April 2024

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April’s Astronomy Events

April’s sky has plenty of incredible sights for us to enjoy, including a meteor shower and a total solar eclipse!

All images are from SkySafari 6 and can be clicked on for a full screen version.

06 – Saturn and Mars shine brightly in Aquarius, during the early morning sky. The waning crescent moon hangs low in the sky, with Venus just below the horizon.

It’ll be tricky to see Mars, Saturn and the moon low on the horiozn before sunrise. Click for full-screen.

08 –  The Great North American Eclipse occurs on this day, with totality visible from Mexico, US and Canada.  The moon will pass between the Earth and the Sun, and block the sun’s light for up to 4.5 minutes, within the path of totality.

In parts of the Americas today, we_ll see a total eclipse of the sun. Click for full-screen.

10 – Mars and Saturn achieve a beautiful conjuction and are a mere 0.5 degrees apart from each other, within Aquarius. This is best viewed in the early morning hours on the eastern horizon.

Low on the horizon at dawn, Mars and Saturn are within half a degress of each other. Click for full-screen.

22 – The lyrid meteor shower, observed near the constellations Lyra and Hercules, peaks on the night of the 22nd. Unfortunately the bright waxing gibbous moon will be in the sky during the morning peak, making it a challenge to spot the typical 10 to 15 meteors per hour.

The lyrid meteor shower peaks overnight but the bright moon is unhelpful. Click for full screen.