The month of April has a few celestial sights you don’t want to miss. It starts off with a full moon on Wednesday, April 1st and is filled with planet sightings and even a meteor shower.
The full moon in April is known as the Pink moon. This name comes from the name of an early spring wildflower known as moss pink that would bloom right around this time of year.
This particular moon is also known as the Paschal moon and it has some religious significance. In particular, Easter is celebrated the Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox.
The moon will pair in various phases with a couple of planets later in the month, including Venus on April 18th and Jupiter on April 22nd.
Mercury will reach it’s greatest elongation on April 3, just after the full moon. This is the best time to view the planet and when it’s farthest away from the morning sun. It will be nice and bright, but it may be hard to see because it will be slow low in the eastern sky before sunrise. Binoculars may come in handy for best viewing.
All month long, brilliant Jupiter will hang in the western evening sky after sunset. Be sure to look for it as soon as it gets dark. It’s easy to spot and you don’t need binoculars or a telescope to see.
The Lyrid meteor shower will peak on the night of April 21-22. This is one of the oldest recorded meteor showers.