Astronomy Essentials Tonight

Visible planets and night sky guide for April

Posted by

Marcy Curran

and

John Jardine Goss

and

Deborah Byrd

and

Kelly Kizer Whitt

and

April 26, 2024

April 26 and 27 mornings: Moon near Antares

Watch for the waning moon to rise in the depths of night tonight (night of April 26-27, 2024). No matter where you are on Earth’s globe, it should be over your horizon by midnight or shortly thereafter. By tomorrow morning (April 27), you’ll easily see the moon close to the bright star Antares, Heart of the Scorpion in Scorpius.

Our charts are mostly set for the northern half of Earth. To see a precise view – and time – from your location, try Stellarium Online.

Our annual crowd-funding campaign is going on now! Please donate now to help EarthSky.org keep going.

White dots for the moon on two days with a red dot for Antares. — Chart via EarthSky.

Glorious shot of this week’s full moon

White, bright disk of the moon that is covered by some clouds, all set against a dark sky. — EarthSky’s Raúl Cortés – a co-author of our daily sun news post – created this glorious gif of this week’s full moon. Thank you, Raúl!

The Big Dipper and Leo the Lion

Late April and early May are great times to look up overhead in the evening sky and find the well-known pattern of stars we call the Big Dipper. It’s an asterism – or obvious pattern of stars – and part of the constellation Ursa Major the Great Bear. Also, you can find the constellation Leo the Lion. Leo has another well-known asterism known as the Sickle. The Sickle looks like a backward question mark that is punctuated by the bright star Regulus. In fact, the Big Dipper can help you locate Leo and the Sickle. An imaginary line drawn southward from the pointer stars in the Big Dipper – the two outer stars in the Dipper’s bowl – points toward Leo the Lion.

The Big Dipper and Polaris

The Big Dipper can help you find Polaris, the North Pole Star. The two outer stars in the bowl of the Dipper point to Polaris. It’s at the end of the handle of Ursa Minor the Little Bear, commonly known as the Little Dipper.

The Big and Little Dipper with arrow showing how 2 stars from the Big Dipper point to Polaris. — Chart via EarthSky.

Cancer the Crab

Now that the moon is waning, try looking for Cancer the Crab with its famous Beehive star cluster. It contains some 1,000 stars. But the Beehive needs a dark sky to be seen. It lies between the Gemini twin stars Castor and Pollux, and the bright star Regulus in Leo the Lion.

Star chart: upside down Y shape for constellation Cancer, with other labeled stars and small dots for cluster. — Chart via EarthSky.

Have fun exploring the sky!

April evenings: Jupiter

Jupiter appears low in the west shortly after sunset in the first three weeks of April. During the month’s final week, it lies too low in the bright evening twilight to be easily seen. At the beginning of the month, Jupiter sets about three hours after sunset. At month’s end, Jupiter lies low in the evening twilight and may be challenging to spot. Jupiter will lie near the delicate Pleiades star cluster.

White dots for Jupiter and the Pleiades in April 2024. — Chart via EarthSky.

April mornings: Mars and Saturn

Mars and Saturn lie low in the morning twilight in April 2024. They shine with similar brightness and have a close pairing on the mornings of April 10 and 11. Saturn will climb a bit higher as the month goes on, and Mars will not move as much on the sky’s dome. By month’s end, Saturn will rise about two hours before sunrise and Mars will follow it about an hour later. Both planets will be easier to find in the coming months as they climb out of the morning glare.

Dots and arrows showing path of Mars and Saturn in the month of April. — Chart via EarthSky.

Where’s Venus and Mercury?

Venus is too close to the sun to be visible this month, and it’ll emerge in the evening sky around the beginning of August. Mercury will disappear from the bright evening twilight at the beginning of April and return to the morning sky in May.

Thank you to all who submit images to EarthSky Community Photos! View community photos here. We love you all. Submit your photo here.

Looking for a dark sky? Check out EarthSky’s Best Places to Stargaze.

