Highlights of the Night Sky in April

Here are some of the things to see in April:

8:30 PM, western sky – Venus rises over the horizon after sunset, Mercury appears low in the sky toward the end of the month
9 PM, southern sky – Jupiter rises high when the evening sets in
1 AM, southeastern sky – Saturn rises over the horizon after midnight and is joined by the Moon on April 8
10 PM, northern sky – Ursa Major with the Mizar and Alcor double star system, visible to the unaided eye in good conditions; the neighbouring galaxies Messier 81 (Bode’s Galaxy) and Messier 82 (Cigar Galaxy); the Big Dipper pattern and Pointer Stars, Merak and Dubhe, pointing the way to Polaris in Ursa Minor
10 PM, southern sky – the constellation Leo, with the bright stars Regulus and Denebola marking the lion’s heart and tail; the Leo Triplet, consisting of galaxies Messier 65, Messier 66, and the Hamburger Galaxy (NGC 3628); the pair of neighbouring spiral galaxies Messier 95 and Messier 96
Three Leaps of the Gazelle – three pairs of double stars between the head of Leo and Ursa Major
2 AM, eastern sky – Lyrid meteor shower, best seen in the early morning hours of April 22, with up to 20 meteors per hour visible after midnight
Total lunar eclipse on April 4, visible from the western United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and eastern Asia