Question of the week

What is the name of the smallest constellation of the zodiac? The answer will be in next week's column.

Last week's question: What is the name of the constellation that in Greek mythology guarded the golden apples of the Hesperides, the daughters of Atlas, and was slain by Hercules as one of his labors?

ANSWER: Draco. This extensive constellation of the far-northern sky winds around Ursa Minor. It represents the dragon that in Greek mythology guarded the golden apples of the Hesperides, the daughters of Atlas, and which was slain by Hercules as one of his labors. In the sky, Hercules is represented with one foot on the dragon's head.

The winner this week is Josh Flowers of Clarkston.

Answers may be e-mailed to starweek@lmtribune.com, dropped off at the Tribune, or mailed to Lewiston Tribune, Starweek, 505 Capital St., Lewiston, ID 83501. Entries must be at the Tribune by noon Monday. Include your mailing address. The winning entry is drawn from a pool of all correct answers and will receive a sky map for the current month.

TODAY - Mercury, the solar system's innermost planet, goes unnoticed by most people, because it's so often obscured by the sun's glare. Even when Mercury is visible, like it is now, it takes a deliberate effort to catch this rather elusive planet. This evening, Mercury reaches its greatest angular distance east of the sun. What this means is that Mercury sets a maximum time after sunset today, enabling you to spot this planet at dusk and early evening. What's more, Mercury shines close to the dazzling planet Venus, the third brightest celestial body to light up the heavens after the sun and the moon.

FRIDAY - The star Gamma Hydra marks the tail of Hydra, the water snake, which is the longest constellation in the sky. The star climbs into view in the southeast by around 10 p.m. and stands highest in the sky a few hours later. Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, slides across the southwest this evening. The star is well up in the south-southwest as darkness falls, and sets by around midnight. It twinkles fiercely as it drops nearer the horizon.

SATURDAY - The planet Jupiter rises below the moon early Sunday. It looks like a brilliant star. It's in the east about 45 minutes before sunrise, but it is so low that you need a clear horizon to see it. Although the moon and Jupiter appear close together at Sunday dawn, they are not really near each other in space. These worlds simply reside on nearly the same line of sight now.

SUNDAY - The moon, our closest celestial neighbor, lies about a quarter million miles away. Jupiter, the fifth planet in orbit outward from the sun, lurks way beyond the moon at more than 2,000 times the moon's distance. Jupiter is the largest and most massive planet in the solar system. If Jupiter stood at the moon's distance from Earth, this great big world would appear some 1,600 times larger than the moon in our sky. But if we placed the moon at Jupiter's distance from Earth, our moon would appear to be about the same size as Jupiter's third and fourth largest moons, Io and Europa. Jupiter has 63 known moons of its own.

MONDAY - Two distinctive star patterns make Leo the Lion fairly easy to identify. Leo's brightest star, sparkling blue-white is Regulus. It dots a backward question mark of stars known as The Sickle. If you could see a Lion in this pattern of stars, The Sickle would outline the Lion's mane. A triangle of stars highlights the Lion's tail and hindquarters. Denebola is an Arabic term meaning the Lion's Tail.

TUESDAY - Now try to star-hop to the Coma star cluster from Leo the Lion. Draw a line from Regulus through the top star of the triangle (Zosma), and go about twice this distance to locate the cluster. Although the Coma cluster (Melotte 111) is visible to the unaided eye in a dark country sky, you may need binoculars to see it if your skies have any light pollution. This open cluster of about 100 stars lies some 288 light-years away.

WEDNESDAY - During mid-April evenings you should have a golden opportunity to see the Beehive star cluster, the crown jewel of the constellation Cancer the Crab. The moon will be absent from the sky for the next several evenings, featuring dark nights for observing this deep-sky treasure. To find the Beehive, first of all locate the planet Mars. It's that respectably bright orange-colored "star" shining high in your southern sky at nightfall. Aim binoculars at Mars to see this cobweb of stars close to the red planet, easily within the same binocular field. What's more, Mars and the Beehive stage themselves inside a single binocular field until almost the end of April. They come closest together on April 16.

International Space Station

TODAY

Appears at 5:49 a.m. 10 degrees above SSW

Disappears at 5:52 a.m. 30 degrees above ESE

FRIDAY

Appears at 4:39 a.m. 11 degrees above SSE

Disappears at 4:42 a.m. 10 degrees above E

SATURDAY

Appears at 5:02 a.m. 15 degrees above SSW

Disappears at 5:05 a.m. 26 degrees above E

SUNDAY

Appears at 3:54 a.m. 13 degrees above ESE

Disappears at 3:55 a.m. 10 degrees above ESE

Appears at 5:26 a.m. 10 degrees above WSW

Disappears at 5:29 a.m. 41 degrees above ENE

MONDAY

Appears at 4:17 a.m. 37 degrees above SE

Disappears at 4:19 a.m. 18 degrees above E

TUESDAY

Appears at 4:41 a.m. 42 degrees above WSW

Disappears at 4:43 a.m. 32 degrees above ENE

WEDNESDAY

Appears at 3:32 a.m. 18 degrees above E

Disappears at 3:33 a.m. 12 degrees above ENE

Appears at 5:03 a.m. 15 degrees above W

Disappears at 5:06 a.m. 29 degrees above NNE

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Niemann may be contacted at starweek@lmtribune.com. He is the editor of the newsletter of the Lewiston Astronomical Society.