What’s Up in the Night Sky? April 2015

Fred Barrett | Apr 01, 2015

We have a nice little meteor shower in the lineup for April. Between April 16 and 25, the Lyrid meteor shower will be active in the sky. Its radiant is in the small constellation Lyra, named after a Greek musical instrument called a Lyre. It is also known as The Weaver because its shape suggests a spinning wheel for yarn or thread. Lyra rises in the northeast about 8pm during April and it has a very bright star at its top called Vega. Vega is one of the three stars that make up the Summer Triangle. The other two stars are Deneb in Cygnus, the Swan and Altair in Aquila, the Eagle. Those stars rise later in the evening. I’ll describe more about them in a future column when the temperatures are a little more like, well, summer and the Triangle is more prominent in the sky. If you trace a meteor trail back along its path and you do this for several meteors, the paths will intersect at the radiant. Note that meteor trails appear all across the sky and there is no need to concentrate on the radiant. The shower will peak on the night of April 22/23. The ideal hourly rate or ZHR (Zenithal Hourly Rate) for the Lyrids is about 20 on the peak night. Last year, however, the hourly rate was larger than usual and it is expected to be at least as large this year. A big advantage to this year’s shower is that there won’t be a Moon to wash out the sky with its brightness - great conditions!

There is a lunar eclipse in the west of our continent on the 4th just before sunrise. Here in the east, we might be able to make out some very partial shading of the Moon. Eclipses occur when there is a full Moon and this Full Moon on the 4th is called the Pink Full Moon. The name comes from wild ground phlox which is one of the earliest blooming flowers of spring. This Moon is also called the Sprouting Grass Moon. My grass will probably still be under a foot of snow on the 4th!

There are five planets in the evening sky during April. Venus is high in the western sky for this month. It’s about a third (30 degrees) of the way up from the horizon and lasts about three hours before it sets. As the month passes, Venus actually lengthens its stay in the west to more than 3½ hours. Between the 10th and 12th, Venus is a beautiful sight 3 degrees left of the Pleiades and close to the Hyades.

The star Aldebaran, red eye of constellation Taurus, the Bull is about 7 degrees to the lower left of Venus on the 19th and on the 20th and 21st, a thin crescent Moon becomes part of this grouping in the west. Mars and Mercury are near each other, close to the western horizon on the 19th. Mercury is to the lower right of Mars and a thin crescent Moon on their left will help you find them. You will need a clear western horizon and a pair of binoculars.

Saturn brightens this month. Early in the month it rises after midnight but by the end of the month it makes its appearance by about 9:30 pm. Its rings are tilted more than 24 degrees and this contributes to its very bright appearance in the sky. Saturn’s largest moon Titan can be easily seen in a modest telescope. Titan will be north of Saturn on the 2nd and 18th. On the 10th and 26th, it will be south of the planet. Three of its other moons, somewhat smaller than Titan, can be observed as well. Look for Tethys, Dione and Rhea as they dance around Saturn.

Jupiter is already high in the south at dusk. It can be seen off the right of the Sickle of the constellation Leo, the Lion. By the 8th Jupiter will be 5 degrees east of the Beehive star cluster (M44). The Beehive is an open star cluster and is a spectacular sight in binoculars. It sits in the constellation Cancer. Jupiter will slowly drift east as the month progresses. Here’s a challenge! On the 26th before sunset, grab your binoculars and go out and see if you can find Jupiter in the daylight! Jupiter will be 5 degrees above and a bit to the right of the Moon.

April 25 marks the 25th anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope. Although there will be no more repair missions to the Hubble, it’s good for a few more years yet!

April 20-26 is International Astronomy Week and the 25th is Astronomy Day! Get out there and enjoy our beautiful dark skies! For more information, go to www.rasc.ca/astronomy-day .

You may contact Fred Garrett through this paper or email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Beginner’s Observer’s Guide by Leo Enright is available at the Sharbot Lake Pharmacy or by contacting the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada www.rasc.ca/publications, subscriptions for our very own excellent Canadian astronomy magazine, Sky News, are also available from RASC..