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NEWS & WORLD
SKYWATCH
Catch meteor shower
and supermoon in April
By Chad Kalepa Baybayan
and Emily Peavy
Special to the Star-Advertiser
A
pril welcomes the
sun back to the
northern hemisphere
and the star family Kaiwikua-
mo‘o, the Backbone, back to
the spring night sky. This
string of stars running in a
line from the North Star to
the Southern Cross rep-
resents the backbone or ver-
tebrae of a celestial
genealogy.
To identify this star family,
first locate the constellation
Nahiku (the Seven), the Big
Dipper in the northeast. The
first two stars in the bucket
of the dipper, Hikukahi and
Hikulua, Dubhe and Merak,
point toward the direction of
Hokupa‘a, Polaris, the North
Star.
Following the sweep of the
Big Dipper’s handle toward
the east-northeast, look for
the red giant and fourth
brightest star in the night
sky, Hokule‘a (Arcturus) in
the constellation Bootes.
Next, arc from Arcturus and
cross the celestial equator to
connect to Hikianalia, Spica,
in the constellation Virgo.
Hokule‘a is the zenith star
for Hawaii, passing directly
over Kau on Hawaii island;
Hikianalia passes just south
of the Marquesas island
chain. To the west and in be-
tween Hokule‘a and Hikiana-
lia is the star Kau‘opae,
Regulus, in the constellation
Leo. To the naked eye
Kau‘opae appears as a singu-
lar star, but it is actually a
quadruple-star system —
four stars organized into two
pairs. These three stars —
Hokule‘a, Hikianalia and
Kau‘opae — make up the
Spring Triangle.
As we continue south
from Spica, the next constel-
lation in the celestial verte-
brae is Me‘e, Corvus, a
trapezoid-shaped constella-
tion. Drawing a line through
the center of Corvus and
down toward the southern
horizon we come to Hana-
EARTHWEEK: DIARY OF A CHANGING WORLD
For week ending Friday By Steve Newman
Arctic aperture
NASA satellites
have just detected
one of the largest
holes ever observed in the
ozone layer over the Arc-
tic. Although the holes
above Antarctica are much
larger and dramatic, allow-
ing dangerous ultraviolet
light to reach the surface,
those over the Arctic are
usually much smaller, and
often called “gaps” rather
than holes due to their
sizes. But experts say the
hole that opened from
northern Canada to Siberia
in March exceeds the re-
cord sizes set in 2011 and
1997.
Earthquakes
The strongest
quake to strike Cro-
atia in 140 years
wrecked buildings in the
capital of Zagreb, killing
one teenager.
• A powerful quake dam-
aged buildings and roads
in southwestern Greece.
• A Kuril islands quake
sparked a brief tsunami
alert.
• Earth movements also
were felt in Zimbabwe,
eastern India, southern Ti-
bet, central New Zealand,
the Cayman Islands, west-
ern Nevada and the North-
ern California wine
country.
Monarch decline
Even though the
number of monarch
butterflies that
reached their wintering
grounds in Mexico de-
creased by more than half
this season, experts said
iakamalama (Cared for by
the Moon), the Southern
Cross. To the east of the
Southern Cross is the con-
stellation Nakuhikuhi, the
Pointer Stars, which points
the direction toward the
Southern Cross.
Nakuhikuhi consists of
two stars, Kamailemua (Beta
Centauri) and Kamailehope
(Alpha Centauri). Kamaile-
hope is the third brightest
star in the night sky and is
the planetary system closest
to our solar system. Both Al-
pha and Beta Centauri are
triple-star systems, appear-
ing to the naked eye as one
star even though each of
them comprises three sepa-
rate stars.
The sun is now in the
northern hemisphere, hav-
ing crossed the celestial
equator for time zones in the
United States on March 19,
the vernal (spring) equinox.
This year’s spring equinox
was the earliest it’s been for
more than a century. An ex-
cellent explanation for this
can be found in Bob Ber-
man’s online article, “Signs
of Spring From the Sky: A
Crescent Moon Smile,” in
The Old Farmer’s Almanac
(almanac.com). The last
early spring equinox that oc-
curred on March 19 was 124
years ago, in 1896. Equinox
stems from the Latin word
for “equal night,” aequus
(equal) and nox (night). The
sun crosses the celestial
equator northward in
March, causing the length of
day and night to be nearly
equal.
Special events
The moon’s orbit around
Earth is not a perfect circle.
