Sky & Telescope - April 2022 - 47

+30°
+40°
+20°
+10°
0°
Neptune
-20°
-10°
-30°
-40°
Apr 26
CETUS
Fomalhaut
10 am
0h
22h
20h
CYGNUS
PEGASUS
PISCES
JupiterAQUARIUS
Mars
Venus
AQUILA
LIBRA
Saturn
16 -17
CAPRICORNUS
8 am
23
SAGITTARIUS
6 am
20
SCORPIUS
4 am
2 am
Midnight
LOCAL TIME OF TRANSIT
10 pm
8 pm
6 pm
4 pm
2 pm
CORVUS
HYDRA
CANIS
MAJOR
-30°
-40°
The Sun and planets are positioned for mid-April; the colored arrows show the motion of each during the month. The Moon is plotted for evening
dates in the Americas when it's waxing (right side illuminated) or full, and for morning dates when it's waning (left side illuminated). " Local time
of transit " tells when (in Local Mean Time) objects cross the meridian - that is, when they appear due south and at their highest - at mid-month.
Transits occur an hour later on the 1st, and an hour earlier at month's end.
diminish the experience. And it'll be fascinating
to watch the planets rearrange
themselves over the coming weeks.
FRIDAY, APRIL 29
Mercury has seven elongations in 2022,
and this one is the best. Not only does
the planet reach its greatest altitude for
observers at mid-northern latitudes,
but, conveniently, it does so in the
evening sky. If you've never managed
to spot the swift-moving planet before,
now's about as good a chance as you're
going to get. Mercury is at magnitude
+0.3 and hovers nearly 14° above the
west-northwestern horizon at the end
of civil twilight, when the center of the
Sun is 6° below the horizon. But if you
wait a little longer and let twilight fade
a bit more, you'll not only be able to
spot Mercury more easily, but the sight
will be enhanced with a bonus addition:
Dawn, April 18
45 minutes before sunrise
Saturn
Aldebaran
Mars
Hyades
Venus
Mercury
Jupiter
Pleiades
the Pleiades. By coincidence, this evening
the little world is positioned below
left of the cluster, less than 1½° from
Alcyone, the brightest Pleiad. Get your
binoculars out for the most rewarding
view, though a small, low-power
telescope will also show the planet and
cluster together well. On this evening
Mercury sets roughly 10 minutes after
the end of astronomical twilight, when
the Sun is 18° below the horizon and
night truly begins.
SATURDAY, APRIL 30
Events in the dawn sky reach their climax
this morning when the two brightest
planets (usually, that is - Mars
occasionally outshines Jupiter) have a
close encounter. Ascending Jupiter and
descending Venus meet and sit side by
side less than ½° apart. (They'll be at
their absolute closest at 21 UT, when
just 14′ separate the pair.) Both planets
rise at roughly 4:20 a.m. local daylight
time - just as astronomical twilight
begins. Venus outshines Jupiter by a full
two magnitudes, which means it's more
than six times brighter.
This is a wonderful naked-eye sight,
but once again I'd be tempted to get out
a scope and enjoy the rare chance to
see both worlds in the same telescopic
field. It's in that arena that Jupiter has
an advantage over Venus: It's bigger!
Indeed, giant Jove presents a disk that's
almost exactly twice as large as its
gleaming neighbor. If the weather fails
you, check again the following morning
(May 1st) when they'll be only slightly
farther apart.
¢ Consulting Editor GARY SERONIK
never misses a chance to catch a mercurial
Mercury appearance.
Dusk, April 29
45 minutes after sunset
TAURUS
ERIDANUS
CANCER
HERCULES
OPHIUCHUS
18h
Vega
16h
14h
BOÖTES
Arcturus
VIRGO
12
LEO
Regulus
Procyon
EQUATOR
Sirius
Rigel
12h
RIGHT ASCENSION
Castor
Pollux
April 8
ORION
Betelgeuse
TAURUS
5
Pleiades
10h
8h
GEMINI
6h
AURIGA
4h
ARIES
+30°
+40°
Mercury
Uranus
+20°
+10°
0°
-20°
-10°
Looking East-Southeast
Looking West-Northwest
sk yand tele scope .o r g * APRIL 2022
47
DECLINATION
E
C
L
I
P
T
I
C
Sky & Telescope - April 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sky & Telescope - April 2022
