#82 - April 2019 Part 1

The Discussion: A bumper episode beginning with the April
stargazing extravaganza run by the Awesome Astronomy team on 27th
- 30th April, a reminder to email us with your best space
missions of the last 62 years, a stroll down Rocketry Lane, come
along to hear Jeni talk at A Pint of Science on 20-22nd May at
Beelzebub's in Cardiff, and listeners’ emails (including how you
amateurs can participate in occultation observation science).


The News: Rounding up the astronomy news this month we have:


Did Jupiter’s orbit move 2½ billion miles closer to Earth in
the early solar system?

An Ice Age and extinction event 12,800 years ago was likely
caused by a meteor impact.

A vast meteor over the Bering Sea

LIGO gets an upgrade for better gravitational wave
discoveries

Looking for carbon monoxide in the atmospheres of exoplanets

Using globular clusters to measure the size & mass of the
Milky Way



Main news story: 1) The 1st direct observation of exoplanets
using optical interferometry


The Sky Guide: Covering the solar system and deep sky objects on
offer to amateur astronomers in April:


A galactic conjunction on 8th/9th and the Lyrid meteor shower
peaking on 22nd April.

Must observe galaxies in Leo and the jewels of Ursa Major and
Canes Venatici.



Main Deep Sky Object: Messier 13, The Great Globular Cluster in
Hercules.


The Interview: Jeni talks to Dr Sarah Ragan, a lecturer at
Cardiff University’s School of Physics and Astronomy about how to
become a professional astronomer, do stars care what conditions
they form in and the upcoming Pint of Science talks.