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Cosmic smiley face: How to watch the Moon, Venus, and Saturn align this week

Cosmic smiley face: How to watch the Moon, Venus, and Saturn align this week

India Today25-04-2025
Skygazers are in for a cosmic treat this week as the Moon aligns with Venus and Saturn to form a celestial 'smiley face' in the early morning sky. The rare alignment is set to occur just before sunrise on Friday, April 25, and will be visible for only a brief period.According to the astronomy news site EarthSky, the event will be visible approximately 30 to 40 minutes before dawn. A thin waning crescent Moon will appear to the left of bright Venus and much dimmer Saturn. The three objects will look like a skewed smiley face shining in the eastern sky.advertisementTo capture this elusive formation, observers have to pray for clear weather. Clouds or fog may block the view. While Venus and the Moon will be easily visible to the naked eye, Saturn's faint light may require binoculars or a telescope to see.
Observers are cautioned not to look directly at the Sun during sunrise, as the intense glare can cause permanent eye damage. Experts advise careful timing and, if needed, the use of appropriate safety equipment.Supermoon ComingAccording to USA Today, Coming on the heels of the smiley face alignment, another celestial event is to occur on Sunday, April 27 — the nearest new supermoon of 2025. Throughout this occurrence, the moon will pass by Earth at a mere 221,917 miles, just about 17,000 miles closer than its norm. Although, it is so close, the new moon will not be visible from Earth, as opposed to its full moon sibling, which usually illuminates the heavens.advertisementFollowing the smiley face alignment, another celestial event will take place on Sunday, April 27 — the closest new supermoon of 2025. During this event, the Moon will pass just 221,917 miles from Earth, roughly 17,000 miles closer than average. However, because it is a new moon, it won't be visible from Earth unlike the more radiant full supermoons.Also Read: Will we ever see it again? Green Comet SWAN likely destroyedMust Watch
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Solar eclipse September 2025: Date, timings, details of the 5 upcoming celestial events
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Indian Express

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Solar eclipse September 2025: Date, timings, details of the 5 upcoming celestial events

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Astronomers discover blazing Betelgeuse has companion star
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time2 days ago

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Astronomers discover blazing Betelgeuse has companion star

This is an AI generated image. Used for representation purpose only. Since at least the time of the ancient Egyptians, people across the world have gazed up in awe at Betelgeuse , one of the brightest stars blazing in the night sky. Now astronomers have discovered that this red supergiant , known to many as the hunter's shoulder in the Orion constellation , is being orbited by a much smaller companion star , a study said on Monday. It is not the first time Betelgeuse has surprised stargazers. Seemingly out of nowhere, the giant star dramatically dimmed for five months between 2019 and 2020, leading some scientists to suggest it could soon die in an epic supernova explosion. Further observations revealed that this event -- known as the " Great Dimming " -- was actually caused by material ejected from the surface that cooled part of the star, creating a dust cloud that blocked its light. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Swelling and internal bleeding in the brain, help this baby Donate For Health Donate Now Undo But scientists could still not explain why Betelgeuse's brightness changes regularly, both on a 400-day cycle and another that lasts nearly six years. In a paper titled "A Buddy for Betelgeuse" published in December, some researchers theorised that the longer variation could be caused by a hidden small star orbiting the behemoth. Astronomers using the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii have now discovered this elusive companion, according to a new study in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. - Little buddy - This companion has a mass around 1.5 times greater than our Sun, the research estimated. That means it is dwarfed by Betelgeuse, which is 1,000 times bigger than the Sun. The companion star is around four times the distance from Betelgeuse as the Earth is from the Sun, which is quite close for a stellar companion. The discovery is the first time such a close companion star has been detected orbiting a supergiant, according to a statement from the US research centre NOIRLab, which operates the Gemini Observatory. Betelgeuse is more than 10,000 times brighter than the Sun, its blinding light making spotting anything nearby difficult. Steve Howell, a NASA scientist who led the research team, said previous "papers that predicted Betelgeuse's companion believed that no one would likely ever be able to image it". However the Gemini North telescope was able to spot the much smaller, dimmer star using a technique called speckle imaging. This involves assembling many images taken with short exposure times to overcome the distortions that Earth's atmosphere causes ground-bound telescopes. According to Greek myth, the giant hunter Orion claimed he would kill all the world's beasts, so Earth goddess Gaia sent a scorpion to kill him. God king Zeus then turned both Orion and the scorpion -- Scorpius -- into constellations. Earlier, ancient Egyptians included Betelgeuse in the constellation Osiris, their god of the dead. Even earlier, research has suggested that Indigenous Australians included Betelgeuse in their own constellations -- and had noticed the star's varying brightness.

5th July was the shortest day this year. Why is the Earth spinning faster this month?
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5th July was the shortest day this year. Why is the Earth spinning faster this month?

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