's the 24-hour Global Star Party on Saturday, when professional and amateur astronomers all across the world will provide free telescope viewing to the general public. For more information on these and many other IYA2009 events, visit www.astronomy2009.org.

- The Easter Full Moon, also called the Egg Moon, Grass Moon and Paschal Moon, occurs the evening of April 9. The bright star right above that gorgeous full moon is Spica, the brightest star in the constellation Virgo.

- April 20 to 26 is National Dark Sky Week. Join your neighbors, and turn off all outdoor lighting after dark and watch the stars. Visit www.ndsk.org for more information.

- The predawn hours of April 22 will provide two celestial treats. The annual Lyrid meteor shower could rain as many as two dozen falling stars on us each hour after midnight. And, when the thin crescent moon pops up over the mountain that morning at about 4:45 a.m., the dazzling planet Venus will be right off the moon's bright cusp. Steady binoculars will reveal two crescents, the moon's and Venus'. Then, just as the sun breaks the horizon, the moon actually will eclipse Venus in a rare occultation. Don't miss this amazing spectacle. A clear view of the eastern horizon is essential to see the low-hanging moon and Venus together.

- The elusive planet Mercury makes its best evening appearance of the year during the last week of April, culminating with its greatest elongation 20 degrees east of the sun April 26. Mercury will be the bright "star" right below the moon that evening. Once the sky darkens, you'll also be able to spot the lovely Pleiades star cluster shimmering between the moon and Mercury. Binoculars will help enhance the beautiful alignment of stars, moon and planet.

- Finally, join the CMC SKY Club and me April 15 for "An Evening With the Astronomer." I'll be presenting an encore performance of my popular program entitled "The Poets and the Stars" at 7:30 p.m. in the CMC Library on the third floor of Bristol Hall. I hope to see you there!

Jimmy Westlake teaches astronomy and physics at Colorado Mountain College's Alpine Campus. He is an avid astronomer whose photographs and articles have been published all around the world. Visit www.jwestlake.com.