Welcome to the April night sky. Now we are officially in springtime, the days are getting longer, and the nights are shorter in the northern hemisphere. Last month was the Equinox when the days and nights were of the same length all over the world.
The winter constellations like the Orion “the Hunter” are now setting in the west as darkness falls. Over in the east at this time, we have the bright white star Spica rising in the constellation of Virgo. And overhead we have Leo “the Lion” with the bright star Regulus. Visible towards the north at this time of the evening and also high up we have the constellation of Ursa Major the “Great Bear”.
The brightest star in the night sky is Sirius and it is now setting in the west as darkness falls. Also, directly in the east is rising Arcturus in the constellation Boötes “the Herdsman”. The Milky-Way has now set below the western horizon and now our night sky looks out of our Galaxy towards the millions of other Galaxies that lie beyond.
The brightest planet in the night sky at the moment is Venus and it rises in the east one hour before sunrise. Also, Venus is close to Saturn and Neptune on the 28th. The red planet Mars is on the border of Gemini and Cancer and sets on the west at around 3am.
The Moon will be close to Mars on the 5th. The gas giant planet Jupiter is in Taurus, and it sets in the west at around midnight. The Moon will be close to this planet on the 2nd and the 3rd. The ringed planet Saturn is in Aquarius, and it rises in the east just one hour before sunrise. The Moon will be close to this planet on the 25th.
There is only one meteor shower this month that is the Lyrids on the 22nd. This shower is from the comet Thatcher and these meteors have their origin close to the bright star Vega.
The Moon is at first quarter on the 5th, full on the 13th, last quarter on the 21st and new on April 27.
Camera Obscura
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To see the April Sky Map, click on the pdf link below
https://www.portugalresident.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/2025-04-April-nightsky.pdf
