A STELLAR SCENE

Many astronomical events are coming up, perfect for stargazing

by Lydia Weed design by Ananya Adur

It is a chilly night in April, and one looks up at the dark sky to see an infinite number of twinkling stars above. The crescent moon is illuminating their surroundings. Another glance and they see bright trails cascading through the sky. What is in sight is the Lyrids Meteor Shower, which peaks on the

Photo

by Ananya Adur

night of April 22. It produces about 20 meteors per hour, coming from the comet C/1861

G1 Thatcher.

Many astronomical events will occur during spring and summer this year. According to BBC, spring is a great time to stargaze, especially on the days before and after a new moon. It is also important to go to a space with less light pollution.

Astronomy teacher Mr. Britton explains a planetary phenomenon happening this summer.

“Right around summer solstice will be one of the best planetary alignments we’ve seen in 23 or 24 years,” Britton said.

“You’ll be able to see all the planets at once, which doesn’t happen very often.”

On June 21, Venus, Mars, and the Moon will appear in a triangle shape, because they will be on the same astronomical line. According to the Washington Post, it will be so bright that a telescope will not be needed. Jupiter and Saturn will also be visible.

Britton recommends using the app “Planets” as a guide for stargazing.

“It’s free, and you can set it for any date or time, if you want to look ahead or see where things are going to be,” Britton said.

“You can adjust it to a two- dimensional sky or a threedimensional sky. It gives you visibility trends for everything using the different screens. It's very useful.”

March 20 marks the first official day of spring, and in the following days, a dwarf planet will be visible, there will be a lunar occultation (when the moon appears to be covering a star or planet), Mars will appear in conjunction with the moon and another dwarf planet will reach opposition.

Britton also has advice for those who want to spot the upcoming celestial occasions.

“The best way to look for things like that is to, one, just look up- you just have to be looking up all the time,” Britton said.

“Shooting stars, or meteors happen all the time. Across the planet they’re happening every second, you just have to be watching for it.”

On the morning of this day, the two planets will be in conjuction and rise together

This shower is most active on this date, and you can expect to see six meteors per hour

March

March 24 - Approach of Moon and Venus

On this night you can see a crescent moon and Venus just 6 arcminutes apart spacetourismguide.com

Students discuss their dedication to their fitness routines

by Ben Psota design by Ananya Ramanujapuram

Senior track athlete Helen Alderfer not only sticks to her training regimen during the track season, but she also works out on her own time on a regular basis.

“My fitness routine consists of traveling up to Southport four to five days a week to train at a sports performance gym in the offseason. We do exercises focused mostly on strength, speed, stability and explosiveness. During the season, I train with [their staff] about three times a week after practices,” Alderfer said.

Alderfer also spoke about how she works out for more reasons than to get faster.

“When I started, the thing that kept me motivated was the desire to get faster and stronger to drop my times on the track, but after spending some time there, that focus shifted,” Alderfer said. “Now I train with them because I enjoy being there due to the environment and the way they make it fun and enjoyable, not necessarily just for my sport.”

Along with training most days, fitness routines don’t always have the best hours either. Sophomore swimmer Katie Frazier speaks about the rough hours she’s endured while swimming.

“We have afternoon practice from 3:30-5:30 p.m. every day, except Friday, after school and 7-9 a.m. on Saturdays. On Tuesdays and Thursdays we have weights from 6-7 in the morning, and on Wednesdays and Fridays we have morning swim practice from 5:30-7,” Frazier said. “It takes up most of my time.”

Sometimes maintaining a strong fitness routine can be very difficult both physically and mentally. Senior swimmer Maclain Clock has been involved in athletics for a fairly long time now.

“I have been a part of sports for all of high school and middle school, so roughly five to six years total.” Clock said.

Doing sports for this amount of time can be challenging, but Clock has his reasons to keep motivated.

“My motivation to maintain my fitness routine primarily comes from my desire to not let my fitness limit what I can and can't do, and to not let my teammates down by not attending practices or staying in shape.”

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