Each Monday I pick out the northern hemisphere’s celestial highlights (mid-northern latitudes) for the week ahead, but be sure to check my main feed for more in-depth articles on stargazing, astronomy, eclipses and more.
The Night Sky This Week: April 24-30, 2023
It’s a quiet week in the night sky, with the Moon drifting close to Mars surely the clear highlight. So why not spend a few hours searching for constellations? One of the most rewarding to find is Ursa Minor, “the Little Bear,” which is opposite the Big Dipper. Just to help you, its brightest star, Polaris, is the North Star, so never appears to move. With Earth’s northern axis pointed straight at it, Polaris and Ursa Minor are visible all year round—though a dark sky definitely helps with the latter.
Here’s everything you need to know about stargazing and the night sky this week:
Tuesday, April 25: Crescent Moon and Mars
Look high in the western sky tonight and you will see the unmistakable pairing of the Moon and Mars. About 32% illuminated, the Moon will be barely 3° from the red planet, in the constellation of Gemini. That constellation’s two bright stars, Castor and Pollux, will be nearby.
Wednesday, April 26: Moon and Pollux
Tonight the Moon, now 42%-lit, will have moved away from Mars, tonight shining very close to Pollux, the brightest star in the constellation of Gemini.
Thursday, April 27: First Quarter Moon
Stargazers have mixed feelings about a First Quarter Moon. This is the phase that sees our natural satellite reach 50% illumination. It’s a beautiful sight to see, but it begins to seriously pollute the night sky with moonlight, making stargazing much more difficult. That situation worsens through full Moon in a week’s time. However, a First Quarter Moon rises at noon and sets at midnight, making afternoon moon-viewing and late-night stargazing possible.
Constellation of the week: Ursa Minor
Ursa Minor, also known as the “Little Bear” or the “Little Dipper,” is visible throughout the year in the northern hemisphere. It’s opposite Ursa Major, which contains the Big Dipper asterism (shape) you’ll probably already know well.
Ursa Minor is most easily identifiable by its brightest star, Polaris, also known as the North Star, but it’s one of the smallest constellations. It contains only a few bright stars in addition to Polaris, including Kochab and Pherkad. However, unless your sky is very dark you’ll struggle to find anything other than Polaris.
Object of the week: Bode’s galaxy and the Cigar galaxy
Ursa Minor and Ursa Major are home to two galaxies that look stunning in an 8-inch telescope. M81 (Bode’s galaxy) is a large spiral galaxy about 12 million light-years from Earth and is one of the brightest galaxies in the night sky. M82 (the Cigar galaxy) is a starburst galaxy also about 12 million light-years from Earth and is known for its high rate of star formation. They can be glimpsed in the same field of view of a telescope as small, diffuse patches of light northwest of Dubhe in the Big Dipper.
Times and dates given apply to mid-northern latitudes. For the most accurate location-specific information consult online planetariums like Stellarium and The Sky Live. Check planet-rise/planet-set, sunrise/sunset and moonrise/moonset times for where you are.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.