The night sky tonight and on any clear night offers an ever-changing display of fascinating objects you can see, from stars and constellations to bright planets, often the moon, and sometimes special events like meteor showers. Observing the night sky can be done with no special equipment, although a sky map can be very useful, and a good beginner telescope or binoculars will enhance some experiences and bring some otherwise invisible objects into view. You can also use astronomy accessories to make your observing easier, and use our Satellite Tracker page powered by N2YO.com to find out when to see the International Space Station and other satellites. Read on to find out what's up in the night sky tonight (Planets Visible Now, Moon Phases, Observing Highlights This Month) plus other resources (Skywatching Terms, Night Sky Observing Tips and Further Reading).
Monthly skywatching information is provided to Space.com by Chris Vaughan of Starry Night Education, the leader in space science curriculum solutions. Follow Starry Night on Twitter @StarryNightEdu and Chris at @Astrogeoguy.
Editor's note: If you have an amazing skywatching photo you'd like to share for a possible story or image gallery, please contact managing editor Tariq Malik at spacephotos@space.com.
Night Sky Guides:
- When, where and how to see the planets in the 2022 night sky
- The top skywatching events to look for in 2022
- Best night sky events of April 2022 (Stargazing Maps)
- Space calendar 2022: Rocket launches, sky events, missions & more
Calendar of observing highlights
Friday, April 1 - New Moon (at 06:24 GMT)
On Friday, April 1 at 2:24 a.m. EDT or 06:24 GMT, the moon will officially reach its new moon phase. At that time our natural satellite will be located in Cetus, and approximately 4 degrees south of the sun. While at its new phase, the moon is traveling between Earth and the sun. Since sunlight can only shine on the far side of the moon, and the moon is in the same region of the sky as the sun, it becomes completely hidden from view from anywhere on Earth for about a day. After the new moon phase Earth’s celestial night-light will return to shine as a crescent in the western evening sky.
Saturday, April 2 - See Four Bright Planets (pre-dawn)
Throughout April, four bright planets will be shining in the southeastern sky before sunrise. On the mornings surrounding Saturday, April 2, extremely bright Venus will rise shortly before 5 a.m. local time, accompanied by the fainter, yellow dot of Saturn positioned several finger widths to its right (or 4.7 degrees to the celestial west). Reddish Mars will shine a thumb’s width beyond that - almost close enough for the trio to share the view in binoculars. The planets will climb higher as the sky brightens towards 6 a.m. local time, with Venus visible longer than the others. Around that time, bright Jupiter will rise about 2.4 fist diameters to Venus’ lower left. Observers located close to the tropics will see Jupiter more easily.
Sunday, April 3 - Crescent Moon Passes Uranus (early evening)
In the western sky after dusk on Sunday, April 3, the young crescent moon will pass binoculars-close (green circle) to the faint, magnitude 5.85 planet Uranus. In the Eastern Time Zone look for Uranus’ blue-green dot positioned two finger widths below, and slightly to the right (or 2 degrees to the celestial west) of the moon. In more westerly time zones their separation will be greater. Hours earlier, observers in the Côte d'Ivoire region of Africa can see the moon occult Uranus around 19:30 GMT.
Monday, April 4 - Mars Swings by Saturn (pre-dawn)
On Monday, April 4, in the lower part of the east-southeastern sky before dawn, the faster orbital motion of reddish Mars will see it overtake yellowish Saturn in a very close conjunction, with much brighter Venus gleaming a palm’s width to their left. Although binoculars (green circle) will show Mars and Saturn easily all week, the two planets will be cosy enough to share the eyepiece in a backyard telescope from Sunday to Wednesday. On Monday, Mars will be posed less than a finger’s width to the right (or only half a degree to the celestial southwest) of Saturn. At closest approach on Tuesday morning, Mars will move closer and drop below Saturn (or 0.3 degrees to the ringed planet’s celestial southeast). Your telescope may flip and/or invert that arrangement.
