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This is the Griffith Observatory Sky Report for the period between April 1and April 30, 2023. Here are the events happening in the sky of southern California.

Mercury sets due west at 8:27 p.m., PDT, and the sun sets at 7:14 p.m., PDT, on the 1^st, an hour later. On the 11^th, Mercury is at greatest eastern elongation. A telescope with a magnification of 150x is needed to see the disk. On the 30^th, the sun sets at 7:36 p.m., PDT. Mercury sets at 7:43 p.m., PDT, and so the planet cannot be observed. Do not observe any planet when it comes close to the sun, for the danger to the eyes is great.

Venus is due west and about a third of the way above the horizon after sunset. On the 1^st, Venus sets at 10:15 p.m., PDT, and is 77-percent illuminated and 14 arcseconds wide. On the 30^th, Venus sets at 11:06 p.m., PDT, and is 66-percent illuminated and 17 arcseconds wide.

Mars is in Gemini the Twins. On the 1^st, Mars sets at 1:49 a.m., PDT. After sunset the planet is due west and two-thirds of the way up from the horizon. On the 30^th, Mars sets at 12:56 a.m., PDT. The planet is 90-percent illuminated and 5.4 arcseconds wide.  A magnification of 200x is needed to see the planet’s small disk.

Jupiter is in Pisces the Fishes. On the 1^st, Jupiter sets due west at 7:47 p.m., PDT, 33 minutes after the sun sets. The planet will appear in the early morning sky in May. A magnification of 50x will show the Red Spot, and the four bright Galilean moons may be seen moving back and forth, roughly in a line centered on Jupiter.

Saturn is in Aquarius the Water Bearer. The planet rises in the east-southeast at 5:05 a.m., PDT, and the sun rises at 6:41 a.m., PDT. On the 30^th, the planet rises at 3:19 a.m., PDT, and the sun rises at 6:05 a.m., PDT.  A magnification of 50x is needed to see the rings and Saturn’s largest moon Titan.

Uranus is in Aries the Ram. On the 1^st, Uranus sets at 10:00 p.m., PDT, and is low in the west. On the 30^th, Uranus sets at 8:13 p.m., PDT. On the 15^th, Uranus is at Right Ascension 2^h 59^m 21^s and declination of +16° 39ʹ 55ʺ. Uranus is only 3.4-arcseconds wide, and a magnification of 150x is needed to show its diminutive disk.

Neptune is in Pisces the Fishes. On the 1^st, the planet rises at 6:06 p.m., PDT, 35 minutes ahead of the sun, and is located low due east. On the 30^th, Neptune rises at 4:14 a.m., PDT. On the 15^th, Neptune is at Right Ascension 23^h 46^m 49^s and declination of  -2° 42ʹ 36ʺ.  A magnification of 150x is needed to see its 2.2-arcsecond wide disk.

Full moon occurs on the 5^th, last quarter on the 13^th, new moon on the 19^th, and first quarter on the 27^th.

SPECIAL EVENTS

The Lyrid meteor shower is active from the evening of April 15 to the morning of the 29^th. The parent body is comet C/1861 G1 (Thatcher). The Lyrids are named after the constellation of Lyra the Harp, from which they appear to originate. The Lyrid meteors comprise a medium-strength shower, with perhaps 20 meteors per hour at the peak, with occasional fireballs. The peak will occur from the evening of the 22^nd to the morning of the 23^rd. The 9-percent crescent moon will not interfere with observations.

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