April Night time Sky 2025 – Astronotes

One other month down, and we’re formally into April! With it, we’re welcoming brighter mornings and brighter evenings – thanks, daylight financial savings! We’re getting nearer to retiring the winter coats and swapping sizzling drinks for iced ones. Spring is right here!

Pink Moon

Picture Credit score: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The ‘Pink Moon’ would be the full moon of April and it is possible for you to to see this on Sunday 12^th at 8:22pm. The title ‘Pink Moon’ truly comes from a pink wildflower that grows in spring, not as a result of the moon will truly seem pink, sadly. I might like to dwell in a world the place we now have a pink moon!

This 12 months’s Pink Moon may also be generally known as a micromoon, this implies the moon will likely be at its farthest level from Earth. Subsequently the moon will seem smaller and dimmer – reverse to a supermoon.

Lyrids Meteor Bathe

The Lyrids Meteor Bathe happens in April yearly! The bathe occurs from the 16^th – twenty fifth April, however the peak of the bathe occurs on twenty second April, the place you can probably see as much as 18 per hour. The Lyrid meteor bathe is related to long-period Comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher. It’s the oldest recorded meteor bathe nonetheless seen right this moment, and was first recorded in 687 BCE.

Whereas the Lyrid meteors will likely be seen all throughout the sky, following their path backwards they’ll seem to originate from the constellation of Lyra, the harp. In actuality the meteors don’t have anything to do with this distant group of stars. The course they seem to come back from is dictated by the movement of the Earth and the particles itself.

Picture credit score for each: Stellarium/Lovisa Redpath

Constellations

Leo the Lion

Leo the Lion is likely one of the best of the 13 zodiac indicators to see. To search for Leo within the sky, face south, search for the sickle (or a backwards query mark). That is the constellations asterism. An asterism is a recognisable sample of stars within the sky however it’s typically half of a bigger constellation. The brightest star present in Leo is Regulus, which may be discovered on the backside of the sickle.

Virgo The Maiden

It’s also possible to spot one other signal of the zodiac within the sky, the biggest zodiac, Virgo the Maiden. It takes the Solar 44 days to move by Virgo, that is longer than every other Zodiac indicators, which is possibly why we now have a whole lot of Virgos on the planet! To search out Virgo within the sky, neatest thing to do is to search for the brightest star discovered inside the constellation, Spica.

Picture credit score for each: Stellarium/Lovisa Redpath

That’s only a style of what April’s evening sky has to supply! Wish to uncover extra? Come alongside to our 2pm present, ‘Our Night time Sky’, working Tuesday to Sunday every week.

(Psst… when you go to throughout time period time Tuesday – Friday, tickets are simply £5!)