Here’s a brief look at what’s going on in the Mile High City this week.

April 13 (International Dark Sky Week continues through April 19!):

Ph.D. student, teacher, and science educator, Chris Pickens

DAS General Meeting: A Supernova With Broken Symmetry: Evidence from Polarized Light with Chris Pickens: Free. In-person event at the Secular Hub: 7:00 PM
Mars, Saturn and Neptune within 4.5° of each other just as the sun as rising, making them difficult to observe: 6:00 AM
DMNS FREE DAY from the Scientific & Cultural Facilities District: Free, In-person event at Denver Museum of Nature and Science: All Day

April 14:

Amateur Astronomers Association: The Fermi Paradox: Where are all the Aliens? by Astronomer Andrew Fraknoi: Free, virtual event via Zoom (registration required): 5:00 PM

April 15 (Tax Day):

Look for the waning crescent Pink Moon near Mars and Mercury right before the early morning sunlight washes them in the eastern sky in the constellation Pisces: 5:45 AM
DAS: Astrophotography Special Interest Group (ASIG) – Advanced Image Processing: Free Members-only virtual meeting via Zoom (check Slack and membership email): 7:00 PM

April 19 (Dark Sky Weekend):

Catch the waxing crescent Flower Moon near the Pleiades (M45), the open cluster in the constellation Taurus with Venus, Aldebaran and the Hyades nearby, low in the western sky: 8:30 PM
Mars and Saturn are separated by only 1.2°, low in the eastern sky in the constellation Pisces just before sunrise: 5:35 AM
The waxing crescent Flower Moon reaches perigee, its closest distance to Earth at a distance of 361,630 km:

This Week’s Solar System Summary:

The Sun shifts from rising about 6:25 AM to 6:16 AM, while sunset moves from 7:35 PM to 7:41 PM, bringing a steady increase in daylight.
The Moon rises in the early morning at the start of the week and shifts into the afternoon by the weekend, while moonset moves from late morning into the afternoon.
Venus shines brightly in the western sky after sunset and sets between 9:30 PM and 9:50 PM.
Jupiter remains visible through the evening and into the early morning hours, setting around 2:00 AM.
Mercury, Mars, and Saturn are clustered near the Sun and may be glimpsed very low in the eastern sky shortly before sunrise by experienced observers with a clear horizon.
Uranus sets around 10:15 PM and can be observed with a telescope under dark skies.
Neptune remains difficult, setting in the late afternoon and requiring challenging daytime observation conditions.

This Week’s Meteoric Activity:

You can keep track of the activity of meteor showers as well as those beyond the limits of visual observing by visiting the NASA Meteor Shower Portal.

Anthelion (ANT): 1:00 AM in eastern Virgo: About 2 per hour
April Lyrids (LYR): Late evening (rising) in eastern Hercules near Lyra: Less than 1 per hour (increasing toward peak next week)
Comae Berenicids (COM): 3:00–4:00 AM in western Boötes: Less than 1 per hour