The Planets
Planet Data For April
Click on any planet below to go straight to its section.
The table below shows key data for the planets this month, including rise, transit and set times, as well as magnitude, apparent size and position data (right ascension and declination).
Events that occur when the sun is below the horizon are shown with a black background and white text. All other events happen when the sun is in the sky and other for not visible for observation.
April only really offers good viewing for Mars and Jupiter in the evening. Uranus is also an evening planet, but low, while Mercury, Venus, Saturn and Neptune are crowding the eastern horizon before sunrise… but sadly only in the glare of dawn.
All of the images below can be opened full screen in a new tab by clicking on them
Mercury
05th April
At 6:30 in the morning, Mercury breaks the horizon but too close to the sun to be observed.
15th April
45 minutes before sunrise (6 am) Mercury is only a couple of degrees over the eastern horizon and can’t be viewed.
25th April
Very little has changed ten days later at the same time.
Mercury is a morning planet throughout April but due to a shallow ecliptic, it doesn’t pull far enough away from our star to be viewed.
Venus
05th April
At 6:30 in the morning, bright Venus is 9° over the eastern horizon.
15th April
Ten days later and Venus has pulled away from the sun some more. It’s still 9° high but, at 6am, the backdrop is darker.
25th April
Earlier sunrises are catching up with us, so we now need to observe before 6am to get the best views… very low in the east.
Venus will be an impressively thin crescent if you can manage to catch sight of it early in the month. On 5 April, its disc is only 7% illuminated but it still shines at magnitude -4.3, so we can see it. You’ll need to be quick however because it doesn’t get more than 10° over the horizon before the dawn sky gets too bright for us to observe it.
By the end of the month, we’re able to see this dazzlingly bright planet against a darker background but it’s still very low in the east. If you do manage to position it in your eyepiece, you’ll see the disc is now 1/4 illuminated.
Mars
05th April
At 9pm, Mars is almost directly overhead and very close to Castor and Pollux in Gemini.
15th April
Two-thirds of the way to the zenith, over the southwest horizon, Mars has shrunk back to just 7 arcseconds wide.
25th April
With a shrinking disc comes a dimming magnitude; tonight, Mars shines at +0.9.
Sadly, the Mars viewing hay day has passed and the Red Planet is rapidly shrinking back towards relative obscurity as it travels away from us for the next year or so. It’s still bright and high enough to easily be placed in our eyepieces, but its shrinking disc means it’s much harder to pull out any surface details.
Jupiter
05th April
At 9pm, we find Jupiter midway between the western horizon and zenith.
15th April
At the same time 10 days later, its 35-arcsecond disc shines at a bright magnitude -2.0. See it between the horns of Taurus.
25th April
We’re steadily seeing it sink towards the horizon as Jupiter heads for the sun. Tonight, it’s only 30° high in the west at 9pm.
Jupiter, as is so often the case, is the best planet for evening viewing right now. Despite its opposition fading into the rearview mirror, we can still see it giant disc shining brightly in the evening. Look for it in the west, nestled between the horns of Taurus.
It’s heading towards the sun at the moment and is due to pass behind it in less than three months from now, which is why we’re seeing it get closer to the horizon at the same time of night as April passes.
Saturn
05th April
It’s 6:45 am in this view and Saturn barely scrapes the horizon before the sun rises.
15th April
At 6am, the ringed planet is only 4° high in the east, making it unobservable.
25th April
The picture improves only very slightly ten days later.
Saturn passed behind the sun in the middle of March and has now emerged as a morning planet. However, it is still so close to the sun and the ecliptic is so shallow, that we won’t be seeing it well enough for telescope observation this month.
Uranus & Neptune
15th April – Uranus
9pm, Uranus is 14° over the western horizon, not far south of the Pleiades.
15th April – Neptune
Neptune is a morning planet and in the mix with Mercury and Saturn in the brightening dawn sky.
Neither of the distant ice giants are well placed for telescope observation this April. Uranus offers the darker sky but it’s relatively low and the condensed atmosphere will hinder the quality of viewing.
All Planets Viewer
Use the table below to see when each of the planets is observable for each day this month. Click on it for full screen.
A planet is classed as observable when it is more than 10° above the horizon and the sky is dark enough for it to be observed.
Planet ephemeris tables produced with the kind permission of Dominic Ford. Sky images are courtesy of SkySafari Pro 6.