There are five planets that are easily visible without any optical aid, and four of them are near the sun and entering the morning sky, leaving Saturn to shine alone on April evenings.
Saturn in April
Saturn is an excellent target for anyone observing with or without a telescope. Even binoculars can show its rings.
Saturn reaches opposition on April 3 when it shines at magnitude 0.4. Opposition is defined as when a planet is on the opposite side of the sky from the sun as seen from Earth. Therefore, when a planet is at opposition, it is visible all night.
Saturn can be found in the constellation Virgo, a bit above its brightest star Spica as they rise in the east. Spica is a magnitude 1.0 star - a bit dimmer than Saturn's current magnitude. A nearby star, to the upper left of Saturn and Spica, shines brighter than both. This is Arcturus at magnitude 0.1.
Note the color of the three stars. Saturn should look a bit yellow compared to the bluish tone of Spica, and Arcturus should appear a bit orange compared to Saturn.
Through a telescope, see if there are any visible gradations in color on Saturn's surface. Note also the amount of rings visible. Saturn is currently tilted so that a minimum of the rings' surface can be seen. The rings cast a shadow on the planet, and likewise, near the rear of the planet, the orb of Saturn casts a shadow on the rings as well.
One moon of Saturn should be visible through small telescopes, and that is Titan. Titan is unusual of all the moons in the solar system in that it is the only one with a substantial atmosphere.
April's Moon
Recently the moon had its closest perigee of the year, and on April 1 it has its farthest apogee of the year. The moon will swing as far as 252,684 miles away from Earth and appear as a thin crescent on the morning of April 1. It reaches new phase on April 3, coinciding with Saturn's opposition. On April 6 it is easily spotted in the evening sky as a waxing crescent not far from the Pleiades star cluster. By the next night the moon has moved to the other side of this cluster and not far from the reddish star Aldebaran. On Friday, April 8, the moon is still in Taurus, sitting below the stars that mark the points of the bull's horns.
April's full moon occurs at 10:44 pm EDT on April 17. Look for the star Spica just above it, and Saturn above that. This month's full moon is sometimes called the Egg Moon.
The April Lyrid Meteor Shower
April's Lyrid Meteor Shower peaks on the evening of April 22 into the early morning hours of April 23. The meteors run from about April 19 to 24 and are the remains of Comet Thatcher as it left its dusty trail behind in its orbit. Up to 12 meteors an hour is possible during the shower's peak. Look east beginning in the late evening as Lyra is rising.
Source: Celestron's The Sky Software
Kelly Whitt - I have been a professional writer for more than a decade, covering many topics from science-based articles to do-it-yourself home ...
