April 2024 Night Sky Astronomy

What you can see in the sky at night during April including a total solar eclipse, Lyrid meteor shower, deep space objects and moon phases.

On the 8th of April there will be a total solar eclipse which will trace a narrow path of totality across 13 states.

For spectators in the United States, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The last total solar eclipse visible in the mainland United States was in 2017, and the next one won't happen until 2045. The path of totality will begin in the Pacific Ocean and travel over Mexico, the eastern United States, and Nova Scotia. Parts of Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine will see the total eclipse. The event will last around five minutes. This duration is almost double the length of some previous eclipses.

Viewers in the UK can catch a partial eclipse, although the viewing conditions will be less than ideal. A partial solar eclipse will take place on April 8, 2024, just as the Sun sets. The eclipse can be viewed across Northern Ireland, the west coastlines of Scotland and Wales, the Lake District, and Lancaster. Those watching must be as far to the north and west as possible to see anything, and a flat ocean horizon (and clear skies) are essential.

The Lyrids is an average shower, usually producing about 20 meteors per hour at its peak. It is produced by dust particles left behind by comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher, which was discovered in 1861. The shower runs annually from April 16-25. It peaks this year around the night of the 22nd and the morning of the 23rd. Under ideal conditions, there should be around 18 meteors per hour. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Lyra, but can appear anywhere in the sky.

On April 3 at 10:53 GMT, Venus will pass 0°17' of Neptune in Pisces. Venus is visible to the naked eye, whereas Neptune needs a telescope or binoculars with a high magnification.

On April 10, at 18:46 GMT, Mars will pass 0°24' from Saturn in the constellation Aquarius. The two planets will be observable with the naked eye. Observers in the Southern Hemisphere will observe the planets over the eastern horizon in the morning. The view from the Northern Hemisphere will be poorer since the planets will be lower towards the eastern horizon, rising shortly before sunrise.

Jupiter and Uranus will come together in Aries on April 20. The planets will be separated by only 0°31'. View the planets in the evening, just after sunset, low above the western horizon.

Mars is going to get extraordinarily close to Neptune on April 29. The apparent distance between the planets will be 2'14"; the distance between Jupiter and Saturn during the Great Conjunction in 2020 was 6.1 arcminutes. The conjunction of Mars and Neptune, however, will be far less remarkable because Neptune appears too faint to be seen with the naked eye. Look for the pair in the east in the morning with binoculars or a telescope.

The spring night skies are home to some wonderful globular clusters. M3 in Canes Venatici and M5 in Serpens are good targets for a small telescope and can also be glimpsed with binoculars from sites with dark skies.

Surfboard Galaxy (M108) is a barred spiral galaxy in Ursa Major. Even though it appears almost edge-on, M108 is a popular target among amateur astronomers and astrophotographers because details of its structure can be seen even in amateur telescopes. 3-inch telescopes will only reveal an elongated streak of light with a brighter core, while 8-inch instruments will hint at the galaxy's dusty regions and bright and faint patches.

The Owl Nebula (M97), is another famous object in Ursa Major. A planetary nebula forms when a dying Sun-like star ran out of hydrogen fuel, collapsed from a red giant to a white dwarf, and ejected its outer envelope. The expelled material is now heated by the radiation of the central white dwarf, producing the nebula's glow.

Also in Ursa Major, Bode's Galaxy (M81) and the Cigar Galaxy (M82) are a nice bright pair to track down.

In this table, the observation month represents the month in which the object reaches its highest point in the sky. It can also be viewed a few months before and after depending on your location. Direction is the compass direction in which the object is located, with Z meaning Zenith or overhead.

