What's Up in the April Night Sky?

While this month isn’t filled with the exciting events we were fortunate to receive last month, it still has many interesting events lined up, which may be worth losing some sleep over.

We start on April 1 with the waxing crescent Moon appearing alongside Uranus in the early morning hours. And no, I am not fooling you guys by making you get up at 2 in the morning (depending on the region you live in) to see this event!

The Moon seems to be really like pairing up with planets because on April 5, it will be in close orbit with Mars. This event can be best viewed in the early hours of the evening, around 19:04 GMT, near the constellation Gemini. 

I feel like you know what I’m going to say at this point, but guess what Saturn will be in close orbit with on April 10: the Moon- big surprise there! Depending on your region, this event may be best viewed near the constellation Pisces, but some parts of the world may not catch it because it might be too close to the horizon.

On April 14, there will be a micromoon. This occurs when the Moon is at its farthest distance from Earth (at its apogee) and will appear smaller and dimmer on Earth due to the distance. This night might not be the best night to go stargazing since the Moon’s light will overpower the stars’ light. The reason I say this is because the Moon is so big and bright that it basically takes the spotlight and acts as the center of attention. To explain this further, since the light being reflected off the body is so bright, it makes it difficult to view the dim light coming from the stars, thereby making it more difficult to view the constellations. Don’t worry, because two weeks later, the Moon will be so thin that you can view these stars and constellations at your ease!

The next day, we will be fortunate enough to see a beautiful event which is perfect for avid space photographers: the alignment of Neptune, Mercury, Saturn, and Venus. This alignment will occur in the morning sky, and Mercury, Saturn, and Venus can be viewed with the naked eye, but Neptune may require specialized equipment like binoculars or a telescope. 

April 21 is the best day to view Mercury at its finest because it will be at its farthest distance west from the Sun. This event can be best viewed during the late hours of the evening and early hours of the night.

In the last few days of April, the Moon will approach close orbits with more planets, like Mercury and Venus, and will have a couple of repeats with other planets from earlier this month. While these may seem like boring events, capturing them creates great memories and, if captured at the right angle, looks breathtaking. So, while some people are getting their beauty sleep, you can be out at night, exploring the wonders of the night sky. Don’t feel pressured to take a photo of every sight; take it all in with your eyes because that will be more worth it than a photo :)

Works Cited:

https://starwalk.space/en/news/astronomy-calendar-2025