Tuesday, April 5 - Crescent Moon and Ceres in Taurus (early evening)
In the western sky on Tuesday evening, April 5, the waxing crescent moon will shine among the stars of Taurus, the Bull. The prominent Pleiades star cluster will be positioned a fist’s width to the moon’s lower right (or celestial west), and the bright, orange-tinted star Aldebaran will shine a palm’s width to the moon’s lower left (celestial south). For observers in the Americas that night, the dwarf planet (formerly asteroid) designated (1) Ceres will be located nearly a palm’s width above the moon (or 5 degrees to its east). About 10 hours later, observers in the region around Thailand and Singapore can see the moon occult Ceres.
Friday, April 8 - Lunar X for Europe and Western Africa (peaks at 22:00 GMT)
Several times a year, for a few hours near its first quarter phase, a feature on the moon called the Lunar X becomes visible in strong binoculars and backyard telescopes. When the rims of the craters Purbach, la Caille, and Blanchinus are illuminated from a particular angle of sunlight, they form a small, bright X-shaped pattern. The Lunar X is located on the terminator, about one third of the way from the southern pole of the Moon, at lunar coordinates 2° East, 24° South. On Friday, April 8, the Lunar X will appear while the moon is shining in a daylit sky in the Americas. For observers in Europe and western Africa, the Lunar X is predicted to start developing by about 9 p.m. British Summer Time (or 20:00 GMT), peak in intensity around 11 p.m. BST (or 22:00 GMT), and then gradually fade out during the following 90 minutes. At the same time watch for a Lunar V along the northern span of the terminator near the crater Ukert. The Lunar X and V will be visible anywhere on Earth where the moon is shining, especially in a dark sky, between 20:00 GMT on April 8 and 00:00 GMT on April 9.
Saturday, April 9 - First Quarter Moon (at 06:48 GMT)
When the moon completes the first quarter of its orbit around Earth at 2:48 a.m. EDT (or 06:48 GMT) on Saturday, April 9, the relative positions of the Earth, sun, and moon will cause us to see our natural satellite half-illuminated - on its eastern side. While at first quarter, the moon always rises around noon and sets around midnight, allowing it to be seen in the afternoon daytime sky, too. The evenings surrounding first quarter are the best ones for viewing the lunar terrain when it is dramatically lit by low-angled sunlight.
Sunday, April 10 - The Lunar Straight Wall (evening)
On Sunday evening, April 10, the pole-to-pole terminator that divides the lit and dark hemispheres of the waxing gibbous moon, will fall to the left (or lunar west) of Rupes Recta, also known as the Lunar Straight Wall. The rupes, Latin for “cliff”, is a north-south aligned fault scarp that extends for 65 miles (110 km) across the southeastern part of Mare Nubium, which sits in the lower third of the moon’s Earth-facing hemisphere. The wall is visible in good binoculars and backyard telescopes. It is most prominent a day or two after first quarter, and also on the days before last quarter. For reference, the very bright crater Tycho is located due south of the Straight Wall.
Tuesday, April 12 - Jupiter and Neptune Share the Eyepiece (pre-dawn)
On the mornings surrounding Tuesday, April 12, observers in the tropics and points farther south can watch Jupiter and its Galilean moons pass extremely close to the distant blue planet Neptune. The two planets will share the view in a telescope eyepiece (inset) from April 6 to April 19. Jupiter will approach Neptune from the celestial west until Tuesday, April 12. During that closest approach, Neptune will be located only 6.5 arc-minutes to Jupiter’s southeast, making a terrific astrophotography opportunity. From Wednesday onward, Jupiter will shift progressively eastward away from Neptune.
