Outlook for April and Star Maps

Outlook for April and Star Maps. Source BBC.

Mercury moves under the daytime Sun on the 16th, an event known as the superior conjunction. By the end of the month it has made its way out of the glare to become an evening object. Look low and to the northwest around 9pm from the 26th to catch this elusive world, it will be the 'star' sitting below the Pleiades or Seven Sisters group.

Venus is unobservable this month as it closes in on the Sun.

Mars is currently riding high in the spring night sky. The planet will cross most of Gemini, the Twins, through the month, and will almost make it into Cancer, the Crab.

Jupiter rises just after 3am during the middle of the month, but because of its location in the constellation of Sagittarius, the Archer, it won't be that high in the sky by dawn. However, it will be incredibly bright at the end of the month with a magnitude of 2.4. On the morning of the 27th you'll find the waning gibbous Moon sitting under Jupiter, and as long as your southern horizon is fairly good then the planet will be unmistakable.

Saturn is visible all evening, from its starting place high up in the southwest sky at sunset. Currently, Saturn is in Leo, the Lion, where it will stay until September 2009. The real star to the right of the planet throughout the month is the slightly bluish Regulus, the leading star of the Lion. The waxing gibbous Moon sits below Saturn on the 15th.

Meteor Showers

The 'shooting star' displays include the April Lyrids from the constellation of Lyra, the Harp. The peak of this shower is on the 22nd when you could see a maximum of about 15 meteors an hour. However, the Moon is just past full which will make it nigh on a complete waste of time looking.