Sunday, April 14
Asteroid 2 Pallas reached opposition and peak visibility last week, but it remains a tempting target throughout April. Glowing at magnitude 7.9, the minor planet should be relatively easy to spot with binoculars and a cinch to see through a telescope of any size if you know where to look. And right now, the night sky’s fourth-brightest star points the way. Pallas lies 6° due west of Arcturus in Boötes the Herdsman, the brightest star in the eastern sky during late evening. The asteroid appears even closer to the magnitude 2.7 star Eta (η) Boötis, which stands 1.3° to the minor planet’s southeast tonight. Use the finder chart above to home in on Pallas on other nights this month.
Monday, April 15
The annual Lyrid meteor shower ramps up this week. Although the shower won’t peak until the morning of April 23, you should see a few meteors in the predawn hours before then despite the presence of a bright Moon. To tell a Lyrid from a sporadic meteor, trace the streak of light back to its origin. Lyrids appear to come from the constellation Lyra the Harp, while sporadics appear at random and can come from any direction.
Tuesday, April 16
Mars continues to add luster to Taurus the Bull this week. And this evening, the Red Planet passes 7° due north of the constellation’s brightest star, ruddy 1st-magnitude Aldebaran. Shining at magnitude 1.6, Mars appears slightly fainter than Aldebaran. The planet lies 30° above the western horizon an hour after sundown and doesn’t set until after 11 p.m. local daylight time.
The Moon reaches perigee, the closest point in its orbit around Earth, at 6:05 p.m. EDT. It then lies 226,306 miles (364,205 kilometers) away from us.
Wednesday, April 17
Venus pokes above the eastern horizon about an hour before sunrise. The brilliant planet dominates the predawn sky as the rosy glow heralding the Sun’s arrival grows brighter. Venus shines at magnitude –3.9, nearly four times brighter than the second-brightest planet, Jupiter. When viewed through a telescope, the inner world shows a disk that spans 12" and appears 85 percent lit.