Astronomy and space | A solar eclipse followed by the birth of the Shawwal crescent. Details of the astronomical events for the month of April 2023

Weather of Arabia - Many are the astronomical events that will be seen in the sky of the Arab world and the world during the month of April 2023 AD, and the beauty and splendor of its coincidence with the blessed month of Ramadan increases. Let us review with you the most prominent astronomical events for the month of April:

• On Thursday, April 6, 2023 AD, precisely at 04:37 UTC, the sun will fully illuminate the face of the moon, to show people a brilliant full moon as if announcing the middle of the month of Ramadan. This full moon was known by the Native American tribes as the pink moon because it was distinguished by the appearance of the pink color.

• Tuesday, April 11, on this day, the planet Mercury is at its maximum eastern elongation, the planet Mercury reaches its maximum eastern elongation of 19.5 degrees from the sun. This is the best time to view Mercury because it will be at its highest point on the horizon. To find it, look for the planet low in the western sky just after sunset.

• Thursday, April 20, the new moon is born, and the happy Eid al-Fitr crescent is formed, and the central conjunction of the crescent of the month of Shawwal 1444 AH will occur on Thursday, April 20, 2023 at 4:12 am, which is the day of investigation in all Islamic countries that fasted on Thursday, and at sunset It will have been about 12 hours since the crescent was born, and it will stay

April 20 - Hybrid solar eclipse. A hybrid solar eclipse occurs when the moon is too close to the earth to completely block the sun. This type of eclipse will appear as a total eclipse to some parts of the world and annular to others. The path of the eclipse will begin in the southern Indian Ocean and move through parts of western Australia and southern Indonesia. The partial eclipse will be visible across most of Indonesia and Australia. (NASA map and eclipse information) (NASA Interactive Google Map)

April 22, 23 - meteor shower. Lyrids is an average shower, usually producing about 20 meteors per hour at its peak. It is produced by dust particles left behind by the comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher, which was discovered in 1861. The shower runs annually from April 16-25. It peaks this year on the night of the 22nd and the morning of the 23rd. These meteors can sometimes produce bright dust trails that last for several seconds. The thin moon will set in early evening leaving dark skies for what should be a stellar show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Lyra, but they can appear anywhere in the sky.