Sky Events
April 2025
April 2: Conjunction of the Moon and Jupiter, with an angular separation of 5°30′
April 4: First Quarter Moon
April 4: M94, a spiral galaxy in Canes Venatici, is well-placed for observation.
April 4: Conjunction of the Moon and Mars, with an angular separation of 2°09′
April 12: Full Moon
April 15: The Whirlpool Galaxy in Canis Venatici is well-placed for observation.
April 18: The globular cluster M3 in Canes Venatici is well-placed for observation.
April 20: Third Quarter Moon
April 21: Mercury at greatest western elongation
April 22: The Lyrid meteor shower reaches its peak activity of about 18 meteors per hour.
April 23: The Pinwheel Galaxy M101 in Ursa Major is well-placed in the evening sky.
April 24: Conjunction of the Moon and Venus, with an angular separation of 2°23′
Planets in April
Mercury: Morning planet, not easily visible despite reaching greatest western elongation on April 21
Venus: Morning planet, rises 70 mins before sunrise.
Mars: Deteriorating evening planet.
Jupiter: Evening planet, deteriorating through the month.
Saturn: Hard to see in the morning twilight.
May 2025
May 3: Conjunction of the Moon and Mars, with an angular separation of 2°04′
May 4: First Quarter Moon
May 6: The η-Aquariid meteor shower reaches its peak activity of about 40 meteors per hour.
May 11: Globular cluster M5 in Serpens is well-placed for observation.
May 12: Full Moon
May 20: Third Quarter Moon
May 22: Conjunction of the Moon and Saturn in the early morning, with an angular separation of 2°49′
May 23: Conjunction of the Moon and Venus in the early morning, with an angular separation of 3°59′
May 28: The globular cluster M4 in Scorpius is well-placed for observation.
May 31: Venus at greatest western elongation
Planets in May
Mercury: Morning planet, too low to be seen properly.
Venus: Morning planet, lowering so hard to see before sunrise.
Mars: Evening planet, best at start of May
Jupiter: Evening planet in Taurus, compromised by twilight mid-month onwards
Saturn: Poorly placed morning planet forming a compact triangle with Venus and Neptune early in May.