As such, there is a point in
the moon’s orbit where it is
at its closest position to
Earth, and this point is
called perigee. The moon
passes through the perigee
point once a month, and
each year there are a couple
of months when the full
moon phase lines up with
the perigee point. Many ob-
4.6
4.1
the plunge is not alarming.
The Mexico director of the
World Wildlife Fund told
reporters that the previ-
ous winter’s numbers were
unusually high because
the first generation of the
migrating insects in the
spring of 2018 had encoun-
tered favorable breeding
conditions as they headed
northward toward the
eastern U.S. and Canada.
But those fluttering north-
ward in 2019 encountered
colder conditions in Texas,
which made them less able
to reproduce. Early re-
ports from Texas this
spring say the monarchs
have arrived at least three
weeks earlier than ex-
pected, thanks to unsea-
sonably warm weather in
Mexico.
Urban survivors
A new study finds tain gorillas has been
why some birds closed to protect the en-
thrive in cities while dangered primates from
APELILA (APRIL) SKIES AT 8 P.M.
more different. In the earlier
days of the solar system, the
liquid water on Venus evapo-
‘Akau (north)
rated into the atmosphere,
where it mixed with the nox-
on au
ious gases coming from Ve-
M (NW
Hokupa‘a
riz ol
an
)
nus’ many volcanoes,
ho o‘
North Star
u ho
E K
H riz
thereby creating a thick
(N nu
Milky Way
o‘ on
ol )
a
galaxy layer of clouds. These
ua
Nahiku clouds act like a blanket for
Big Dipper Venus, trapping heat be-
Hokulei tween the surface and the
Makali‘i cloud layer and creating a
Pleiades runaway greenhouse effect
Hokule‘a Nanamua VENUS and a surface temperature of
Arcturus Castor at least 880 degrees Fahren-
Komohana (west)
Nanahope heit, hot enough to melt
Hikina (east)
KAIWIKUAMO‘O Kapuahi
Pollux Alebaran lead.
Betelgeuse
KEAOMAKALI‘I
Hokupa Morning observations
Leo
Puana Early-bird stargazers will
Hikianalia Procyon
Spica enjoy a very different per-
Heiheionakeiki spective of the stars in April.
Me‘e A‘a Orion
Covus Sirius The sun will rise between
6 and 6:23 a.m., with dawn
beginning to color the sky
just before 5 a.m. In these
early-morning hours, ob-
M (S
riz na
an E
servers will be able to see at
)
ho Ko
on
u hor
Keali‘iokonaikalewa
M izo
least three planets — Jupi-
W u
al n
Canopus
(S an
an )
ter, Saturn and Mars — high
M
ai
in the southeastern sky.
On the morning of April
Hema (south) Fool’s Day (April 1), the mis-
HIGHLIGHTS chievous planets Saturn and
February moon phases Mars will go through a con-
>> Supermoon — The moon’s orbit around Earth is
not a perfect circle. As such, there is a point in junction. Conjunctions oc-
the moon’s orbit where it is at its closest position cur when two celestial
to Earth, and this point is called perigee. The objects, typically planets, ap-
moon will pass through the perigee point once a pear to be less than 1 degree
FIRST FULL LAST NEW
month; each year there are a couple months when away from each other in the
4/1 4/7 4/14 4/22
the full moon phase lines up with the perigee
point. Many observers claim that this is when the
sky from our perspective on
moon appears to be bigger in the sky, hence the This star chart is oriented for an Earth. In ancient times, a
term supermoon, which will be taking place on observer looking up and facing south. conjunction of planets was a
In this orientation, the Hikina (east)
April 7.
horizon is on the left and the Komohana
very significant event, as the
(west) horizon is on the right. motion of planets in the sky
>> Lyrids meteor shower — The Lyrids meteor was thought to predict the
shower is the oldest known shower ever
recorded, as chronicled in the Zuo Zhuan in 687
future. While conjunctions
B.C. This year’s shower is expected to occur from are not considered signifi-
April 16 to April 25, but the best time to see the cant today, it can still be
meteors will be around 8 p.m. on April 21. stunning to watch two plan-
ets merge into one light.
