Monthly Night Sky Report: April 2022

  Introduction

    The month of March brought warmer temperatures and a few more cloudless skies to view the wonders above. For what I find to be typical, the clear skies fell during the week with the weekend plagued by cloudy skies. This, of course, prevented me from doing any sort of astrophotography and stargazing with a telescope. I also missed the opportunity to view the zodiacal light this month. On the positive side, I was able to see Venus, Mars, and Mercury in the morning sky during the last week or so of March. The thin crescent moon joined this trio on the 27th which was quite a sight.     

    "April showers bring May flowers," as the saying goes. We will see if that holds true during the fourth month. The current weather forecast shows cooler temperatures and partly cloudy skies for the first week of April. Hopefully, this new month will bring some clear skies as well, especially on the weekends! April will bring some relief to the meteor shower drought that we have experienced for the past two months. This month will also add two more planets to the morning planetary line-up. Unfortunately, we will also lose one planet as it reaches superior conjunction with the Sun. 

             

Mercury

    Mercury reaches superior conjunction on the 2nd and will be lost from view for the first week or so of April. This tiny planet will return to our evening sky beginning the second week of the month. As the month marches on, Mercury will climb higher in the sky, increasing its distance from the Sun from our vantage point. By the 29th, Mercury will reach its greatest eastern elongation. This will most likely prove to be the best time to view this planet in 2022.    

  

Venus

    Venus will rise before the Sun and will shine brightly, making it easy to spot in the morning sky. Observers with a sharp eye should be able to spot Saturn and Mars to the right of Venus. As the month continues, Venus, Mars, and Saturn will move farther apart, but Jupiter will rise earlier each morning and move closer to Venus. On the 26th, a thin crescent Moon can be found near Venus and Jupiter. On the final morning of the month, Venus and Jupiter, the two brightest planets in the sky, can be found less than 1° apart.   

    

Mars

    Mars can be found relatively close to Venus in the morning sky at the start of April. On the 4th and 5th, Mars and Saturn can be found less than 1° apart. The ringed world might be hard to spot due to the brightness of Venus and the glow of the Sun creeping into the morning sky. As the month continues, the morning planets will spread out from each other, creating a line across the sky. On the 25th, a thin crescent Moon will join Mars in the sky.     

Jupiter

Saturn

    Jupiter will appear in the morning sky this month. During the first week, Jupiter will be lost in the morning shine of the Sun. During the second week, Jupiter will pull away from the Sun and will be easier to spot. As the month continues, however, this giant planet will become easier to see as it pulls farther away from the Sun. As Jupiter moves away from the Sun, Venus will move nearer, bringing these two planets closer together on the final day of the month. This pair of planets will be less than 1° apart.       

    Saturn will continue to be found in the morning sky before sunrise this month. The ringed world will begin the month following Mars and will be tailed by Venus. On the 4th, Saturn will try to overtake Mars in the planetary race, bringing the pair within 1° of each other from our seats in the stands. The following morning, Saturn will pass Mars and become the leader in this morning planetary lineup. As the month continues, Saturn will rapidly pull away from the other planets and also increase its distance from the Sun, meaning this planet will be the first one to be visible before sunrise. Saturn will be joined by the Moon, which will appear as a wrong-way driver if viewed every morning, on the 24th.     

    The prime time for viewing Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn will come later this year. Make sure your gear is ready for observing! I recommend using a widefield eyepiece to capture the background stars of whatever planet you are looking at, as well as a high-powered eyepiece to view as much detail as your telescope and the sky allows. A great alternative is a zoom eyepiece which allows you to accomplish both tasks with one eyepiece! 

   

Neptune

Uranus

    

    The outer two planets are best viewed through a telescope but can still be seen through a pair of binoculars.  Uranus will be a tough target this month as it approaches the Sun from our vantage point. A thin crescent Moon will be found just above Uranus on the 3rd, after sunset. Mercury will return to the evening sky and will meet up with Uranus on the 17th, possibly aiding in finding this elusive ice giant. 

    Neptune will also be a tough target this month as it is the last planet to rise in the morning before the Sun. On the 12th, Neptune will be less than a tenth of a degree from Jupiter. If you are able to look through a telescope or binoculars, Neptune may appear to be a new moon of Jupiter's, to the untrained eye. Neptune will have a blueish tint to it which will contrast with the white of the Galilean Moons. By the 27th, Neptune will have moved in the sky, bringing it even closer to Venus.   

