Derekscope

• Best viewing
  – Start looking between 30 minutes and 45 minutes before sunrise.
  – Just before sunrise, looking toward the eastern horizon with a very clear, unobstructed view.
  – Face East and find a low, clear horizon free of buildings or trees.
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• Binoculars help with Mercury, which will be low and faint.
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• Mercury also has a close conjunction with Saturn in the morning twilight.
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• Mercury will still be quite low and faint in bright twilight, so binoculars greatly improve chances of spotting it.
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• Mercury (magnitude: -0.6) will be brighter than Mars (magnitude: +1.2) and Saturn (magnitude: +0.9) but still low on the horizon in early morning twilight.
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• Look about 30–60 minutes after sunset when the sky is a bit darker but the horizon still bright enough to catch Venus and the thin crescent.
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• Face west with an unobstructed horizon.
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• Binoculars will help you pick out the Pleiades cluster more easily once the sky darkens.
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• The Moon will reach perigee, its closest point to Earth, at 8:54am today, sits in the constellation Taurus (The Bull).
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• The Moon will rise in the east-southeast sky.
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• There are three planets near the Moon might disappear quickly as the sky brightens;
  
  – Mercury (very small and tricky to spot!)
  – Mars (looks like a tiny reddish dot.)
  – Saturn (looks like a steady pale light ~ you need a telescope to see its rings.)
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Mission communication from Derek
A Q&A for Deaf members about the Artemis landing.
(With signWOW iPads,
our video calls open a clear visual path,
giving Deaf members full sign‑language
access wherever they are.)
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Artemis II is COMPLETE!

• Orion splashed down safely in the Pacific.
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• The crew are healthy and smiling.
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• This is the first human return from the Moon’s neighbourhood since Apollo.
  
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What next now?

• A big step toward humans walking on the Moon again ~ the next human Moon walk is currently targeted for Artemis IV, not Artemis III.
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• Artemis III is now an Earth‑orbit test mission
  – Full Orion spacecraft checkout.
  – Life‑support and long‑duration crew systems.
  – Docking tests.
  – Mission‑duration rehearsal for lunar operations.
  – Possibly testing interfaces needed for future Starship docking.
  – 4 crew astronauts will spend roughly 30 days in space, validating everything needed for Artemis IV.
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• Next Moon walk: planned for 2028 ~ Artemis IV will take two astronauts to the Moon’s South Pole.
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• The Moon reaches its exact Last Quarter phase at 05:51am in the constellation Sagittarius.
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• Moonrise at 03:44am on 10th April, Transit at 07:23am (South 180º) and moonset at 11:02am.
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• The Moon reaches apogee ~ the farthest point in its orbit from Earth.
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• The Moon appears slightly smaller and dimmer in the sky compared to perigee.
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• Mercury reaches its greatest eastern elongation – that’s meaning it will be difficult visible in the early morning sky, so at these times.
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• Mercury will be at its farthest apparent distance from the Sun as viewed from Earth.
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• Spica will be visible close to the Moon ~ easy to spot.
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• The Moon is at full phase (Full Moon), binoculars may help you spot Spica more easily next to the Moon.
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• It will be in the constellation Virgo and is traditionally called the Pink Moon* for the US or Egg Moon* for the UK , it’s not about the Moon turning pink ~ it’s about spring arriving.
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• Best spectacle
  – Moonrise on Wednesday 1st April or moonset on Thursday 2nd April, when the Moon appears oversized due to the Moon illusion.
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• Traditional Full Moon Names and their Meanings
  – Full Moon names reflect seasonal changes and natural rhythms observed by early cultures, particularly those influenced by UK colonial traditions and Native American heritage.
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  – Learn more about traditional Full Moon Names and their Meanings ~ Read more*.
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