Your guide to the night sky this month
Friday 1
The Moon is new today making this a great time to attempt our ‘Deep-Sky Tour’. This month we’re looking at objects near the Coma Berenices border with Virgo.
Sunday 3
As darkness falls the 6%-lit waxing crescent Moon lies approximately 1.1˚ from mag. +5.9 Uranus.
Monday 4
A galaxy-rich area reaches its highest position in the run up to midnight. The Realm of Galaxies is located north of the Bowl of Virgo and east of Denebola (Beta (b) Leonis). The best way to navigate them is to galaxy hop!
Tuesday 5
Mag. +0.9 Saturn and +1.0 Mars appear separated by 19 arcminutes this morning. Both planets rise 80 minutes before the Sun, a tricky spot. Mag. –4.2 Venus appears 7.3˚ to the eastnortheast or to the left of the pair as seen from the UK.
Friday 8
A chance to see the popular clair-obscur effects known as the Lunar X and V occurs this evening. The two floating letters can be seen near the Moon’s terminator, fully formed at 21:53 BST (20:53 UT).
Saturday 9
This evening, the Moon’s dawn terminator will have moved far enough to the west to reveal the fabulous Rupes Recta, the Straight Wall.
Tuesday 12
Minor planet 8 Flora reaches as near to opposition as it gets for the year, shining at mag. +9.8. Flora is currently in Virgo, beginning its monthly track just north of Heze (Zeta (z) Virginis), heading towards Auva (Delta (γ) Virginis).
Saturday 16
Minor planet 15 Eunomia reaches opposition at mag. +9.8. Eunomia is in Hydra, the Sea Serpent, to the southeast of the distinctive Sail asterism formed by the main stars in Corvus, the Crow.
Friday 22
The Lyrid meteor shower reaches peak activity this evening. The shower radiant is low as the sky darkens, climbing to its highest point just as dawn kicks in. The last quarter Moon won’t interfere: it rises as the sky begins to brighten.
Sunday 24
There’s quite a parade of planets forming in the morning sky with, in order of greatest apparent distance from the Sun, Saturn, Mars, Venus and Jupiter all in a line.
Monday 25
A 31%-lit waning crescent Moon lies 5.8˚ southeast of mag. +0.9 Saturn this morning. Catch them around 05:00 BST (04:00 UT) low above the southeast horizon.
Tuesday 26
This morning’s 22%-lit waning crescent Moon lies 4.9˚ south-southeast of mag. +0.9 Mars, a difficult spot, potentially visible approximately 30 minutes before sunrise.
Wednesday 27
Mag.–4.0 Venus lies 3.4˚ to the west of mag. –1.9 Jupiter this morning. A slender 13%-lit waning crescent Moon is located approximately 5˚ south of this planetary pairing.
Thursday 28
Minor planet 10 Hygiea reaches opposition at mag. +9.3 in the constellation of Virgo, the Virgin near the border with Libra, the Scales.
Friday 29
Mercury reaches greatest eastern elongation.
Mag. +0.4 Mercury lies 1.4˚ south of the Pleiades from 22:00 BST (21:00 UT) as both objects approach the northwest horizon.
Saturday 30
Mag.–2.0 Jupiter lies 41.5 arcminutes to the northeast of mag. –4.0 Venus, as both planets rise. Spot them from 05:00 BST (04:00 UT) low above the eastern horizon.
Family stargazing
Mercury is a tricky planet to spot, always located in either the morning or evening twilight. During April, it has a good position in the evening twilight and is a great target for young astronomers to chase. Start looking for it from 30 minutes after sunset low above the west-northwest horizon, from 15 April on. If you struggle, the planet moves further from the Sun towards the month’s end, but also dims a little. On 29 April, Mercury sits just below the Pleiades open cluster. Look for it one hour after sunset, low above the west-northwest horizon around this date. bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/shows/stargazing
NEED TO KNOW
The terms and symbols used in The Sky Guide
Universal Time (UT) and British Summer Time (BST)
Universal Time (UT) is the standard time used by astronomers around the world. British Summer Time (BST) is one hour ahead of UT
RA (Right ascension) and dec. (declination)
These coordinates are the night sky’s equivalent of longitude and latitude, describing where an object is on the celestial ‘globe’
Family friendly
Objects marked with this icon are perfect for showing to children
Naked eye
Allow 20 minutes for your eyes to become dark-adapted
Photo opp
Use a CCD, planetary camera or standard DSLR
Binoculars
10×50 recommended
Small/ medium scope
Reflector/SCT under 6 inches, refractor under 4 inches
Large scope
Reflector/SCT over 6 inches, refractor over 4 inches
GETTING STARTED IN ASTRONOMY
If you’re new to astronomy, you’ll find two essential reads on our website. Visit http://bit.ly/10_easylessons for our 10-step guide to getting started and http://bit.ly/buy_scope for advice on choosing a scope