Source: Polynesian Voyaging Society Archives Astronomy Center of Hawaii Observers with an extra
careful eye may also be able
to catch the planet Mercury
servers claim that this is its peak, there would be tremely bright due to its as it rises just before the sun
when the moon appears to about 20 shooting stars per proximity to Earth and the comes up. Mercury is often
be bigger in the sky, hence hour, or about three meteors thick layers of clouds in its the hardest of the visible
the term “supermoon,” a minute. atmosphere. While Venus is planets to spot, as it is so
which will next be visible on similar to Earth in size, its faint and always appears to
April 7. Evening observation environment couldn’t be be quite close to the sun.
The Lyrids meteor shower Throughout April, the ex-
is the oldest known shower tremely bright planet Venus ———
ever recorded, as chronicled will continue to stand out in Chad Kalepa Baybayan (Kalepa.Baybayan@hawaii.edu)
in the Zuo Zhuan in 687 B.C. the early evening sky. As one serves as navigator-­in-residence and Emily Peavy (Emily.
This year’s shower is ex- of the brightest objects in Peavy@hawaii.edu) as planetarium technician support facili-
pected to occur from April the sky, Venus will be clearly tator at the ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawaii, a center for
16 to 25, but the best time to visible as the sun sets and informal science education at the University of Hawaii at Hilo
see the meteors will be into the early evening. showcasing astronomy and Hawaiian culture as parallel jour-
around 8 p.m. on April 21. At Venus appears to be so ex- neys of human exploration.
Ant’s defensive
strategy is to tuck
into a ball, roll away
New York Times
Ants are bristling with de-
7.5 fense weaponry. Different
species might sting their en-
emies, bite them with pow-
5.6 erful jaws or shoot them
4.2 with jets of formic acid.
Some even explode.
But Myrmecina gramini-
+113° cola — an ant about the size
Diffa, of a sesame seed — doesn’t
Niger want to get into all that. Ac-
3.8 cording to research pub-
lished last week in Scientific
4.4 Reports, if one of these ants
encounters danger while it’s
on a slope, it makes a practi-
cal choice: It tucks itself into
a little ball and rolls away.
It is the only ant known to
move in this way, and one of
few rollers in the animal
others go extinct due to exposure to the COVID-19 the gondolas are moored.
kingdom overall, said Do-
human activities — they virus. Officials at Congo’s The city’s typically turbid
nato Grasso, the paper’s
can either grow large Virunga National Park say canals are now clear
lead author and an ant ethol-
brains or produce more they will bar visitors until enough to see the native
ogist at the University of
offspring. “On the one at least June 1 after ex- seaweed and returning
Parma in Italy.
hand, species with large perts warned that the go- schools of fish.
Grasso and his colleagues
brains, like crows or gulls, rillas are likely susceptible
first spotted this unique be-
are common in cities be-
cause large brain size
to complications from the
coronavirus. Similar ac-
Coral peril havior while scanning the
Australia’s Great forest floor during a trip to
helps them deal with the tions have been taken in
Barrier Reef is suf- one of their field sites in For-
challenges of a novel envi- neighboring Rwanda to noli, Italy. The team found a
protect that country’s go- fering its third mass
ronment,” said lead author few colonies of M. gramini-
coral bleaching event in
Ferran Sayol of Sweden’s rillas and chimpanzees. cola, which are so small and
five years, with some reefs
University of Gothenburg. elusive they often go unno-
that had survived earlier
“On the other hand, we
found also that small- Venetian revival episodes being affected ticed.
When the insects were
again. A new survey re-
brained species, like pi- Fish and even dol- menaced by spiders and
veals that 80 reefs between
geons, can be highly phins have returned other ants, “they curled
Tully and Townsville have
successful if they have a to the now-calmed been badly bleached. “We their bodies and disap-
high number of breeding waters of Venice’s famed could see that some of peared” into the leaf litter,
attempts over their life- canals due to the shut- those corals were big Grasso said. “They rolled
times.” down of tourism and daily enough that they must away.”
life during Italy’s coronavi- have survived the 2017 On smoother surfaces like
rus health crisis. The bleaching and now they re- stones and leaves, the ants
Coronavirus risk hundreds of speeding mo- bleached,” said reef expert traveled at about 15 inches
A refuge that is torboat taxis and tourist Terry Hughes. per second — about 80
home to many of boats that used to churn times faster than their aver-
East Africa’s moun- La Serenissima’s canals are ——— age walking speed. They
now docked in silence. The Distributed by Andrews Mc- could move themselves
huge cruise ships are also Meel Syndication; ©MMXX about 6 inches, or about 50
gone, while even most of Earth Environment Service body lengths.