EarthSky’s visible planets – night sky guide – April 2022

Find these visible planets in April 2022: Venus blazing in the east before sunrise; Mars and Saturn, also in the east before sunrise; Jupiter, emerging in the east before sunrise in early April and easier to see as the month progresses. Mercury will return to the evening sky by mid-April, to begin its best evening apparition for the year for the Northern Hemisphere. Visible planets in depth below.

In this article:

• Night sky guide for April 2022
• April 2022: Planets in depth
• April-May 2022 heliocentric solar system
• Some resources to enjoy

Night sky guide for April 2022

Late March and early April: Jupiter emerging from dawn

We’re getting reports of bright Jupiter poking above the eastern horizon shortly before sunrise. Will you see it, below the other planets? Maybe … if your skies are clear and you have an unobstructed horizon. Jupiter will return in earnest in April!

Evening of April 2: A very young moon

New moon happens at 6:24 UTC on April 1, 2022. And evenings in spring are the best time to see very young moons – very thin crescents – near the horizon after sunset. Will anyone see the moon after sunset on April 1? Maybe. The farther west you are, the more likely you’ll see a young moon on April 1. But – given clear skies – all of us in the Northern Hemisphere should see the very thin crescent moon, floating just above the western horizon after sunset. An exquisite sight! Chart via John Jardine Goss.

Mornings of April 4 and 5: Mars and Saturn conjunction

On April 4 and 5, 2022, look low in the sunrise direction, maybe an hour before sunrise. Red Mars and golden Saturn will look like next-door neighbors on the sky’s dome. Note the difference in Saturn’s position with respect to Mars from April 4 to April 5. Their conjunction – when the two planets will have the same right ascension on our sky’s dome – will come at 22 UTC on April 4. At that time, Mars will be 0.3 degrees S. of Saturn. Illustration via John Jardine Goss.

Evenings of April 4 and 5: Crescent moon by famous star clusters

On April 4 and 5, 2022 – in the evening sky – the crescent moon visits 2 famous star clusters located in the direction of the constellation Taurus the Bull. The Hyades cluster is shaped like the letter V. Aldebaran, brightest star in the V, is not a true cluster member. The Pleiades star cluster – aka the Seven Sisters – is shaped like a tiny misty dipper of stars. Look west after sunset for the moon and these beautiful clusters, which are about to leave the evening sky. Illustration via John Jardine Goss.

April 8 and 9 evenings: Castor and Pollux by the moon

The moon passes the bright stars Castor and Pollux in Gemini the Twins on April 8 and 9. The moon reaches its 1st-quarter phase on April 9. Chart via John Jardine Goss.

April 11 and 12 evenings: Regulus and the moon

On April 11 and 12, a waxing gibbous moon passes close to the brightest star in Leo the Lion: Regulus. Chart via John Jardine Goss.

By mid-April: 4 planets from the Northern Hemisphere

Some of you might have glimpsed Jupiter near the sunrise as early as late March, 2022. By mid-April, we’ll all see Jupiter in the sunrise direction, about an hour before the sun comes up. You’ll recognize it easily as the 2nd-brightest planet, after Venus. Here is the placement of the 4 bright planets in the morning sky around mid-April, as viewed from the Northern Hemisphere. The same 4 planets are visible from the Southern Hemisphere, too. See the chart below.

By mid-April: 4 planets from the Southern Hemisphere

Note the contrast between this chart and the one above. The same 4 planets – Jupiter, Mars, Saturn and Venus – can be seen before sunrise, with Jupiter closest to the sunrise point. But it’s autumn now in the Southern Hemisphere. So the ecliptic, or sun’s path, makes a steep angle to the morning horizon, placing the planets high above the sunrise.

April 15 and 16 evenings: Moon and Spica

If you’re enjoying the full or nearly full moon on April 15 and 16, you’ll probably notice a bright star nearby. That star is Spica, the brightest star in the constellation Virgo. Chart via John Jardine Goss.

April 15 to 29, peaking on 22nd: Lyrid meteor shower

Lyrid meteors radiate from near the bright star Vega in the constellation Lyra the Harp. You don’t need to identify Vega or Lyra in order to watch the Lyrid meteor shower. But you do need to know when the radiant rises, in this case in the northeast before midnight. That’s why the Lyrids are typically best between midnight and dawn, and why the last quarter moon will interfere with the shower in 2022. You’ll see the most meteors after the radiant has come over the horizon. The meteors radiate from there but will appear unexpectedly in any and all parts of the sky. Read more about April’s Lyrid meteor shower.

April 19 and 20 mornings: Moon and Antares

For those up early on April 19 and 20, you may be asking, “What’s that bright star by the moon?” That reddish star is Antares in the constellation Scorpius. A waning gibbous moon is west of Antares on April 19 and east of the reddish star on April 20. Its phase will shrink a bit from one night to the next. Chart via John Jardine Goss.

