Saturn, up all night long last month, can now be found in the east southeast at dusk.  We are seeing its rings a little more edge on than earlier in the year, an effect that gets even more pronounced next month.

Venus keeps getting higher in the evening sky during the month of April.  Face west at dusk and look for a point of light that outshines everything in the sky. As April opens, Venus has a companion; the elusive Mercury is to its lower right.  Normally too close to the sun to appear in our night sky, Mercury has come from behind the sun and appears far enough to its side that we can still see it just after sunset. Mercury’s greatest elongation (apparent distance from the sun) occurs on April 8.  After that date, we see Mercury return towards the sun’s glare.

Mars is very high in the evening sky, although not as bright as it was in winter.  Since Jan. 29, the Earth has been pulling ahead of Mars on its faster orbit.  As a result, Mars gets slightly dimmer each night for the rest of 2010.  However, during April, Mars remains brighter than average and thus remains easy to see.  Look high in the south at dusk for a reddish point of light.

Jupiter is low in the southeast at dawn this month.  Look for it low in twilight as day begins to break.  It will be higher in the southeast by the end of the month.

Johannes Hevelius drew the Orion constellation in Uranographia, his celestial catalogue in 1690

Now that the winter is over, the winter stars have shifted to the west.  Dazzling Orion is high in the southwest.  His belt points right to Aldebaran, the eye of Taurus, the Bull.  The Dog Stars Sirius and Procyon are to Orion’s left.  Sirius is the brightest star we ever see at night.  Gemini, the Twins, are to Orion’s upper left.  Look for two stars of equal brightness less than 5 degrees (three fingers at arms’ length) apart.  These are Castor and Pollux, marking the twins’ heads.  High in the northwest is Capella, the sixth brightest star ever seen at night.

Meanwhile, the spring stars are high in the east.  A distinct backwards question mark shape outlines the mane and forepaws of Leo, the Lion.  Three stars forming a right triangle rise underneath; they mark Leo’s hindquarters.  The Big Dipper is high in the northeast at dusk. If you have a clear eastern horizon, you can extend the curve of its handle to ‘arc to Arcturus’ and then ‘speed on to Spica.’  These stars are along the eastern horizon by dusk tonight.

photo credit: Space Ritual

The large contrast between the bright winter stars in the west at nightfall and the dimmer spring stars in the east arises because of the shape of our Milky Way. The Galaxy is a barred spiral much thinner than it is wide across. Thus, most stars are near the plane of the galaxy.  Orion, Taurus, Gemini, and the Dogs are near the galactic plane, while Arcturus and the stars of Leo and Virgo are far above it.

Moon Phases in April 2010:

Last Quarter                  April 6, 4:37 a.m.

New Moon                      April 14, 7:30 a.m.

1st Quarter                     April 21, 1:19 p.m.

Full Moon                       April 28, 7:18 p.m.