April 5 Moon and Spica
The Moon is full today. It’s best known as the Egg Moon or Grass
Moon. Spica, the brightest star in the constellation Virgo, appears
to the right of the Moon as they rise this evening.
April 5 Moon and Spica
The Moon is full today. It’s best known as the Egg Moon or Grass Moon. Spica, the brightest star in the constellation Virgo, appears to the right of the Moon as they rise this evening.
April 6 Auriga
Auriga, the charioteer, drives across the western sky this evening. Its brightest star is yellow-orange Capella, which stands high in the west-northwest as darkness falls.
April 7 Mars, Venus, Taurus
Venus and Mars congregate inside the constellation Taurus tonight. Venus is the bright “evening star” in the west at sunset. Mars and Aldebaran, the brightest star of Taurus, appear to the left of Venus, with Mars a little higher in the sky. Both look orange.
April 8 Bullish Planets
Venus and Mars bull their way through Taurus, the bull, this month. Venus is the brilliant “evening star.” Yellow-orange Mars appears to the upper left of Venus. To the lower left of Mars, look for the orange star Aldebaran, which represents the bull’s eye.
April 9 Night Owl Venus
The first “star” to pop into view tonight isn’t really a star at all, but the planet Venus. Beaming in the west as darkness falls, it easily outshines every other heavenly body in the night sky except the Moon.
April 10 Pointing to Polaris
Polaris, the north star, marks the north celestial pole. But it’s not especially bright, so it can be tough to find. But here’s a pointer: just follow the Big Dipper. The two stars that mark the outer edge of its bowl point almost directly toward Polaris.
April 11 Last-Quarter Moon
The Moon reaches its last-quarter phase at 8:46pm. At last quarter, sunlight illuminates one-half of the Moon’s visible disk. The Moon’s sunlit fraction will gradually decrease until the Moon reaches its new phase on April 27.
