Look high overhead for the shape of a backwards question mark. Overhead to East: Head back to the cup of the Big Dipper. The constellation Cassiopeia is down and to the left of Polaris and resembles a sideways letter ‘M”. Following the two stars at the end of the cup to the next bright star, Polaris, or the North Star. North: The Big Dipper is high in the sky. Continuing up, the two stars you see are Gemini, the Twins. Making a counterclockwise loop from the Pleiades, the next bright star is Capella. To the right of Taurus, you will find the small cluster of stars, the Pleiades or Seven Sisters. Aldebaran is part of the V shape of stars, which is the face of Taurus. Draw a line to the right, from the belt, to a red, orange star, Aldebaran, which is the eye of Taurus, the Bull. The bright blue-white star down and to the right of the belt is Rigel. The bright red-orange star up and to the left of the belt is Betelgeuse. West: Look for the three stars in a line, which make up the belt of Orion. The Lyrid Meteor Shower peaks on April 22. On April 17, Uranus and Mercury stand 2 degrees apart with Uranus due south of Mercury. It will climb higher each night and reaches greatest eastern elongation on April 29. Mercury will have its best appearance of 2022 in the evening sky. Binoculars or a telescope will do the trick. Neptune will also join this gathering and will be less than a degree from Venus. On April 27, the crescent Moon joins brilliant Venus and Jupiter for a spectacular grouping. The crescent Moon joins the scene passing Saturn on April 24, Mars on April 25 and Venus on April 26. Jupiter emerges the first week of April and climbs higher every day. As April progresses, Venus and Mars trek eastward while Saturn barely moves. Venus will be dazzling at magnitude -4.4, while Saturn is at magnitude 0.7 and Mars at magnitude 1.1. On April 1, Mars rises first, around 5 a.m., followed by Saturn and Venus. In early April, Venus, Saturn and Mars, constantly change appearances in a fantastic grouping. Second to that, on April 5, Mars and Saturn will be less than a degree apart. They will not be this close, while far from the Sun, until 2039. These two brilliant planets, Venus at magnitude -4.1 and Jupiter at -2.1, will be less than a degree apart! It’s time to get your backyard telescope out and enjoy both planets in the same field of view. The finest conjunction of the year will feature Venus and Jupiter in the predawn hours of April 30. The spectacular planet show continues in the morning sky. Then later in April, arc off of the handle, of the Big Dipper, to Arcturus, which is one of the brightest stars of spring. For the night sky of spring, enjoy star hopping, to the right, from the flat part of the Big Dipper cup to the backwards question mark shape, which is the head of Leo, the Lion.
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