Friday, April 15 - The Three Leaps of the Gazelle (all night)
The large and bright constellation of Ursa Major, the Great Bear is positioned near the zenith after dusk in mid-April. Everyone is familiar with the Big Dipper asterism portion of that constellation. Another easily seen, but lesser-known pattern is the Three Leaps of the Gazelle, composed of three pairs of medium-bright stars strung along a line spanning nearly 30 degrees of the sky. In each of the pairs, the stars are separated by about a thumb’s width (or 1.5 degrees). The most westerly stars Al Kaprah and Talitha, are found by extending a line drawn diagonally through the Big Dipper’s bowl from Megrez to Merak, i.e, towards Castor and Pollux. The central pair of Tania Borealis and Australis sits midway between the bright stars Dubhe and Algenubi in Leo. The most easterly duo, Alula Borealis and Alula Australis, are close to a line extended south from Dubhe through Merak. The word Alula arises from Arabic for “first leap”, while Tania means “second”, and Talitha means “third”.
Saturday, April 16 - Full Paschal Moon (at 18:55 GMT)
The moon will officially reach its full phase at 2:55 p.m. EDT or 18:55 GMT on Saturday, April 16. April’s full moon, commonly called the Pink Moon, Sprouting Grass Moon, Egg Moon, or Fish Moon, always shines in or near the stars of Virgo and Libra. The indigenous Ojibwe groups of the Great Lakes region call the April full moon Iskigamizige-giizis “the Maple Sap Boiling Moon” or Namebine-giizis, “the Sucker Moon”.
For them it signifies a time to learn cleansing and healing ways. The Cree of North America call it Niskipisim, “the Goose Moon” - the time when the geese return with spring. For the Mi’kmaw people of Eastern Canada, this is Penatmuiku’s, “the Birds Laying Eggs Time Moon”.
The Cherokee call it Kawonuhi, “the Flower Moon”, when the plants bloom. Full moons always rise in the east as the sun sets, and set in the west at sunrise. Easter is observed on the Sunday that follows the first full moon after the March equinox, making this one the Paschal Full Moon for 2022. Easter will arrive rather late this year because March’s full moon occurred only 2.5 days before the equinox.
Monday, April 18 - Moon in the Scorpion’s Claws (all night)
When the waning gibbous moon rises in late evening on Monday, April 18, it will be approaching from the right (or celestial west) the row of white, medium-bright stars that form the claws of Scorpius, the Scorpion. From top to bottom (celestial north to south) the brightest claw stars are: Graffias (Beta Scorpii), Dschubba (Delta Scorpii), Nur (Pi Scorpii), and Rho Scorpii. Graffias and Dschubba are double stars. The very bright, reddish star Antares will shine to the lower left (celestial east) of the claws and moon. During the night, the moon’s eastward orbital motion will cause it to pass in front of Dschubba around 06:40 GMT. Observers in some locations will only see the moon shining near that star. Early risers on Tuesday morning can see the moon in Scorpius in the southwestern sky before dawn.
Friday, April 22 - Lyrids Meteor Shower Peak (pre-dawn)
The annual Lyrids meteor shower, derived from particles dropped by comet C/1861 G1 (Thatcher), runs from April 16 to 30. It will peak in intensity at approximately 22:00 GMT on Friday, April 22. The Lyrids can produce up to 18 meteors per hour at the peak, with occasional fireballs. The greatest number of meteors will appear between midnight and dawn on Friday morning, but a reasonable number of meteors should be seen on Saturday morning, too. Genuine Lyrids will streak away from a point in the sky (the shower’s radiant) near the bright star Vega, which will be high in the eastern sky before dawn. For best results, try to view the meteors before the bright, waning gibbous moon rises at 2 a.m. local time, reducing the number of pre-dawn Lyrids visible.
Saturday, April 23 - Third Quarter Moon (at 11:56 GMT)
The moon will officially reach its third quarter phase at 7:56 a.m. EDT or 11:56 GMT on Saturday, April 23. At third (or last) quarter the moon is half-illuminated, on its western, sunward side. It will rise around midnight, and then remain visible until it sets in the western daytime sky in late morning. Third quarter moons are positioned ahead of the Earth in our trip around the Sun. About 3½ hours later, Earth will occupy that same location in space. The week of dark, moonless evening skies that follow this phase are the best ones for observing deep sky targets.
