Growing up in the Bronx during the 1960s and 1970s, one of my astronomy mentors was Dr. Kenneth L. Franklin, president and chief scientist of New York’s Hayden Planetarium, who has written about celestial events for the World Almanac and The New York Times.
Periodically, Ken referred to our “dynamic and ever-changing sky.” Such an eloquent description would certainly fit the day-to-day changes between the planets in our morning sky this month. Morning planets are front and center in April, with four of the five brightest planets in the solar system aligned in the east-southeast sky.
If you need some gear to see the planets before dawn in April, check out our guides to the best telescopes and best binoculars to find the right instrument for you at your next sky observation event. If you want to take pictures of the planets, here are our guides to the best astrophotography cameras and best astrophotography lenses.
the first week of april
The month begins with three bright planets clustered in our east-southeast sky just before sunrise. Venus, Saturn and Mars are all six degrees apart, but each morning the configuration noticeably changes. Mars and Saturn come closer than the moon’s apparent diameter on April 5.
Then, from April 8, Jupiter, still buried at the dawn of the beginning of the month, makes its presence felt, albeit far below and to the left of the other three planets. On the morning of April 19, all four planets will be stretched out in a diagonal line of just over 30 degrees; from bottom left to top right: Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn.
The moon joins too
The main event occurs during the last week of April as magnitude -2 Jupiter approaches magnitude -4 Venus, seven times brighter. Meanwhile, the crescent moon approaches, passing below Saturn on April 25, Mars on April 26, and finally Jupiter and Venus on April 27. alarm clock for 5:15 am
In a single glance, you will see the three brightest objects in the night sky: a crescent moon illuminated at 12%, Jupiter 4 degrees in the upper left corner, and Venus hovering 5 degrees directly above the lunar sliver. Venus and Jupiter are 3.2 degrees apart that morning, 2 degrees on April 28, and 1.3 degrees on April 29.
On April 30, Venus and Jupiter are side by side, 0.45 degrees apart for North America and visible together in a telescope’s low to medium power view. Jupiter will appear round, three of its four Galilean satellites will be visible, and Venus will appear little more than half lit.
The Far East sees them close to their conjunction and thrust (closest approach) moments when Venus passes just 0.25 degrees north of Jupiter. This is the closest Venus-Jupiter conjunction since August 2016, when they were deeper in the sun’s glare. An equally impressive pairing of these two planets will take place in the night sky on March 1, 2023.
Ending a relationship is difficult
The denouement after April 30th is quick. On May 1, the two planets are still surprisingly close, separated by 0.6 degrees and this will increase by almost one degree per day, so on May 8, Jupiter shines 7.1 degrees in the upper right corner of Venus.
In the coming months, these two brightest planets will go their separate ways. Venus will continue to hug the dawn rim in the east until August, then slowly sink at sunrise. By this time, Jupiter will be on the far side of the sky, dominating night views.
pilgrimages of the planet
All the naked-eye planets, and the moon as well, closely follow an imaginary line in the sky called the ecliptic. The ecliptic is also the apparent path the sun appears to take in the sky as a result of the Earth’s revolution around it.
Technically, the ecliptic represents the extension or projection of the Earth’s orbit plane towards the sky. But as the moon and planets move in orbits whose planes do not differ much from Earth’s orbit, these bodies, when visible in our sky, always lie relatively close to the ecliptic line.
Twelve of the constellations through which the ecliptic passes form the zodiac; their names, which can be easily identified on standard star charts, are familiar to millions of horoscope users who would have a hard time finding them in the real sky.
Ancient man probably noticed the fact that the planets – themselves resembling bright stars – were free to roam the heavens, while the other ‘fixed’ stars remained rooted in their positions. This ability to move seemed to have an almost magical, god-like quality. And the evidence that the planets came to be associated with the gods is in their own names, which represent ancient deities.
Skywatchers from thousands of years ago must have deduced that if the planets’ motions were to have any meaning, it must have been to inform those who could read the celestial signs of what fates held. In fact, even today, there are those who firmly believe that changes in the position of the sun, moon and planets can have a decisive effect on the destinies of individuals and nations on Earth.
The only problem with this theory is that planets in the night sky are always moving in and out of celestial bonds. Astronomical amnesia allows us to forget the last time we saw them gathered for such a performance.
Nor do we generally remember that none of the influential magical thoughts attributed to the previous event ever materialized.
Joe Rao serves as instructor and guest speaker at New York’s Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for Natural History MagazineThe Farmers’ Almanac and other publications. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom is on the Facebook.