What’s ‘up’ in April?
Jupiter’s moon Io crosses Jupiter’s face on 3rd April followed by its tiny black shadow. Comet PanSTARRS will pass 2° west (lower right) of the Andromeda Galaxy, M31 on 4th April. They may appear about equally dim low in the northwest just as twilight is ending, for observers at fairly high northern latitudes.
Saturn’s north pole is now tilted towards Earth, giving us the best view of the rings since 2006. By 20th April, Saturn will be directly opposite the sun in the sky. It will sit on the boundary between the constellations Virgo and Libra, just to the east of the bright star Spica. It’ going to be visible all night, rising in the east as the sun sets in the west, and setting in the west as the sun rises in the east.
Partial lunar eclipse will occur on 25th April. The moon will pass through the outer parts of the moon’s shadow for observers over much of the Eastern Hemisphere.