Beginning around April 20: Mercury nears the Pleiades

Watch Mercury starting around April 20, when it’s low in the west after sunset. You’ll see the closest planet to the sun steadily climb closer to the Pleiades star cluster every night until April 29, when Mercury and the Pleiades are right next to each other. Their conjunction on our sky’s some comes at 19 UTC on April 29. Then the star cluster and the planet are separated by 1.4 degrees. On our chart, Mercury follows the white line upward and gets dimmer as it nears the Pleiades, which is represented by the shrinking circle. Chart via John Jardine Goss.

April 24 and 25 mornings: Crescent moon near Saturn and Mars

The waning crescent moon lies west of Saturn on the morning of April 24 and east of Saturn on April 25. On that morning, it appears between Mars and Saturn. Chart via John Jardine Goss.

April 26 and 27 mornings: Crescent moon near 3 planets

The thin waning crescent moon first passes Mars on the morning of April 26, then hovers below Jupiter and Venus on the morning of April 27. Chart via John Jardine Goss.

In late April: Don’t miss the Jupiter-Venus conjunction

Catch the 2 brightest planets – Venus and Jupiter – close together around the end of April and beginning of May, 2022. The moon will join the scene on April 27. This chart also shows that Jupiter will be on one side of Venus on April 30 and the opposite side on May 1. That’s because the 2 planets’ conjunction – when they pass one another in right ascension – comes at 19 UTC on April 30. At that time, Venus will be 0.2 degrees S. of Jupiter. Also, reddish Mars on the far right. Right now, because it’s still far ahead of us in orbit, Mars can’t compete in brightness with Venus and Jupiter! Illustration via John Jardine Goss.

On April 30: A deep partial solar eclipse

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | The April 30, 2022, eclipse will be a partial, but deep, eclipse, not dissimilar to the eclipse shown in this photo. It’s visible from the southeast Pacific, and south South America. Our friend James Trezza in Cedar Beach, Mount Sinai, New York, captured this photo of the partial solar eclipse on June 10, 2021. He wrote: “Solar eclipse 2021! Nothing like perfect timing with a bird flying through the frame during the eclipse.” Thanks, James, and yes! Read more about the April 30, 2022 solar eclipse.

On the night of May 15-16: A total eclipse of the moon

A total lunar eclipse sweeps across the Americas, Europe, and Africa during the night of May 15-16, 2022. The moon will enter Earth’s shadow at 10:28 p.m. EDT on May 15, becoming completely eclipsed about one hour later. This total eclipse is central, meaning the moon’s disk actually passes through the axis of Earth’s umbral shadow. Because they are so deep, such eclipses typically have the longest total phases. In this case, the duration of totality lasts almost an hour and a half: 84.9 minutes! Chart by John Jardine Goss. Read more about the May 15-15 total lunar eclipse.

April 2022: Planets in depth!

Venus and Jupiter

Venus dominates the morning eastern sky throughout April 2022. It reached its greatest elongation – its farthest angular distance from the sunrise – last month, on March 20. Over the next seven months, Venus will slowly move a little closer to the horizon each morning. But Venus is so bright and so beautiful. You will enjoy it as the dazzling “morning star” for many months to come.

Plus Venus will have a glorious conjunction with our sky’s 2nd-brightest planet, Jupiter, before this month ends. Jupiter will be located along a regularly spaced line of planets in the eastern predawn sky. The other planets are fainter Mars and Saturn, plus very bright Venus.

And mark your calendar for the mornings around April 27 and 28, when the thin waning crescent moon will hover near Jupiter and Venus in the predawn sky.

Throughout April 2022, and whenever you might see it, Jupiter will be very bright! It’s second only to Venus among bright “starlike” objects in our night sky. So prepare to spot Jupiter on early April morning, when you’ll find it beaming out, perhaps surprisingly, from the eastern dawn glow. Then enjoy Venus and Jupiter together for the rest of this month. The Venus-Jupiter conjunction will come at 19 UTC on April 30. Then Venus will be 0.2 degrees S. of Jupiter.

Much like Saturn, Jupiter will spend 2022 shifting from the morning to the evening sky. It opposition will come on September 26.

Saturn and Mars

Saturn and Mars both are much dimmer than Venus or Jupiter. In April 2022, Saturn appears a little brighter than Mars. Watch for a fascinating sight on the morning of April 4, and extending into the morning of April 5, when Mars slides 0.3 degrees S. of Saturn on our sky’s dome. Their conjunction comes at 22 UTC on April 4. Note that Mars is the 2nd-smallest planet. Saturn is the 2nd-largest planet. Saturn shines with a golden color. And Mars appears reddish; it’s called the Red Planet for a reason. From the longitude of India – on the day of their conjunction – Mars appears to slide directly underneath Saturn, barely missing it! No matter what geographical location you view from, use binoculars to bring out the colors of these intriguing planets.

