“What’s up in the sky?” is a recurring feature and publishes on the first of every month. You can find it on WTOP’s The Space Place. Email Greg your space questions and he might answer them in the next edition.
Welcome to WTOP’s monthly feature: “What’s up in the sky?” Each month will feature the best the sky has to offer stargazers regarding the moon, planets and stars. Space related events that might interest you taking place in the DMV will be included as well.
Let’s get to the sky for April 2025!
Must-see sky sights for April
During April 2025, Venus becomes the brilliant “Morning Star” in the east before dawn. The Lyrids Meteor Shower takes place during the month and the moon has some nice pairings with stars and planets.
April 1: Highlight of the Month — Young Earthshine moon and Pleiades Star Cluster
The four-day old waxing crescent moon in the west at dusk keeps very close company with the Pleiades Star Cluster. Binoculars are recommended. The moon will be just above the Pleiades. Look for Earthshine on the moon and try taking a smartphone/camera pic.
April 2: The five-day old waxing crescent moon in the West at dusk is near bright Jupiter. Look for Earthshine on the moon and try taking a smartphone/camera pic. Use your binoculars if you have them to look for the four main moons of Jupiter. See “Jupiter” in the planets section for more information.
April 5: Mars and the waxing gibbous moon pair up high with the twin stars Castor and Pollux in the Southern sky after dark.
April 12: The full pink moon rises in the southeast at sunset with the bright star Spica very close just to the upper left. Binoculars will enhance your view. Try taking a smartphone/camera pic.
Night of April 21-22 — a Highlight of the Month: Lyrids Meteor Shower
Get all the details here. The moon will interfere a bit with viewing the shower just before dawn.
Predawn April 24 and 25 — A Highlight of the Month: Venus, Saturn and the moon pair up
Low on the eastern horizon, brilliant Venus will be above Saturn and the waning Crescent moon will be to their right on April 24 and will form a triangle with them on April 25. Mercury will be below and to the left of this celestial gathering. Binoculars will help to find Mercury and enhance your view these mornings. Try taking a smartphone/camera pic.
April 28: Once again, the waxing crescent moon in the west at dusk keeps close company with the Pleiades Star Cluster. The very thin crescent moon will be just a day old and beneath the Pleiades. Look for Earthshine on the moon. Binoculars definitely recommended. Try taking a smartphone/camera pic.
April 30: We finish April with the three-day old waxing crescent moon in the West at dusk is near bright Jupiter. Look for Earthshine on the moon. Try taking a taking a smartphone/camera pic. Use your binoculars if you have them to look for the four main moons of Jupiter. See “Jupiter” in the planets section for more information.
The moon
April 4: First quarter
April 12: April’s full moon is called the full pink moon in honor of the flowers of spring. It is also the smallest angular diameter Full Moon of 2025 which means it is the farthest full moon from Earth for 2025 — 406,295 km
April 20: Last quarter
April 27: New moon
Planets
Mercury is low in the eastern horizon before dawn and binoculars will help immensely to find the bright yellowish planet. It will appear higher in the sky as the month goes on.
Venus blazes above the eastern horizon before dawn, you can’t miss it.
Mars is high in the southern sky as it gets dark and has faded in brightness.
Jupiter is bright and located in the western sky at sunset — 7×50 binoculars will show the four main moons of Jupiter looking like “stars” in a line which constantly changes. You can identify the moons by using this link. A small telescope can reveal features in Jupiter’s atmosphere.
Saturn is low on the eastern horizon before dawn. A great view in a telescope as the rings cast a thin line across the planet.
Uranus can be spotted with binoculars using this star chart to locate it. In small telescopes you can detect the color of the planet but not much else.
Neptune is low in the eastern horizon before dawn. You need a telescope to observe the planet.
Pluto is way out there in the solar system and requires taking images through a telescope spaced days apart to hunt it down.
DC-area events
NOVAC General Meeting, George Mason University, Check the calendar for the date and other February astronomy events.
The Kennedy Center’s EARTH to SPACE: Arts Breaking the Sky event features STARMUS, an important global festival of science communication and art. The unique collaboration brings together some of the most brilliant minds on the planet, including musicians, astronauts, poets, researchers, visual artists, engineers, actors, environmentalists, architects, astronomers, dancers, scientists, filmmakers, and space designers.
National Capital Astronomers, 7 p.m., April 12, 2025: Matt Clement (JHU/APL), Planet Formation
The Analemma Society is pausing operations and work with Fairfax County Park Authority regarding Friday Night Public Viewing Sessions at Turner Farm in Great Falls temporarily.
Check their calendar for other astronomy activities in April.
Smithsonian Air & Space in D.C. and Chantilly has loads of astronomy stuff in April!
You can check here and here for astronomy clubs that are outside the DMV.
Bonus!
Download NASA’s 2025 Science calendar that features out of this world pictures and information.
The Planetary Society’s Space Events 2025 Calendar is another resource for tracking space missions.
Use this useful tool to create a custom star chart for your location to help you find your way around the stars.
You can also send in any space related questions to my email address. Suggestions about this feature are also welcome.
Follow Greg Redfern on Facebook, Bluesky and his daily blog to keep up with the latest news in astronomy and space exploration
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