April brings a meteor shower, Venus shining near the beautiful Pleiades cluster, and the moon occulting a planet and a bright star.
April begins with a big bright moon. On April 2, the moon reaches full phase at 1:15 p.m. Eastern Time. Although it will look big and bright, it is in fact not as big as at other times of the year. This full moon occurs a day before the moon reaches apogee, or its most distant point in its monthlong orbit around Earth. Because the moon is full just a day before apogee, it is the most distant full moon of the year, making it fill slightly less space in the sky than when it is full near perigee, or its closest point to Earth in its orbit. The closest full moon this year will be October's gorgeous Hunter's Moon.
All night long on April 2 the bright star Spica in Virgo will follow the moon across the sky, getting closer by morning. By nightfall on April 3 the moon will have been passed up by Spica, which will now lead it across the sky all night.
Venus continues to be the bright evening star for all of April. Venus is the bright object in the western sky after sunset. Its steady white light shines at -4.02 at the beginning of the month and brightens a little to -4.11 by the end of the month. Start watching Venus on April 10 as it begins its close encounter with the Pleiades star cluster in Taurus. On April 11 and April 12 Venus skims right past the cluster, which will make for a beautiful sight in binoculars. On April 13 Venus starts to pull slightly away from the Pleiades and head toward the Hyades star cluster in Taurus, or the stars which mark the V-shaped head of The Bull. By April 16, Venus will be even with Taurus's brightest star, Aldebaran. Compare the two. Venus is a steady white light, shining brilliantly at magnitude -4.06. Aldebaran, normally considered a bright star at magnitude 0.87, will be a poor cousin beside Venus. Aldebaran's red hue will make them quite the contrast.
On April 15, Saturn shows us its maximum ring span of the year at 15.4 degrees. Saturn's rings are tilting toward close, appearing thinner as it heads toward its edge-on view. Saturn is high in the sky after sunet, sitting right in front of Leo the Lion. It is up and bright all evening until setting in the wee morning hours. Its accessibility makes it a good observing target. Even a small telescope will show Saturn's rings. Also try to spot Saturn's largest moon, Titan.
New Moon occurs on April 17 at 7:36 a.m. Eastern Time. Try to spot the young moon setting just after the sun on this day. Pay attention to the spot where the sun sets. Then watch for the tiny sliver of moon to appear. It will set just a little north of the spot where the sun set, about 40 minutes later. If you miss it, you will get to see a slightly larger crescent moon on April 18, setting about an hour later than the day before. On April 19, the moon joins the pretty grouping that Venus has been making with Taurus's Hyades and Pleiades clusters.
Celebrate Astronomy Day on April 21. Visit a local planetarium, buy the telescope you've always been wanting, or teach a child about the beauty of our universe.
The next day, April 22, is Earth Day. The universe showers Earth with a little gift on this day. The Lyrid meteor shower peaks tonight. The constellation Lyra rises about two hours after sunset. The Lyrid meteors appear to emanate from the constellation Lyra. You can expect to see about 12 meteors an hour at peak. Follow this link for more annual meteor shower information.
On April 22 and April 23, the moon passes from below to above the twins Castor and Pollux in Gemini. From April 23 to 24, the moon will pass from one side of the Beehive Cluster to the other in the constellation Cancer. On April 24 and 25, the moon occults first Saturn and then Regulus for observers in far northwestern North America, including Alaska.
Before sunrise on April 29, catch Mars and Uranus in very close quarters in the constellation Aquarius. First magnitude Mars will be reddish, Uranus will be greenish blue and magnitude 5.9, and the star Phi Aquarii will make a close triangle with the other two at magnitude 4.2. They will sit less than one degree apart.
Because Venus is dominating the evening sky, Jupiter gets to play the part of the Morning Star, shining at a bright -2.49 in the south-southwest before sunrise. Jupiter is currently in a non-zodiac constellation -- Ophiuchus.
Check out the new comet - Lovejoy - in morning skies this April.
Go back to the Night Sky for March 2007.
Go to the Night Sky for May 2007.
