Sonia's Astro Blog April 2026

Hi, I'm Sonia,

I have been into astronomy since 1997 when I was 11 years old when comet Hale-Bopp was around. I remember being in the back garden with my dad and he was showing me how to take a photo of it with his old Fujica camera, that I still have now.

Ever since then I've been fascinated with space. I started with a very cheap Tasco telescope from Argos to look at the moon, went onto a Meade goto ETX-90 telescope, which unfortunately due to age stopped working.

I currently use a Skywatcher 10" Dobsonian, to mostly photograph the moon and also the planets. I also have a Seestar S50 which got me into deep sky imaging which I love!

More recently I have also aquired a Seestar S30 and a Vespera II

lastly a Coronado PST for solar imaging.

I have two Bsc (Hons) open degrees in "Introducing Astronomy" and "The Planets"

Elected in 2023 I am a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society

Along with my blog for StarDome, I'm also a freelancer for the BBC Sky at Night magazine

Clear Skies

Sonia

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

April 2026

April is the night sky that exhales after winter, it’s a bit more softer and calmer, but still of treasures

if you just have that little more patience.

The evenings start to get milder, the air a little steadier and the constellations of the Spring start to get higher. Sometimes you could even get the clearest, crispest views of the year.

Early Spring brings the Pink Moon, the first full moon of Spring.

The moon isn’t really pink, it comes from the moss phlox flowers that bloom this time of year. But it does feel a bit more different, in that it is brighter and closer.

April is still prime for galaxy seasonal hunters.

Above the northern horizon, look for Ursa Major (known as the Plough) nearby you will find:

The whirlpool galaxy (M51) the Leo Triplets and the Virgo Cluster.

The Lyrid Meteor Shower returns, with the peak 22nd/23rd, one of the oldest meteor showers. They appear as bright, quick streaks across the sky.

When it is the new moon, look for the Earthshine. A faint ghostly glow on the moon’s dark side. The sunlight bounces off the Earth and lighting the lunar surface.

Constellations of Spring

Leo – the lion, prowling in the South

Virgo – Rising with bright star Spica

Bootes – the herdsman, chasing the tail of the Plough

And very low in the West, Orion makes his final bow before disappearing for the Summer.

Planets:

Venus doesn’t set until as late as 11pm and is high enough for you to see it against the dark sky. At a magnitude of -3.9, it’s the brightest object in the sky (apart from the moon) On the 18th and 19th Venus, will be close to a crescent moon.

22nd to the 24th Venus passes close by to the Pleiades.

Mars is lost in the evening skies to see. You will find Jupiter amongst the Constellation of Gemini. Magnitude -2.3, it will be the second brightest planet to Venus. Jupiter will set around 3am. 22nd Jupiter will be close to the Moon.

Saturn is lost in the evening skies to see.

Uranus will just be about naked eye visibility at a magnitude of +5.8, in the constellation of Taurus. Setting around 11pm. You can find the planet with Binoculars and will look bluish green and will be 50 arcminutes to the left of Venus.

Neptune is lost in the evenings skies.

April full moon is the Pink Moon overnight on April 1

Here is the sky dome view for April 2026. It shows what is above the horizon at mid-evening for mid-northern latitudes. The view may vary depending on your location.