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Cirrus clouds this time of year often precede thunderstorms. When near full moon, you will sometimes see a ring around the moon as reflected sunlight is refracted through 6-sided ice crystals in these clouds. These rings are a type of atmospheric optic called halos.

In 1972 on this date, Apollo 16, carrying astronauts John W. Young, Thomas K. Mattingly II, and Charles M. Duke Jr., safely splashed down in the Pacific Ocean.

Full moon occurs today at 10:32 pm. Tomorrow the Moon will reach perigee which is when the Moon is nearest the Earth. Often April’s full moon is known as the Full Pink Moon.

On this date in 1961, Mercury MA-3, carrying a ‘mechanical astronaut,’ was launched in a failed attempt to orbit the spacecraft. The spacecraft was successfully recovered and was shipped back to McDonnell Aircraft for refitting.

Rising in the southeast at midnight is the bright red super giant star Antares. This is the brightest star in the constellation Scorpius the Scorpion which is a sign that summer is approaching.

In 1972 on this date, Apollo 16’s lunar module Orion touched down on the Moon, placing astronauts Charles Duke and John Young in the moon’s Descartes region, only about 230 meters northwest of the planned target area. Thomas K. Mattingly II remained in lunar orbit aboard their command module Casper.

Look southeast around 9:30 pm for the bright star Spica in the constellation Virgo. Spica is a B-class star with a visual magnitude of 0.97. The easiest way to find Spica is to follow the curve of the Big Dipper’s handle to the red star Arcturus and continue to Spica.

On this date in 1998, China announced plans to launch their first manned spacecraft into Earth orbit the following year. The project took longer than expected, but Shenzhou 5 was successfully launched on October 15, 2003.