Sunday, April 24 - Crescent Moon Meets Saturn (pre-dawn)
In the southeastern sky before dawn on Sunday, April 24, the waning crescent moon will commence its monthly meeting with the bright planets gathered there. On Sunday, the moon will shine a fist’s diameter to the lower right (or 9 degrees to the celestial southwest) of Saturn’s yellowish dot. Mars and the much brighter planets Venus and Jupiter will be arrayed off to the left (celestial east), making a terrific photo opportunity when composed with some interesting scenery.
Monday, April 25 - Waning Moon between Mars and Saturn (pre-dawn)
After 24 hours, the waning moon will shift east to form a large triangle below and between reddish Mars and yellowish Saturn on Monday morning, April 25 before dawn. The bright planets Venus and Jupiter will be paired up to the lower left of the trio. The plane of our solar system will be defined well by the string of bright planets across the sky. The moon will be traveling well south of that line because of its 5 degree orbital inclination.
Tuesday, April 26 - Crescent Moon below Mars (pre-dawn)
Another shift of 12 degrees to the east will place the crescent moon a palm’s width below (or 6 degrees to the celestial southeast of) Mars in the east-southeastern sky on Tuesday, April 26. Mars will be in the centre of a string of bright planets: Jupiter, Venus, Mars, and Saturn. The faint planet Neptune tucked between Jupiter and Venus will be unobservable.
Wednesday, April 27 - Old Moon below Venus and Jupiter (pre-dawn)
The moon will complete its picturesque visitation with the pre-dawn planets on Wednesday morning, April 27, when its slim waning crescent will shine several finger widths below (or 4 degrees to the celestial southeast of) Venus in the lower part of the east-southeastern sky. The somewhat fainter dot of Jupiter will be positioned a small distance to Venus’ left, allowing all three objects to share the view in binoculars (green circle). The distant planet Neptune will be there, too - just a half degree to Venus’ lower left - but it will be far too faint to see while that low, and in a brightening sky.
Thursday, April 28 - Mercury at Peak Evening Visibility (after sunset)
On Thursday, April 28, the speedy planet Mercury will reach its greatest angle from the sun, and maximum visibility, for its current evening appearance. Greatest eastern elongation of 21 degrees will occur on Thursday morning in the Americas, so the planet will be readily visible above the west-northwestern horizon on both Wednesday and Thursday after sunset. At the same time, Mercury will shine with a magnitude of 0.14 among the stars of northwestern Taurus. Watch for the bright Pleiades star cluster located just a thumb’s width to Mercury’s upper right (celestial north). In a telescope (inset) the planet will exhibit a nearly half-illuminated phase and an apparent disk diameter of 7.8 arc-seconds. At mid-Northern latitudes, the optimal viewing time for Mercury will begin around 8:15 p.m. in your local time zone.
Friday, April 29 - Mercury Passes the Pleiades (after dusk)
On Friday, April 29, a day after reaching its widest angle east of the sun, Mercury will pass less than a thumb’s width to the left (or 1.5 degrees to the celestial south) of the bright Pleiades star cluster, also known as Messier 45 and the Seven Sisters, in Taurus. The planet and the cluster will share the view in a backyard telescope at low magnification from Thursday to Saturday. Binoculars (green circle) will work well, too. With either approach, the cluster’s stars will not be easily visible until the sky darkens around 9 pm. By then, you’ll be viewing them less clearly, through a greater thickness of Earth’s atmosphere.
Saturday, April 30 - Venus Kisses Jupiter (pre-dawn)
In the eastern sky before sunrise during late April, the rapid sunward swing of Venus will carry it past Jupiter. They’ll be close enough to share the view in binoculars (green circle) from April 24 to May 6. At closest approach on Saturday, April 30, and on the following morning, the two bright planets will appear together in the eyepiece of a backyard telescope (inset), where six times brighter Venus will exhibit a 67%-illuminated disk, and Jupiter will be accompanied by its four Galilean moons. The two planets will rise by about 4:30 a.m. in your local time zone, and then remain visible until the sky brightens enough to hide them about 90 minutes later. Observers at southerly latitudes will see the planets higher and in a darker sky.
