April
1 Last Quarter Moon
3 Moon passes Pluto
5 Moon passes Mars
6 Moon passes Saturn
7 Moon, at perigee (222,979 miles from Earth), passes Venus and Neptune
8 New Moon causes a total eclipse of the Sun, visible from North America, and passes Mercury
10 Moon passes Jupiter and Uranus
15 First Quarter
19 Moon at apogee (252,043 miles from Earth)
23 Full Moon – “Pink Moon” – not because of its color, because the tiny wildflowers of that name (you maysee them in your lawn before the mowers arrive) bloom at this time of year. This full Moon marks the beginning of Passover, which begins at sunset on the 22nd.
30 Moon passes Pluto
NEWS OF THE WORLD
Mercury (mag. 1.1) sinks into the evening twilight, reaching inferior conjunction with the Sun on April 11, and reappearing in the morning sky on April 18 when it meets Venus. Your best chance of seeing it is around April 30.
Jupiter (mag.-2.0) heads into the sunset this month, passing Uranus (mag.5.9) on April 20. The two are joined in Aries by Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, which you may be able to spot in binoculars as it approaches its perihelion on the 21st.All three will set around 9:20 PM. Jupiter will be in conjunction with the Sun May 18.
Mars (mag.0.2) and Saturn (mag. 1) appear in the pre-dawn sky, having a close conjunction on April 10 in Aquarius.On April 29, Mars passes Neptune as it reappears in the morning sky. We’ll get better views of this binocular/telescope object next month.
Venus (mag.-3.9) is still visible before sunrise, rising around 5:40 AM. Our brightest planet is heading for a superior conjunction with the Sun in early June, after which it becomes an evening planet in late July.
The Lyrid Meteor Shower runs from April 14-30, peaking on the night of April 22. The nearly-full Moon will washout some meteors, but looking east around 4 AM as the Moon is setting in the west, you may see about 18 meteors per hour.
Looking ahead
Please send us your photos and descriptions of your experiences viewing the April 8 solar eclipse, and we’ll publish them next month!