Catch the scene soon after sunset and get ready for some great views as twilight falls. During April, it takes a visually dynamic path between the stunning Pleiades (M45) and Hyades star clusters, which themselves just beckon for attention. Venus dominates the evening sky, starting the month at magnitude –4. Uranus is visible with binoculars or a telescope. One day before Mercury reaches greatest elongation, Venus pairs nicely with the Pleiades. (Kitt Peak Observatory in Arizona is a good location.) Sunset scene Note that magnitude 5.9 Uranus lies within 4° of Mercury, but it will be most challenging to spot unless you’re observing from high elevation with perfectly clear air. The Moon is 12° high and Mercury is just 5° above the horizon. However, Mercury has faded to magnitude 1.9 and will be difficult to spot as it stands nearly 9° due east of the Moon, at lower altitude. Look first for the Moon soon after sunset. On April 21, a crescent Moon joins Mercury low in the western sky. The planet dims to magnitude –0.1 during this period as its phase declines from 76 percent to 39 percent lit. Mercury passes some 8° due south of Hamal, the brightest star in Aries, on the 6th, then climbs to its greatest eastern elongation 19° from the Sun on April 11. Venus hangs 21° higher than Mercury and is easy to spot west of Taurus. One or two stars in Aries the Ram may pop into view nearby if your sky is clear enough. Setting more than an hour after the Sun and shining at magnitude –1.1, it’s an easy twilight target. Look on April 1 for the innermost planet hanging 5° above the horizon 45 minutes after local sunset. We begin our nightly tour of the planets with Mercury, which reaches its best evening appearance for the year during April and is visible almost all month. Saturn reappears in the morning sky, with better views late in the month - why not plan to view the April Lyrids and the ringed planet together? Jupiter is too close to the Sun for observation this month, while Uranus and Neptune are challenging. Mars continues to recede from Earth and is a nice 1st-magnitude object crossing Gemini. Watch them each evening, with Mercury at its best in the first two weeks of April. Mercury and Venus put on their best display of the year this month. This month, a hybrid eclipse that starts and ends as annular but is total for much of the track crosses from the Indian to Pacific oceans. A diamond ring appears just before totality begins in 2009.
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