Monthly Night Sky information provided by Chris Vaughan (@Astrogeoguy) at Starry Night Education (@StarryNightEdu).
Once the has sky darkened on Tuesday evening, April 1, look in the lower part of the western sky, where the bright little Pleiades Star Cluster (aka The Seven Sisters,…
Another 24 hours of eastward orbital motion will place the slightly fuller crescent moon less than a palm’s width to the upper right (or 5 degrees to the celestial north)…
On Thursday evening, April 3, the terminator boundary that separtes the moon’s lit and dark hemispheres will fall just to the left of a trio of large craters named Theophilus,…
On Friday night, April 4 in the western evening sky, the half-full moon will shine a fist’s diameter below (or 10 degrees to the celestial west of) the red planet…
The lower part of the southwestern sky on early April evenings is dominated by the three bright stars of the Winter Triangle. The prominent asterism, which is visible even while…
Three prominent craters break up the expanse of Oceanus Procellarum, the widespread dark region on the moon’s left-hand side. Large Copernicus is the easternmost of the craters. Its extensive, ragged…
During the early part of April, the planets Venus, Mercury, Neptune, and Saturn will all be gathered above the eastern horizon before sunrise. Neptune is far too faint to compete…
The moon will officially reach its full phase on Saturday, April 12 at 8:22 p.m. EDT or 5:22 p.m. PDT, which converts to 00:22 GMT on Sunday. Around that time,…
When the bright, waning gibbous moon clears the trees to the southeast in late evening on Tuesday, April 15, it will be shining close to the line of medium-bright stars…
On Wednesday evening, April 16, observers in a zone extending from the southern Atlantic Ocean, the southern part of Africa, the Kerguelen Islands, and eastern Antarctica can watch the motion…
On evenings during mid-April, the Big Dipper is positioned nearly overhead with its handle pointed down to the east. On this week’s moonless nights, two impressive galaxies can be seen…
The Big Dipper asterism and its home constellation of Ursa Major are very high in the northern sky in late evening during mid-April - ideal for observing the spectacular galaxies…
On Monday, April 21, Mercury (orbit shown in red) will reach its greatest angle of 27.4 degrees from the morning sun and maximum visibility for its current morning apparition. With…
The moon will reach its third quarter phase on Monday, April 21 at 01:35 GMT, which converts to 9:35 p.m. EDT or 6:35 p.m. PDT on Sunday, April 20. Third…
The annual Lyrids meteor shower, derived from particles dropped by comet C/1861 G1 (Thatcher), runs from April 16 to 29. It will peak in intensity at approximately 9 am EDT…
On Thursday morning, April 24, early risers can look low in the eastern sky for the pretty sight of the waning crescent moon shining a fist’s diameter to the right…
After 24 hours of additional eastward orbital motion, the very slim crescent of the old moon will shine within a triangle composed of three planets before sunrise on Friday morning,…
On Sunday, April 27, Venus will reach its greatest illuminated extent for the current morning apparition. In a telescope (inset), the planet will show a surprisingly slender, 26%-illuminated, waxing crescent…
The moon will reach its new phase on Sunday, April 27 at 3:31 p.m. EDT or 12:31 p.m. PDT or 19:31 GMT. At that time our natural satellite will be…
In the eastern sky before dawn in late April, the orbital motion of the brilliant planet Venus will be carrying it past 240 times fainter Saturn. On the mornings before…
In the western sky after dusk on Tuesday, April 29, the waxing crescent moon will shine prettily a fist’s diameter to the lower right (or 11 degrees to the celestial…
The large and bright constellation of Ursa Major, the Great Bear is at the zenith after dusk in late April. Everyone is familiar with the Big Dipper asterism portion of…
