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April Nightsky - Constellations and Planets in April 2008

29 March 2008 2 Comments

April is the last darker month in northern hemisphere before the summer. In April nights are shorter and days longer. Even though this means less time to observe the celestial objects, you can still have few hours good skywatching every night.

Big constellations such as Orion, Taurus, Canis Minor and Canis Major are heading more and more towards west. Night sky is dominated by constellation Leo in southern direction, while Ursa Major is located pretty much above your head (assuming you are located in northern hemisphere on Helsinki level just like me).

Big stars can be seen well still in April. Capella is still located pretty high and can be seen between West and North-West directions. Arcturus can be seen between South and South-East directions, Vega and Deneb can be seen rising from North and North-East direction.

In April 8th the Moon is located close to Pleiades, so one can have a great change to photograph the Moon and Pleiades together. In April 12th the Moon is located close to Mars, while in April 15th it is located close to Saturn. In April 27th the Moon is located close to Jupiter.

During April one can see Mars and Saturn in the evening sky, and in the end of April one can also see Mercury in the early night. Jupiter and Pluto can be seen in early morning.

Planets that cannot be seen in April are Venus, Uranus and Neptune. Mercury can be seen in the end of April between North and North-West directions. A good time to view Mercury is about half an hour after sunset.

Mars can be seen in early night between West and South-West directions. Because Mars is not anymore as bright as few weeks ago, make sure you are really watching Mars. You might be confused with the nearby stars Castor and Pollux, which are also quite bright.
Jupiter rises from South and South-West direction in early morning and can be seen low in South direction just before dawn. Saturn is located in direction south and can be seen in the evening, just after sunset. During April Saturn is located pretty close to Regulus, the brightest star of constellation Leo.

Although Pluto is very difficult to see, you can try to find it with a telescope. If you are going to try, make sure it will not be full moon and you are located in a dark place, for example in countryside or forest.


This article was written by Marko Pyhajarvi and its original location is in HomeboyAstronomy.Com astronomy blog. For more great astronomy articles, please visit HomeboyAstronomy.Com!

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