Saturday, April 30 - New Moon and Partial Solar Eclipse (at 20:28 GMT)
The second new moon in the calendar month will occur at 4:28 p.m. EDT or 20:28 GMT on Saturday, April 30. This new moon will also feature a deep partial solar eclipse that will be visible across southeastern South America, the Ellsworth Land coast of Antarctica, and the South Pacific Ocean. After the moon’s penumbral shadow first contacts Earth at 18:45:19 GMT, it will sweep eastward and north through Chile and Argentina until it lifts off Earth at 22:38:01 GMT. The instant of greatest eclipse, with the moon blocking 0.64 of the sun’s diameter, will occur at sea south of Tierra del Fuego, Chile at 20:41:26 GMT. This solar eclipse will be followed by a total lunar eclipse on May 15-16.
Planets
Mercury
Mercury will pass superior conjunction with the sun on April 2 and then enter the western post-sunset sky - but it will be mid-month before the speedy planet swings far enough from the sun to become easily visible. Once it appears, Mercury will have its best appearance of 2022 for observers in the Northern Hemisphere, but its poorest showing in the Southern Hemisphere.
On April 28, Mercury will reach greatest eastern elongation and peak visibility at an angle of 21 degrees from the sun. That same evening, the planet will shine in a dark sky only 1.4 degrees south of the Pleiades star cluster in Taurus. It will remain near the Pleiades on April 29 and 30 – allowing views of the planet with the cluster in widefield eyepieces for several evenings.
During April, Mercury will steadily diminish in brightness; starting the month at magnitude -1.78 and ending April shining at magnitude +0.42. Telescope views in April will show an apparent disk diameter that swells from 6 to 8.25 arc-seconds. Its illuminated phase will decrease from nearly fully illuminated to a 33%-lit crescent on April 30. On April 17, Mercury will pass only 2 degrees to the north of Uranus – but their low altitude in a twilit sky will make seeing magnitude 5.9 Uranus a challenge.
Venus
Venus will continue to dominate the southeastern pre-dawn sky during April. As the month begins, the magnitude -4.4 planet will shine among the stars of Capricornus, forming a short line with far less bright Saturn and Mars. But Venus’ sunward swing will carry it farther east from those planets every morning. On April 4 Venus will pass into Aquarius where, on April 27 in the Americas, it will shine only half a degree from 69,000 times fainter Neptune. For observers around southeastern China, the two planets will approach to within one arc-minute, but their vast difference in brightness will make it extremely difficult to see them together in a telescope’s eyepiece. The old crescent moon will shine 5 degrees below (or celestial south of) Venus on the same morning. Venus will cross into Pisces on April 28. Two mornings later, on April 30, Venus will shine just 30 arc-minutes to the southwest of six times fainter Jupiter, allowing both planets to share the view in a backyard telescope. Venus will decrease slightly in brightness during April, from magnitude -4.39 to -4.13, its illuminated phase will be slightly gibbous, and its apparent disk diameter will shrink markedly, from 21.6 to 16.78 arc-seconds.
Mars
Mars will appear in the southeastern pre-dawn sky with several bright planets during April. It will commence the month in Capricornus, on the western end of a short line formed with Venus and Saturn. The rapid eastward motion of Mars will allow it to pass half a degree to the south of slower-moving Saturn on April 4 and 5, close enough for those two planets to appear together in the eyepiece of a backyard telescope. Mars and Saturn will shine with similar brightness, magnitude 1.04 and 0.86, respectively, but they’ll exhibit distinctly different colouration. On April 12, Mars will pass into Aquarius. The waning crescent moon will shine a palm’s width below (or 6 degrees south of) Mars on April 26. That moon, plus the lengthy string of bright planets Jupiter, Venus, Mars, and Saturn, will make a splendid photo opportunity over several mornings. Over the month, Mars will increase slightly in brightness, from magnitude 1.07 to 0.88, while its 90%-illuminated disk will increase slightly in apparent size in telescopes, from 5.19 to 5.74 arc-seconds.
