April 2017 Sky
- Posted by OCastronomy
- On March 31, 2017
- 0 Comments
- Aldebaran, Antares, Beehive cluster, elongation, Inferior Conjunction, Jupiter, Lyrid meteor shower, Mars, Mercury, Pleiades, Regulus, Saturn, Spica, Venus
April 2017 Sky 
| 1 | Moon near Aldebaran (evening sky) at 9h UT. Occultation visible from southern Asia, Japan, and Korea. |
| 1 | Mercury at greatest elongation east (19° from Sun, evening sky) at 10h UT. Mag. 0.0. |
| 3 | First Quarter Moon at 18:40 UT. |
| 5 | Moon near Beehive cluster (evening sky) at 12h UT. • Beehive Cluster (Wikipedia) • M44: The Beehive Cluster (APOD) |
| 7 | Moon near Regulus (evening sky) at 4h UT. Occultation visible from southern South America. |
| 7 | Jupiter at opposition at 21h UT. Best time to observe the largest planet in the solar system. Mag. −2.5. • Opposition (Wikipedia) |
| 10 | Moon near Jupiter (midnight sky) at 23h UT. Mag. −2.5. |
| 11 | Full Moon at 6:08 UT. |
| 11 | Moon near Spica (midnight sky) at 10h UT. |
| 15 | Moon near Antares (morning sky) at 7h UT. |
| 15 | Moon at apogee (farthest from Earth) at 10h UT (distance 405,475 km; angular size 29.5′). |
| 16 | Moon near Saturn (morning sky) at 19h UT. Mag. 0.3. |
| 19 | Last Quarter Moon at 9:59 UT. |
| 20 | Mercury at inferior conjunction with the Sun at 6h UT. Mercury passes into the morning sky. |
| 21 | Mars 3.5° SSE of the Pleiades (28° from Sun, evening sky) at 20h UT. Mag. 1.6. • The Pleiades (Wikipedia) |
| 22 | Lyrid meteor shower peaks at 12h UT. Active April 16-25. Radiant is between Hercules and Lyra. Expect 10 to 20 bright, fast meteors per hour at its peak. • Observing the Lyrids (Gary Kronk) • Meteor Shower Calendar 2017 (IMO) |
| 23 | Moon near Venus (morning sky) at 21h UT. Mag. −4.5. |
| 26 | New Moon at 12:17 UT. Start of lunation 1167. • Lunation Number (Wikipedia) |
| 26 | Venus at its brightest at 19h UT. Mag. −4.5. |
| 27 | Moon at perigee (closest to Earth) at 16:14 UT (359,327 km; angular size 33.3′). |
| 28 | Moon near the Pleiades (23° from Sun, evening sky) at 2h UT. • The Pleiades (Wikipedia) |
| 28 | Moon near Mars (27° from Sun, evening sky) at 9h UT. Mag. 1.6. |
| 28 | Moon near Aldebaran (32° from Sun, evening sky) at 18h UT. Occultation visible from eastern Europe and north central Africa. • Occultation of Aldebaran (IOTA) |
| April 2017 Sky All times Universal Time (UT). | |
