Stargazing for Beginners - April
April can be both a good and bad month for astronomers. On the plus side, it is usually a bit warmer at night than it was in the winter, so you can stargaze without running the risk of freezing. On the negative side, for those who are in the Daylight Savings Time zone, you lose an hour of darkness at night. Of course, you gain the darkness in the morning, but somehow it seems easier to stargaze at night, rather than getting out of a warm bed in the early hours of the morning.
Once again, the April night sky will be full of planets - five of the naked eye planets will be visible. This is an unusually good lineup, so get out at night and take a look at them.
Search for red Mercury first. You have to move fast, because Mercury will be moving behind the Sun after the first week in April. Look for it about one binocular field above the horizon around 45 minutes after sunset. It should be quite easy to pick out since there are no other bright stars to confuse you in this area.
Venus still shines brilliantly in the night sky. You can't miss our sister planet, sparkling in the west after sunset. In April, Venus pairs up with the Pleiades, one of the prettiest star groups. Look for Venus to pass one degree away from the cluster. Look at them in binoculars and enjoy the view.
Mars is the orange "star" to the upper left of Venus. Mars has shrunk very much since its wonderful appearance late last summer, and will be very disappointing to anyone trying to look at it in a telescope. At the beginning of April, Mars will be to the right of Aldebaran, the bright red star in the constellation Taurus. Look at them both and compare their colors. The most exciting news about Mars, of course, is that the Mars Rovers Spirit and Opportunity, which landed on the Red Planet back in January, have proved that Mars once had an abundant salty ocean. Whether there was life on Mars at any time, and what happened to this ocean, are still mysteries to us. Go to http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/ for the latest press releases and pictures sent by the Rovers.
Saturn is the next planet to look for. It is the creamy yellow bright object in the constellation Gemini. Saturn is the second largest planet in our solar system. It still looks wonderful in a telescope. The rings are particularly impressive; see if you can separate the rings into their three bands of color. Take a good look at Saturn in April because in May it will be slipping lower in the sky in preparation for its trip behind the sun. It won't reappear in the sky until late at night in autumn.
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