Everywhere you look planets, planets, planets. That pretty much
gives you an idea of what is in store for the night skies in April.
In order from west to east, you will see Mercury, Venus, Mars,
Saturn and Jupiter.
Everywhere you look planets, planets, planets. That pretty much gives you an idea of what is in store for the night skies in April. In order from west to east, you will see Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter. There actually is one more planet that is visible to us. OK, so it’s not in the night sky. It is the big one we are standing on, the Earth. I know that is stretching it. But it always makes for a good trivia question.
In the first week of April about 30 minutes after sunset, 11 degrees high above the horizon and setting 90 minutes after the Sun you will see the small planet Mercury. This speedy planet travels so fast around our Sun that it doesn’t get a chance to stay around vary long. So make sure you get a glimpse of it before it is gone again.
Next in line is the bright planet of Venus. I can’t tell you how many calls I have received from onlookers about this star-like object in the western horizon late in the evening. If you think it is bright now, wait until the end of April when Venus gets closer and brighter. Other than the Sun and Moon, Venus is the brightest regular object in the evening sky.
Venus has phases much like our Moon. At the beginning of April, Venus starts out similar to a quarter Moon, showing us just half of its visible surface. I guess we can call it a quarter Venus. But by the end of the month, she takes on a small crescent look. These phases can be viewed upon even with some of the smaller telescopes.
Don’t miss the juxtaposition (it means placed side by side) of Venus and the Pleiades star cluster on April 2 and 3. This unusual pairing puts Venus less than 1 degree away from the cluster that is also known as the Seven Sisters or the Milk Dipper. If you have a camera, try taking some photos of this union. This doesn’t happen everyday.
Another good opportunity to take some great photos is on the 22nd and 23rd when the crescent Moon passes by the planets. Take a look at the April Sky Watch table. The Moon is always a great guide tool for locating other objects in the sky, such as planets, stars and such.
Mars lies 9 degrees higher in the sky than Venus and is a dwindling ember of its grand appearance just a year ago. But don’t worry, Mars will be back again next year in all its glory.
One of the most amazing objects in the sk, that is available to you in your own backyard telescope, is the planet Saturn. This beautiful picture in the sky is one that remains with first-time viewers for their entire lives. One evening I had some grade-school children over to take a look at Saturn. I remember one little guy saying, while looking at Saturn, “Look at this; it almost looks real.”
I enjoy watching the response of young and old when they see Saturn the first time. Maybe when Saturn comes to this same location again on its 29.5-year trip around the Sun that same guy, now not so little, will remember that old man who showed him his first view of the planet.
The last of our five planets, and the mightiest of them all, Jupiter ranks second in brightness only to Venus. Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system and remains visible well after midnight. This giant provides a wealth of entertainment.
It’s interesting to watch Jupiter’s moons dancing in front or transiting the planet. It’s not easy to see the moons while in transit, but to view the shadows of those moons is quite easy. The four Galilean satellites, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, trek back and forth as they orbit Jupiter and prove to be easy targets through any telescope, or even good binoculars.
Don’t forget to set your clocks forward one hour on the 4th at 2 a.m. Well, I guess you can set them the night before. Next October, we go back from Standard Time to Daylight-Saving Time when we turn the clock back one hour. Always remember, “Spring forward, Fall back.” Clear skies.
APRIL SKY WATCH
April 2 – Venus lies due south of the Pleiades
April 2 – Moon passes 3.2 degrees north of Jupiter
April 3 – Venus passes .53 degrees of Pleiades
April 4 – Standard Time to Daylight-Saving Time.
April 5 – Full Moon – known as: Easter, Grass, Egg or Paschal Moon.
April 7 – Moon is closest to Earth (perigee-226,519 miles)
April 9 – Good Friday
April 11 – Easter Day
April 11 – Last quarter Moon
April 13 – Moon passes 5 degrees southeast of Neptune
April 14 – Moon passes 4 degrees south of Uranus
April 19 – Moon passes 3 degrees southeast of Mercury
April 19 – New Moon
April 22 – Lyrid meteor showers
April 23 – Pi Puppid meteor showers
April 23 – Moon passes 1.4 degrees south of Venus
April 23 – Moon passes 2.2 degrees north of Mars
April 24 – Astronomy Day
April 23 – Moon is farthest from Earth (apogee-251,906 miles)
April 25 – Moon is 5 degrees north of Saturn
April 25 – Venus is 5.6 degrees W.N.W. of Mars
April 27 – First quarter Moon
April 29 – Moon passes 4 degrees north of Jupiter
April 30 – One of four cross-quarter days, halfway between solstices and equinoxes.
