MEMPHIS, Tenn. — This is going to be the biggest month of the year when it comes to looking at Space here in the Mid-South.
After years of waiting, the total solar eclipse is just days away. We will talk about this along with what else you will be able to see during the month of April here in the Mid-South.
In March, we got a terrific picture from Erika Davis in Alcorn county of the Moon. If you get any pictures or videos make sure to send them in to be featured in our monthly night sky updates.
Let's get into the beginning of the month which features the total solar eclipse just west of the Mid-South. The path of totality will go right through Arkansas resulting in the eclipse around 1:45-2:00 PM depending on what part of the state you are in. Here in Memphis, we will be seeing a partial eclipse.
If you are in totality on top of seeing the eclipse, you can see planets in our daytime sky. The shadow will make the sky dark enough to see Jupiter and Venus for a few minutes. A super rare occurrence!
After the Eclipse we can see the Moon in a small crescent along with Jupiter in our evening sky on April 10th. Just look to the west right after sunset.
On April 23rd we will have our Full Moon for the month. Known as the "Pink Moon" this moon is named for the pink and colorful flowers we get during this time of the year.
That is about it for this month, we could see some International Space Station passes toward the end of the month but will have more details on that later.
As for the weather this week, we will be clear going into the weekend. The weather becomes active after that and will make it a bit difficult to view the night sky going into the middle of next week.