Jupiter
In eastern Aquarius and only 20 degrees west of the sun, Jupiter will begin April shining very low in the eastern sky before sunrise. The tilted morning ecliptic will prevent the magnitude -2.0 planet from becoming observable at mid-northern latitudes until after mid-April. Observers in the tropics and in the Southern Hemisphere will have little trouble spotting Jupiter shining well above the eastern horizon before sunrise all month long. On April 12, faster moving Jupiter will pass less than 7 arc-minutes to the north of Neptune – but their 10,000 times difference in brightness, their low altitude, and the surrounding twilit sky will make observations of their conjunction extremely difficult. On April 14, Jupiter will enter Pisces. Around that time, it will have stretched far enough west of the sun to anchor a lengthy line of naked-eye bright planets that ends at Saturn some 30 degrees to Jupiter’s upper right (celestial west). Throughout April, bright Venus will move toward Jupiter. They’ll finally meet in a dark, pre-dawn sky on April 30, separated by only half a degree - with six times brighter Venus shining on Jupiter’s right (celestial west). The waning crescent moon’s picturesque trip past the morning planets will carry it a few degrees below (south of) Jupiter and Venus on April 27. Although Jupiter will sit rather low in the sky for clear telescopic views during April, the planet will display a 35 arc-seconds-wide disk, crossed occasionally by the shadows of its four Galilean moons.
Saturn
During April Saturn will share the southeastern pre-dawn sky with Mars, Venus, and Jupiter. It will begin the month positioned between reddish Mars and much brighter Venus while shining at magnitude 0.86. On the subsequent mornings, Venus will shift rapidly eastward away from Saturn, while faster-moving Mars will approach from the west. Mars will pass half a degree to the south of Saturn on April 4 and 5, close enough for those two planets to share the view in the eyepiece of a backyard telescope. Reddish Mars and yellowish Saturn will shine with similar brightness values of magnitude 1.04 and 0.86, respectively. While Saturn will remain ensconced in eastern Capricornus all month long, the period after midmonth will find the other bright planets stretching eastward to form a lengthy chain, each link spanning about 10 degrees. Starting near Saturn on April 24, and lasting until April 27, the pretty, waning crescent moon will cruise past the planets, but five degrees to their south. Viewed in a telescope during April, Saturn will display a 16 arc-seconds-wide globe adorned with its 37 arc-seconds-wide ring system, and surrounded by a number of brighter moons. With the planet’s tilt diminishing until 2025, a good deal of Saturn’s southern hemisphere will extend below its ring plane this year.
Uranus
During the early part of April, blue-green Uranus will be visible low in the western sky for a short time after dusk, shining at magnitude 5.85 among the stars of southern Aries. Each subsequent night will see it descend into the post-sunset twilight. On April 3, the young crescent moon will shine several degrees above (east of) Uranus. Hours earlier, observers in the Côte d'Ivoire region of Africa can see the moon occult Uranus around 19:30 GMT – the third of 15 consecutive monthly lunar occultations of the seventh planet. On April 17, much brighter Mercury will pass to the right of Uranus (or 2 degrees to the celestial north), but Uranus’ low altitude and low brightness will make observing the conjunction a challenge.
Neptune
Magnitude 7.9 Neptune will be parked on the border between Aquarius and Pisces in the southeastern pre-dawn sky during April. The planet will be slowly shifting away from the sun, but the shallow angle of the ecliptic will keep it too close to the horizon for telescope observing until the closing days of the month. The faster eastward motion of Jupiter will carry it closely past Neptune on April 11-13. At minimum, the pair will be less than 10 arc-minutes apart, but Jupiter will shine 10,000 times brighter than Neptune. Observers at tropical latitudes, where the pair will sit higher, in a darker sky, can attempt to view the challenging conjunction. On April 27 in the Americas, 69,000 times brighter Venus will shine only half a degree from Neptune. For observers in southeastern China, the two planets will approach to within one arc-minute of one another, but that extreme difference in brightness will make a simultaneous observation of the two planets in a telescope eyepiece extremely difficult.
