Thursday April 4 to Thursday April 11

The New Moon is Tuesday, April 9. Daylight savings ends April 7. Jupiter is low in the north-western twilight sky and is bracketed by the crescent Moon on the 10th and 11th. In the morning Mars and Saturn come closer together ahead of their close approach on the 11th.Venus is visible low in the morning twilight below the pair. From the 6th to the 8th the crescent Moon joins the lineup. Over the next few mornings you may be able to see the International Space Station near the line up.

The New Moon is Tuesday, April 9. There is a total eclipse of the Sun visible from North and Central America,  On the 9th. The Moon is at perigee, when it is closest to the Earth, on the 8th.

Evening sky on Thursday, April 11 as seen from Adelaide at 18:51 ACST (60 minutes after sunset). Jupiter is low above the north-western horizon and within binocular distance of  Uranus. Jupiter will also be not far from the thin crescent Moon and the comet 12P.

While the comet is a reasonable bright magnitude 4, it is so low to the horizon that you will be unlikely to see it through the horizon murk. You will have to wait for next week for the chance of a decent view. 

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (60 minutes after sunset).

Morning sky on Saturday, April 6 as seen from Adelaide at 06:11 ACDST, . Mars and Saturn are coming closer together below the crescent Moon.

 

At this time may places in Australia will see the International Space Station (Zarya) pass close to the pair. See https://heavens-above.com/ for predictions from your site.

 

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time.

 

Morning sky on Sunday, April 7 as seen from Adelaide at 06:01 ACST. Venus is below Mars and Saturn with the crescent Moon between.  

 

At this time may places in Australia will see the International Space Station (Zarya) pass close to the lineup. See https://heavens-above.com/ for predictions from your site.

 

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time. 

 

Morning sky on Thursday, April 11 as seen from Adelaide at 05:41 ACST, (60 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen). Mars and Saturn are at their closest and can be seen in a medium power telescope eyepiece. Venus is below Mars and Saturn. You may need a low level horizon to see Venus at its best. 

 

The inset is the medium powers telescopic view of Mars and Saturn at this time.

 

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise).

 

Whole sky on Saturday, Saturday, April 6 as seen from Adelaide at 20:27 ACDST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen).

Orion is now in the north-west. Bright Sirius is high in  the north-western sky. Between the bright star Canopus and the Southern Cross are a wealth of binocular objects to discover. With the new Moon, the fainter clusters are once again visible.

 

 

   

 Elsewhere in Australia will see a similar view at the equivalent time (90 minutes after sunset).

 

 

Mercury is lost in the twilight.

Venus is low in the morning twilight, it is sinking towards the horizon and will be lost in the twilight by the end of the Month. Mars and Saturn draw away from Venus and come closer to each other being closest on the 11th.

Mars is rising in the morning twilight and moving away from Venus.  Mars and Saturn  come closer to each other being closest on the 11th. On the 6th the crescent Moon is above the lineup.

Jupiter is visible low in the early evening twilight sky. It is coming closer to Uranus and is within binocular distance of Uranus.

Saturn climbs higher in the morning twilight. Saturn has passed Venus and is heading towards Mars. Mars and Saturn  come closer to each other being closest on the 11th. On the 7th the crescent Moon is between the pair and Venus.

Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEST, Western sky at 10 pm AEST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.


 

Star Map via Virtual sky. Use your mouse to scroll around and press 8 when your pointer is in the map to set to the current time.

Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.

Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/