#	Image	Common Name	Constellation	Coords	Direction	Mag	Size (arcmin)	Type	Star Chart
M49 NGC 4472			Virgo	12h 29.8m RA 08° 00m Dec	S	9.40	10.2x8.3	Elliptical Galaxy	🔍︎
M53 NGC 5024			Coma Berenices	13h 12.9m RA 18° 10m Dec	SE	8.30	13	Globular Cluster	🔍︎
M58 NGC 4579			Virgo	12h 37.7m RA 11° 49m Dec	S	10.50	5.9x4.7	Galaxy	🔍︎
M59 NGC 4621			Virgo	12h 42.0m RA 11° 39m Dec	S	10.60	5.4x3.7	Galaxy	🔍︎
M60 NGC 4649			Virgo	12h 43.7m RA 11° 33m Dec	S	9.80	7.4x6	Galaxy	🔍︎
M61 NGC 4303		Swelling Spiral Galaxy	Virgo	12h 21.9m RA 04° 28m Dec	S	10.18	6.5x5.8	Galaxy	🔍︎
M63 NGC 5055		The Sunflower Galaxy	Canes Venatici	13h 15.8m RA 42° 02m Dec	Z	9.30	12.6x7.2	Galaxy	🔍︎
M64 NGC 4826		The Blackeye Galaxy	Coma Berenices	12h 56.7m RA 21° 41m Dec	Z	9.36	10.7x5.1	Galaxy	🔍︎
M65 NGC 3623		Leo Triplet	Leo	11h 18.9m RA 13° 05m Dec	S	10.25	8.7x2.4	Galaxy	🔍︎
M66 NGC 3627		Leo Triplet	Leo	11h 20.2m RA 12° 59m Dec	S	8.90	9.1x4.2	Galaxy	🔍︎
M68 NGC 4590			Hydra	12h 39.5m RA -26° 45m Dec	S	9.67	11	Globular Cluster	🔍︎
M81 NGC 3031		Bodems Galaxy	Ursa Major	09h 55.6m RA 69° 04m Dec	Z	6.94	26.9x14.1	Galaxy	🔍︎
M82 NGC 3034		Cigar Galaxy	Ursa Major	09h 55.8m RA 69° 41m Dec	Z	8.41	11.4x4.3	Galaxy	🔍︎
M83 NGC 5236		Southern Pinwheel Galaxy	Hydra	13h 37.0m RA -29° 52m Dec	S	7.54	12.9x11.5	Galaxy	🔍︎
M84 NGC 4374		Markarian's Chain	Virgo	12h 25.1m RA 12° 53m Dec	S	10.10	6.5x5.6	Galaxy	🔍︎
M85 NGC 4382			Coma Berenices	12h 25.4m RA 18° 11m Dec	S	10.00	7.1x5.5	Galaxy	🔍︎
M86 NGC 4406		Markarian's Chain	Virgo	12h 26.2m RA 12° 57m Dec	S	9.80	8.9x5.8	Galaxy	🔍︎
M87 NGC 4486		Virgo A	Virgo	12h 30.8m RA 12° 24m Dec	S	9.59	7.2x6.8	Galaxy	🔍︎
M88 NGC 4501			Coma Berenices	12h 32.0m RA 14° 25m Dec	S	10.40	6.9x3.7	Galaxy	🔍︎
M89 NGC 4552			Virgo	12h 35.7m RA 12° 33m Dec	S	10.73	5.1x4.7	Galaxy	🔍︎
M90 NGC 4569			Virgo	12h 36.8m RA 13° 10m Dec	S	10.26	9.5x4.4	Galaxy	🔍︎
M91 NGC 4548			Coma Berenices	12h 35.4m RA 14° 30m Dec	S	11.00	5.4x4.3	Galaxy	🔍︎
M94 NGC 4736		Cat's Eye Galaxy	Canes Venatici	12h 50.9m RA 41° 07m Dec	SW	8.99	11.2x9.1	Galaxy	🔍︎
M95 NGC 3351			Leo	10h 44.0m RA 11° 42m Dec	SW	11.40	3.1x2.9	Galaxy	🔍︎
M96 NGC 3368			Leo	10h 46.8m RA 11° 49m Dec	SW	10.10	7.6x5.2	Galaxy	🔍︎
M97 NGC 3587		The Owl Nebula	Ursa Major	11h 14.8m RA 55° 01m Dec	Z	9.90	3.3x3.4	Planetary Nebula	🔍︎
M101 NGC 5457		Pinwheel Galaxy	Ursa Major	14h 03.3m RA 54° 21m Dec	Z	7.86	28.8x26.9	Galaxy	🔍︎
M102 NGC 5866		Spindle Galaxy	Draco	15h 06.5m RA 55° 45m Dec	NE	10.70	4.7x1.9	Galaxy	🔍︎
M104 NGC 4594		Sombrero Galaxy	Virgo	12h 40.0m RA -11° 37m Dec	S/SW	8.98	8.7x3.5	Galaxy	🔍︎
M105 NGC 3379			Leo	10h 47.8m RA 12° 35m Dec	SW	10.20	5.4x4.8	Galaxy	🔍︎
M106 NGC 4258			Canes Venatici	12h 19.0m RA 47° 18m Dec	SW	9.10	18.6x7.2	Galaxy	🔍︎
M108 NGC 3556		The Surfboard Galaxy	Ursa Major	11h 11.5m RA 55° 40m Dec	Z	10.70	8.7x2.2	Galaxy	🔍︎
M109 NGC 3992		Vacuum Cleaner Galaxy	Ursa Major	11h 57.6m RA 53° 23m Dec	Z	10.60	7.6x4.7	Galaxy	🔍︎