Sky dome maps for visible planets and night sky

The sky dome maps come from master astronomy chart-maker Guy Ottewell. You’ll find charts like these for every month of 2024 in his Astronomical Calendar.

Guy Ottewell explains sky dome maps

Circle constellations, planets, the moon, the Milky Way and celestial lines. — Here is the sky dome view for April 2024. It shows what is above the horizon at mid-evening for mid-northern latitudes. The view may vary depending on your location. Image via Guy Ottewell’s 2024 Astronomical Calendar.

Heliocentric solar system visible planets and more

The sun-centered charts come from Guy Ottewell. You’ll find charts like these for every month of 2024 in his Astronomical Calendar.

Guy Ottewell explains heliocentric charts.

Circle with sun at center, planets around, and zodiac names on outer edge. — Heliocentric view of solar system, April 2024. Chart via Guy Ottewell’s 2024 Astronomical Calendar. Used with permission.

Some resources to enjoy

For more videos of great night sky events, visit EarthSky’s YouTube page.

Watch EarthSky’s video about Two Great Solar Eclipses Coming Up

Don’t miss anything. Subscribe to daily emails from EarthSky. It’s free!

Visit EarthSky’s Best Places to Stargaze to find a dark-sky location near you.

Post your own night sky photos at EarthSky Community Photos.

Translate Universal Time (UTC) to your time.

See the indispensable Observer’s Handbook, from the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.

Visit Stellarium-Web.org for precise views from your location.

Almanac: Bright visible planets (rise and set times for your location).

Visit TheSkyLive for precise views from your location.

Visible planets: Illustration of mythological constellations in the sky. — Attention amateur astronomers! Guy Ottewell’s popular and informative Astronomical Calendar for 2024 is available in both electronic and printed versions.

Bottom line: Visible planets and night sky guide for April 2024. On the mornings of April 26 and 27, watch for the moon close to the bright star Antares in Scorpius the Scorpion.

Posted

April 26, 2024

Astronomy Essentials

Marcy Curran

View Articles

About the Author:

EarthSky producer and editor Marcy Curran has enjoyed stargazing since she was a girl, going on family camping trips under the dark skies of Wyoming. You might know her best nowadays for her popular EarthSky Minute - which provides a heads up on that night's sky - at our YouTube channel. Marcy bought her first telescope in time to see Halley’s Comet in 1985. She co-founded her local astronomy club. And she taught astronomy at her local community college for over 20 years. Marcy and her husband live in Wyoming.

John Jardine Goss

View Articles

About the Author:

“I can sometimes see the moon in the daytime” was a cosmic revelation that John Jardine Goss first discovered through personal observations at age 6. It shook his young concept of the universe and launched his interest in astronomy and stargazing, a fascination he still holds today. John is past president of the Astronomical League, the largest U.S. federation of astronomical societies, with over 20,000 members. He's earned the title of Master Observer and has authored the celestial observing guides Exploring the Starry Realm and Carpe Lunam. John also writes a monthly stargazing column, Roanoke Skies, for the Roanoke Times, and a bimonthly column, Skywatch, for Blue Ridge Country magazine. He has contributed to Sky and Telescope magazine, the IDA Nightscape, the Astronomical League’s Reflector magazine, and the RASC Observer’s Handbook.

Deborah Byrd

View Articles

About the Author:

Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. Today, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of this website. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. In 2020, she won the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society, the largest organization of professional astronomers in North America. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.

Kelly Kizer Whitt

View Articles

About the Author:

Kelly Kizer Whitt has been a science writer specializing in astronomy for more than two decades. She began her career at Astronomy Magazine, and she has made regular contributions to AstronomyToday and the Sierra Club, among other outlets. Her children’s picture book, Solar System Forecast, was published in 2012. She has also written a young adult dystopian novel titled A Different Sky. When she is not reading or writing about astronomy and staring up at the stars, she enjoys traveling to the national parks, creating crossword puzzles, running, tennis, and paddleboarding. Kelly lives in Wisconsin.

View All

Visible planets and night sky guide for April