Here are the highlights of the night sky in April:
- 9 PM, western sky – Jupiter rising over the western horizon
- 10 PM, eastern sky – Saturn rises in the eastern sky and stays visible in the south-east throughout the night
- 10 PM, northern sky – Ursa Major constellation and the Big Dipper asterism are visible, with the pointer stars showing the way to Polaris, the North Star in Ursa Minor
- the double stars Mizar and Alcor in Ursa Major that can be seen without binoculars
- the spiral galaxy Messier 81 (Bode’s Galaxy) and starburst galaxy Messier 82 (Cigar Galaxy) in Ursa Major
- 10 PM, southern sky – Leo constellation with the bright stars Denebola and Regulus and the Leo Triplet of galaxies (Messier 65, Messier 66 and NGC 3628), easily visible in a telescope
- the pair of large spiral galaxies Messier 95 and Messier 96 in Leo
- three pairs of bright stars between Leo and Ursa Major known as the Three Leaps of the Gazelle, also representing the bear’s paws
- 2 AM, eastern sky – Lyrid meteor shower in the direction of Lyra constellation, with up to 20 meteors per hour, best seen on April 22
- April 25 – partial lunar eclipse visible in most of Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia
Related: April constellations