Astronomical Events in April 2023: Meteor Showers, Stars & Planets Tonight
Find out what’s going on in the night sky in April 2023. Here you’ll find the forecast on planets’ visibility, learn what comets and meteor showers can be seen this month, and more.
April 2023 celestial events
Note that the data are specified for the mid-latitudes. You can learn the exact info for your location from the Sky Tonight app.
- April 2: the Moon passes 5° from Regulus (mag 1.35) in the evening.
- April 5: Mars passes 2°49’ from Tejat (mag 2.9) in the evening.
- April 6: Full Pink Moon; the Moon passes 2°36’ from Spica (mag 1.0) in the evening.
- April 7: the Moon passes 4°49’ from Spica (mag 1.0) in the morning.
- April 10: the Moon passes 1°33’ from Antares (mag 1.0) in the morning;
- April 11: Venus (mag -4.1) passes 2°31’ from the Pleiades (mag 1.2) in the evening; Jupiter in the solar conjunction; Mercury (mag 0.0) reaches evening elongation.
- April 15: Neptune’s (mag 7.9) morning visibility begins.
- April 16: Saturn (mag 1.0) passes 3°29’ from the Moon in the morning.
- April 20: Hybrid solar eclipse; New Moon.
- April 21: Mercury goes retrograde.
- April 22: Mercury (mag 2.4) passes 3°50’ from Uranus (mag 5.8) in the morning; the Moon passes 4°28’ from the Pleiades (mag 1.2).
- April 23: April Lyrid meteor shower’s peak; the Moon passes 1°17’ from Venus (mag -4.2) in the morning.
- April 24: π-Puppid meteor shower’s peak.
- April 25: Mercury’s visibility ends.
- April 26: the Moon passes 3°36' from Mars (mag 1.3) and 2°07’ from Pollux (mag 1.1) in the evening.
- April 27: Uranus’ visibility ends.
- April 29: the Moon passes 3°48’ from Regulus (mag 1.4).
Visible planets
Northern Hemisphere, evening
Mercury (mag 0.6) is visible low above the horizon in the constellation Aries for no more than an hour. Look for Venus (mag -4.1) in the west in the constellation Aries at the beginning of the month. Later the planet will move into Taurus. Mars (mag 1.2) is in Gemini. Get your binoculars and spot Uranus (mag 5.8) low above the western horizon in Aries for no more than an hour.
Northern Hemisphere, morning
Saturn (mag 1.0) is visible in the middle and at the end of the month. Look for it near the horizon in the east in the constellation Aquarius.
Southern Hemisphere, evening
See prominent Venus (mag -4.1) low in the northwest for no more than an hour. It begins the month in Aries and then moves into Taurus. Mars (mag 1.2) is in the north, in the constellation Gemini. Faint Uranus (mag 5.8) can be seen near the horizon in the northwest in Aries.
Southern Hemisphere, morning
Find Jupiter (mag -2.0) at the end of the month near the horizon in the east in the constellation Pisces. Saturn (mag 1.0) is high in the east in the constellation Aquarius. Neptune (mag 7.9) is in the east in the constellation Pisces.
Hybrid Eclipse April 2023
On April 20, 2023, a rare hybrid solar eclipse will take place — such eclipses occur about once every decade. A hybrid eclipse changes from annular to total and vice versa along its path. Unfortunately, the transition will be visible only in distant locations in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The southern Indian Ocean, parts of Antarctica, most of Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, most of Oceania, Southeast Asia, and the western Pacific Ocean will see at least a partial eclipse. Learn the eclipse timeline from our dedicated article.
Comets April 2023
On April 7, Jupiter-family comet 364P/PANSTARRS will pass within 0.12 AU of the Earth. On this day, the comet will be located in the constellation Vulpecula and is expected to have a magnitude of about 12.3. The comet will be visible from both hemispheres, but observers in the northern latitudes will have it at a more convenient altitude during the first half of April.
Comet 81P/Wild already reached perihelion on December 15, 2022, and started to fade in early 2023. But the Earth is still close to the comet, so 81P/Wild is expected to be brighter than magnitude 13 until May 2023. It’s visible from both hemispheres, but the conditions are better in the southern one.
C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS) is still visible from the Southern Hemisphere. However, by April, it has lost much of its brightness and now has a magnitude of about 9. Look for the comet in the evening sky. To spot it in the sky, use the Sky Tonight app.
Meteor showers April 2023
In April, two meteor showers reach their maximum activity — the April Lyrids and the π-Puppids. Their peaks occur on April 23 and 24, giving observers two nights of “shooting stars” in a row. While the April Lyrids produce about 18 meteors per hour, the π-Puppids are known as a variable meteor stream. Learn more about upcoming meteor showers in our article.
How to navigate the night sky?
While navigating the night sky can be tricky, there is a useful tool for doing so — the Sky Tonight mobile app. Launch the app and point your device at the sky to learn what objects you are looking at. To find a specific celestial object, use the search feature in the app. We prepared some short video tutorials on how to use the app to its full potential.
Bottom line
In April 2023, the night sky will offer stargazers bright planets and stars, two meteor shower peaks, the rarest type of solar eclipse, and a few comets. To navigate the night sky with confidence, get the Sky Tonight astronomy app. Wishing you clear skies and happy observations!
