Topline<\/p>\n
April 2026 begins with a glowing full pink moon<\/a> rising at sunset \u2014 just as NASA launches four astronauts to the moon<\/a> \u2014 before revealing a comet<\/a>, dipping into some of the darkest evening skies of spring for the peak of the Lyrid meteor shower and ending with Venus dazzling in the west. Here\u2019s everything to see in the night sky this April. <\/p>\n Comet C\/2026 A1 (MAPS), a so-called Kreutz sungrazer, will pass extraordinarily close to the sun \u2014 just 487,000 miles (784,000 km) from its surface around April 4-5.<\/p>\n gettyTimeline<\/p>\n April 1A full \u2018Pink Moon\u2019 rises during dusk. <\/p>\n April 1-2A full \u2018Pink Moon\u2019 close to bright star Spica in Virgo.<\/p>\n April 4-6, 9Comet MAPS (C\/2026 A1) gets close to the sun and could glow after sunset. <\/p>\n April 13\u201315A crescent moon will shine close to Mercury during dawn.<\/p>\n April 18\u201324Venus dominates the western sky after sunset. <\/p>\n April 21\u201322Lyrid meteor shower peaks.<\/p>\n April 22Crescent moon and Jupiter in conjunction.<\/p>\n April 25-26Moon meets bright star Regulus in Leo. <\/p>\n A Full \u2018pink Moon\u2019 Rises<\/p>\n April opens with a full moon officially peaking at 10:11 p.m. EDT. The best view, as always, comes at moonrise \u2014 just after sunset in your location \u2014 when it climbs the eastern horizon glowing orange or copper through thicker layers of atmosphere.<\/p>\n The pink moon is named not for its color, but for spring wildflowers. It\u2019s also known as the Sprouting Grass, Egg and Paschal Moon, tying it closely to the date of Easter, which falls April 5 in 2026.<\/p>\n A Possible Sungrazing Comet<\/p>\n Early April may bring an unpredictable visitor: Comet MAPS (C\/2026 A1), a so-called Kreutz sungrazer \u2014 a comet passing extraordinarily close to the sun. MAPS reaches perihelion on April 4, skimming less than 800,000 kilometers above the solar surface. Such comets can flare dramatically \u2014 or disintegrate entirely. If it survives, look very low in the western twilight during the first week of April. A clear, flat horizon and transparent skies are essential.<\/p>\n Constellations Of The Month: Leo And Bo\u00f6tes<\/p>\n Leo is now high in the southern sky after dark. Its distinctive backward question-mark pattern (the \u201cSickle\u201d) outlines the Lion\u2019s head, with bright Regulus \u2014 closely visited by the moon this month \u2014 marking its heart. Leo is one of the easiest spring patterns to recognize and dominates the sky during the first half of the night.<\/p>\n Following behind Leo is Bo\u00f6tes, home to brilliant Arcturus \u2014 the brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere. You can find Arcturus by following the curve of the Big Dipper\u2019s handle (\u201carc to Arcturus\u201d). As April progresses, Bo\u00f6tes climbs higher each evening, heralding the coming of summer.<\/p>\n The times and dates given apply to mid-northern latitudes. For the most accurate location-specific information, consult online planetariums like Stellarium<\/a>. <\/p>\n Further ReadingForbesFull Moon April 2026: Exactly When To See The \u2018Pink Moon\u2019 RiseBy Jamie Carter<\/a>ForbesComplete Guide To NASA\u2019s Epic Artemis II Mission \u2014 Launching This WeekBy Jamie Carter<\/a>ForbesComet Alert: A Sungrazer May Soon Blaze After Sunset \u2014 Or Break ApartBy Jamie Carter<\/a>ForbesIn Photos: NASA Drops Stunning New Saturn Images From Webb And HubbleBy Jamie Carter<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Topline April 2026 begins with a glowing full pink moon rising at sunset \u2014 just as NASA launches…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":356343,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[188356,187625,188357,188355,188359,188358,187629,111,139,69,187626,147,188354,49920],"class_list":{"0":"post-356342","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-april-2026","9":"tag-april-night-sky","10":"tag-april-stargazing","11":"tag-bootes","12":"tag-comet-maps","13":"tag-comet-paril","14":"tag-lyrid-meteor-shower","15":"tag-new-zealand","16":"tag-newzealand","17":"tag-nz","18":"tag-pink-moon","19":"tag-science","20":"tag-sickle","21":"tag-where-is-comet"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=356342"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356342\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/356343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=356342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=356342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=356342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}