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18 | THE COLONY NEWS | APRIL 2023 | By Mike Vergara, 951- 461-2889 It's April, and spring has truly sprung! I have written about things to see in the night sky, but did you know that some astronomers do daytime astronomy? That's right! There is a star that is nearby and easily observed during the day; it's our own sun. Before I proceed, I must tell you something. Do not look at the sun without appropriate eyewear or shielding (and not just sunglasses!). It will hurt your eyes faster than you may realize. Solar astronomers use the same kinds of equipment – telescopes, spectrographs, etc. – as do other stellar researchers. But a telescope used for solar observing must be heavily modified to be safely used. Since the sun is the closest star to Earth, it is very handy to be able to study it and then draw inferences about the other stars we see in the sky. Plus, we now know that the sun affects our everyday life here on Earth in more ways than just providing light and heat. Have you ever heard the term "space weather?" It refers to how the sun affects us. When the sun is in an active phase, like it is now, there are a lot of sunspots, and these spots can cause solar flares and "coronal mass ejections" (or CMEs). A CME (in simple terms) happens when the sun "burps" and throws off part of its own mass. This ejected material is sometimes blown right at the Earth, and can cause power outages, interrupt communications, and create spectacular auroral displays over the Earth's poles. There are many websites dedicated to solar observing and space weather. My favorites are these: SOHO (www. soho.nascom.nasa.gov) where you can see near-real-time images of the sun through different filters; spaceweather. com; and the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (www.swpc.noaa.gov). Mark your calendars for Oct. 14, for on that day there will be an "annular" eclipse of the sun. I will write more about that in a future article. To find where the planets and constellations are, visit http://skymaps.com/index.html. From there you can print your own map of the sky for the month. Clear skies! April sky April sky Correction: Irene Wolff has not passed. According to her, "I am alive and kicking and the report of my death has been greatly exaggerated." In Memoriam Aniece Amos John Cameron Tim Gates John Sparkenbach Corinne Williams Evelyn Wolfe Erich Zerfl