Meteor Shower 

    April will finally bring about the end of the meteor shower drought we have experienced for the past two months. The Lyrid Meteor Shower will peak on the evening of the 21st and the morning of the 22nd. This shower won't be the most impressive meteor shower of the year, but it will be a great opportunity to get back out under the stars. This shower will produce up to 20 meteors per hour if you are able to get away from city lights and observe while the Moon is out of the sky. The best time to view the Lyrids will be after midnight when Lyra is above the horizon and the Moon is still out of the sky. The Moon will rise at about 3 in the morning on the 22nd. The bright star Vega belongs to the constellation Lyra and will aid in finding the area of the sky to look for the Lyrid Meteor Shower.  

Spot Me....🕵️  

    I've had you try to spot quite a few different objects in the night sky, most of which require a telescope. I am most excited to see the early morning planetary lineup this month. If possible, I encourage you to check out the predawn sky as often as you can to see the positional changes of the planets each morning. For the first couple of days, you will notice Mars being the first planet to rise above the horizon, closely followed by Saturn and Venus. Venus will steal the show due to its brilliance. On the 5th, Saturn will be the first planet up with Mars clearing the mountains just minutes later. During the early part of the month, Jupiter will still be lost in the morning glare of the Sun, but by the middle of the month, you should be able to spot this giant gas planet above the mountains before the sunshine overpowers it. By the end of the month, Saturn and Mars will have pulled far away from Venus and Jupiter, which will hopefully make them easier to spot. On the final day of the month, Jupiter and Venus will rise above the mountains at the same time, creating quite the brilliant pair. See the image from Stellarium below for the planetary lineup around midmonth.

 

April 2022 morning planetary lineup.

    For observers ready to get back into deep-sky observing, the sky this month will offer many star clusters to view. During April, we will focus on Orion and Canis Major since they will soon be out of our view. Below is an image from Stellarium of what these two constellations will look like in the night sky. 

Orion and Canis Major.

    The first target, the Coal Car Cluster (NGC 1981) can be found close to the Orion Nebula and should be easy to track down. Center the Orion Nebula in your widefield eyepiece and gently guide your telescope to the upper region of this nebula. You should now be able to see NGC 1981 begin to creep into your field of view. Continue to guide your telescope until you have this cluster centered and enjoy the view before it dips below the horizon. This cluster makes up the upper part of Orion's sword. 

 

    The next star cluster can be found at about the same altitude but in the next constellation towards the southern horizon. This constellation is Canis Major, one of Orion's hunting dogs, and is easily recognizable by the bright star Sirius. This star makes up the upper chest of Canis Major with Mirzam, the star closer to the horizon than Sirius, making up the front paw. The Little Beehive Cluster (M41) can be found inside Canis' body. Using Sirius and Mirzam, a triangle can be formed with M41. Please see the images below for help.

Canis Major with constellation lines.

Enlarged Canis Major for clarity.

Guide to Little Beehive Cluster (NGC 1981).

    The final target is Caldwell 64, which is also an open star cluster and found in Canis Major. Constellations often extend beyond the bright stars that make up the figure, and this is also the case with Canis Major. Caldwell 64 appears to float above the tail of Canis, like a fly buzzing around a dog. Look towards the hindquarters of Canis to find the bright stars Adhara and Wezen. Adhara is the lower of the two and makes up the back legs of Canis and Wezen makes up the...well, Canis' bum. Use these two stars as pointers and follow them upwards to find Caldwell 64. See the images below for help.

    

Guide for Caldwell 64.

    The Coal Car Cluster, Little Beehive Cluster, and Caldwell 64 will soon be lost from view as they move closer to the Sun from our vantage point. Be sure to check them out before they are gone!  

Monthly Breakdown

April 01:  New Moon 🌑
April 02:  Mercury in superior conjunction
April 03:  Moon passes within 1° of Uranus
April 04:  Mars and Saturn within 1°
April 09:  First Quarter Moon 🌓
April 12:  Jupiter and Neptune within 0.1°
April 16:  Full Moon 🌕 
April 22:  Lyrid Meteor Shower peaks

April 23:  Last Quarter Moon 🌗

April 24:  Moon passes within 5° of Saturn

April 25:  Moon passes within 4° of Mars

April 26:  Moon passes within 4° of Venus

April 26:  Moon passes within 4° of Neptune

April 27:  Moon passes within 4° of Jupiter

April 27:  Venus and Neptune within 0.005°            
April 29:  Mercury reaches greatest eastern elongation
April 30:  Venus and Jupiter within 0.2°
April 30:  New Moon 🌑

       

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Now get outside and look up!

Planet images were taken by NASA.

Andrew vs. the Cosmos was taken by Jeff Greenland.