Monthly Night Sky information provided by Chris Vaughan (@Astrogeoguy) at Starry Night Education (@StarryNightEdu).
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 they host in strong binoculars or backyard telescopes on the dark nights this weekend. Draw a line connecting the dipper stars Phecda to Dubhe, and […]
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 Mercury positioned low in the eastern sky and well below the tilted morning ecliptic (green line), this appearance of the innermost planet will be a […]
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 quarter moons rise around midnight in your local time zone, and then linger in the southern sky after sunrise. At third, or last, quarter the […]
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 Tuesday, April 22, but some meteors should be seen while the shower’s radiant point near the bright star Vega in Lyra climbs the eastern […]
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 (or 10 degrees to the celestial west) of brilliant Venus. Much fainter Saturn will also shine a few degrees below Venus. Just before sunrise, Mercury […]