Also, keep in mind how we interpret the view in April 2022: planets in 3-dimensional space projected onto a 2-dimensional dome. Even though they seem to be close in the sky, Venus, Saturn, and Mars are actually nowhere near each other in space. Venus lies 72 million miles from Earth, and Mars is 95 million miles further out. Saturn orbits the sun just under 1 billion miles from our world!

Like Jupiter, Mars is now beginning a new cycle of visibility in our sky. Throughout 2022, it’ll brighten and shift into our evening sky, as Earth draws up behind Mars in our smaller, faster orbit around the sun. Earth and Mars will be closest on December 1. Our two worlds will be most nearly on a line in space – bringing Mars to its once-in-2-years opposition – on the night of December 7-8.

Like Jupiter and Mars, Saturn is also just beginning its cycle of visibility in Earth’s sky. It’ll come to opposition – rising at sunset, highest at midnight, setting at sunrise – on August 14.

Mercury

Mercury reaches superior conjunction – sweeping to the far side of the sun from Earth – on April 2. It will emerge into the western sky after sunset by mid-month, thereby becoming the lone evening planet. It’ll be the start of Mercury’s best evening apparition of this year, for us in the Northern Hemisphere.

Note that Mercury will be near the famous Pleiades star cluster – aka the 7 Sisters – in April 2022. You’ll probably start to notice Mercury near the Pleiades around April 20, and it’ll steadily climb closer to the cluster every night until April 29, when Mercury and the Pleiades are right next to each other. Their conjunction on our sky’s some comes at 19 UTC on April 29. Then the star cluster and the planet are separated by 1.4 degrees.

Mercury will also appear farthest from the sunset 8 UTC on April 29, 2022. This is Mercury’s greatest elongation, its greatest apparent distance from the sun on our sky’s dome. Read more about Mercury’s greatest elongation in April 2022.

April-June 2022 heliocentric solar system

The sun-centered charts below come from Guy Ottewell. You’ll find charts like these for every month of 2022 in his Astronomical Calendar. Guy Ottwell explains:

In these views from ecliptic north, arrows (thinner when south of the ecliptic plane) are the paths of the 4 inner planets. Dots along the rest of the orbits are 5 days apart (and are black for the part of its course that a planet has trodden since the beginning of the year). Semicircles show the sunlit side of the new and full moon (vastly exaggerated in size and distance). Pairs of lines point outward to the more remote planets. Phenomena such as perihelia (represented by ticks) and conjunctions (represented by lines between planets) are at dates that can be found in the Astronomical Calendar. Gray covers the half of the universe below the horizon around 10 p.m. at mid- month (as seen from the equator). The zodiacal constellations are in directions from the Earth at mid-month (not from the sun).

View larger. | Heliocentric view of solar system, April 2022. Chart via Guy Ottewell.

View larger. | Heliocentric view of solar system, May 2022. Chart via Guy Ottewell.

View larger. | Heliocentric view of solar system, June 2022. Chart via Guy Ottewell.

Some resources to enjoy

Don’t miss anything. Subscribe to daily emails from EarthSky. It’s free!

Visit EarthSky’s Best Places to Stargaze to find a dark-sky location near you.

Post your night sky photos at EarthSky Community Photos.

See the indispensable Observer’s Handbook, from the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada

Visit Stellarium-Web for precise views from your location

Visit TheSkyLive for precise views from your location

The Old Farmer’s Almanac provides specific planet rise and set info (U.S. and Canada)

Timeanddate.com provides specific planet rise and set info (worldwide)

Translate Universal Time (UTC) to your time

Read: Ecliptic is the sun’s path in our sky

Read: Planet-observing is easy. Top tips here

Back by popular demand! Guy Ottewell’s Astronomical Calendar for 2022

Great resource and beautiful wall chart: Guy Ottewell’s zodiac wavy chart

Guy Ottewell’s Zodiac Wavy Chart is a 2-by-3 foot poster displaying the movements of the sun, moon and planets throughout the year. You can purchase it here.

Bottom line: April 2022 is a month for seeing 4 planets in the morning sky. By mid-month, Jupiter and Venus – Saturn and Mars – will be stretched out in a line in the eastern predawn sky. Meanwhile, the sun’s innermost planet, Mercury, will return in mid-April to begin its best evening apparition of the year for Northern Hemisphere skywatchers. Plus Mercury will appear near the famous Pleiades star cluster, aka the 7 Sisters. April planets – April night sky – here.

Help EarthSky keep going! Donate now.

The post EarthSky’s visible planets – night sky guide – April 2022 first appeared on EarthSky.