http://www.skymaps.com/articles/n0904.html
Sky Calendar -- April 2009
2 Moon at perigee (closest to Earth) at 2h UT (370,013 km; 32.3').
2 First Quarter Moon at 14:34 UT.
4 Moon near Beehive cluster (M44) at 8h UT (evening sky).
5 Moon near Regulus at 23h UT (evening sky).
7 Moon near Saturn at 2h UT (evening sky).
9 Full Moon at 14:55 UT. Called the Egg Moon because it is the full moon before Easter.
• Full Moon Names (Wikipedia)
9 Moon near Spica at 22h UT ( evening sky).
13 Moon very near Antares at 13h UT (morning sky). Occultation visible from Hawaii.
• Occultation of Antares (IOTA)
15 Mars 0.43° from Uranus at 9h UT (31° from Sun, morning sky). Mags +1.2 and +5.9.
16 Moon at apogee (farthest from Earth) at 9h UT (distance 404,232 km; angular size 29.6').
17 Last Quarter Moon at 13:37 UT.
19 Moon near Jupiter at 15h UT (morning sky).
National Dark Sky Week, April 20-26. Switch off unnecessary outdoor lights.
• National Dark Sky Week website (IOTA)
22 Lyrid meteor shower peaks at 11h UT. Active between April 16-25. Radiant is located between Hercules and Lyra. Expect between 10 to 20 bright, fast meteors per hour at its peak.
• The Lyrids (Gary Kronk)
• Meteor Shower Calendar 2009 (IMO)
22 Moon very near Venus at 13h UT (33° from Sun, morning sky). Occultation visible from North America (daytime) except for far South and East.
• Occultation of Venus (IOTA)
24 Venus 4.1° NW of Mars at 16h UT (morning sky). Magnitudes -4.5 and +1.2.
25 New Moon at 3:22 UT. Start of lunation 1068.
• Lunation Number (Wikipedia)
26 Mercury at greatest elongation, 20° east from Sun (evening sky) at 8h UT. Mag. +0.4, low in the WNW 30 minutes after sunset. The crescent Moon and Pleiades nearby.
26 Moon near the Pleiades at 22h UT (24° from Sun, evening sky).
• Pleiades (star cluster) (Wikipedia)
28 Moon at perigee (closest to Earth) at 6h UT (366,040 km; 32.6').
29 Venus brightest at 7h UT (evening sky). Mag. -4.5.
All times Universal Time (UT). USA Eastern Summer Time = UT - 4 hours.
Clear skies till next month!
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