Astronomy guide to the night sky April 2026
With the Newbury Astronomical Society
The chart above shows the night sky at 20:00 on 15th April 2026
(Click on the image above to enlarge and click away from the image to return here)
The chart above shows the night sky looking south at about 20:00 BST on 15th April. West is to the right and east to the left. The point in the sky directly overhead is known as the Zenith and is shown (in red) at the upper centre of the chart. The curved brown line across the sky at the bottom is the Ecliptic or Zodiac. This is the imaginary line along which the Sun, Moon and planets appear to move across the sky. The brightest stars often appear to form a group or recognisable pattern; we call these ‘Constellations’.
Constellations through which the ecliptic passes this month are: Pisces (the Fishes), Aires (the Ram), Taurus (the Bull), Gemini (the Twins), Cancer (the Crab) Leo (the Lion) and Virgo (the virgin).
Well, placed in the southeast, is the constellation of Taurus (the Bull). The most obvious star in Taurus is the lovely Red Giant Star called Aldebaran that is located at the centre of Taurus. It appears slightly orange to the ‘naked eye’ but it is very obviously orange when seen using binoculars or a telescope. Aldebaran is a star that is a little larger than our Sun but is approaching the end of its ‘life’ and is in its Red Giant phase.
Aldebaran is located at the centre of the ‘flattened’ X shape formed by the brightest stars in Taurus. At the end of the top right (upper west) arm of the ‘X’ is the most beautiful ‘naked eye’ Open Star Cluster called Messier 45 (M45). It is also known as the Pleiades (or the Seven Sisters).
Following Taurus is the constellation of Gemini (the Twins). The two brightest stars in Gemini are Castor and Pollux they are named after mythological twins. To the north of Taurus is the odd pentagon shape of Auriga (the Charioteer). Dominating Auriga is the brilliant white star Capella which has been directly overhead. For those with a telescope there is a line of lovely open clusters to search out in Taurus and Auriga. These are M35 in Taurus and M36, M37 and M38 in Auriga. Jupiter is in Taurus and is the brightest object in the sky except the Sun and Moon.
To the east of Taurus is the rather faint but interesting constellation of Cancer (the Crab). There is a lovely open cluster known as Messier 44 (M44) also called Praesepe or the Beehive Cluster. It is best seen using binoculars. The stars are not so bright as Messier 45 (M45) the Pleiades but they are lovely to see, looking like an old conical straw Beehive and a swarm of bees.
To the south of Taurus is one of the most recognised winter constellations called Orion (the Hunter). Orion is easily found by looking for the obvious line of three stars of his belt. Orion has his Hunting Dogs Sirius (the big dog) and Procyon (the little dog) to the east (left) and following him. Orion now dominates the evening sky with its well-known stars Betelgeuse and Rigel. Orion is the main feature in this issue of the magazine and provides details of many of the interesting features of this fascination constellation. The greatest treasure to be found in Orion is undoubtably Messier 42 (M42).
The constellation of Leo (the Lion) follows Cancer along the Ecliptic. It does look like a lion or the Sphinx in Egypt. Around and between Leo and the neighboring constellation of Virgo is a cluster of galaxies. Our Milky Way galaxy and our local group of galaxies are members of this larger group of galaxies called the Virgo Cluster. A medium-sized telescope (150mm to 200mm) and a dark sky are required to see these faint objects. The Virgo cluster of galaxies is part of an even larger super cluster.
Ursa Major (the Great Bear) is moving into its summer location, almost directly overhead and consequently close to the Zenith (the point directly over head of the observer). Ursa Major is one of the most familiar constellations and resembles a giant Saucepan. It appears very large and now dominates the night sky directly above our heads. The star Mizar, located in the handle of the saucepan asterism (shape), is interesting to see. A good ‘naked eye’ look will reveal a second smaller star, called Alcor that can be seen as a companion to Mizar. The Mizar star system is composed of six stars. Mizar is a double / double star and Alcor has a tiny Red Dwarf Star orbiting it.
WHERE TO FIND THE PLANETS THIS MONTH
MERCURY was at its greatest easterly elongation on 19th February when it was at its maximum apparent distance from the Sun. Mercury is moving quickly towards Inferior Conjunction with the Sun on 7th March. It will not be visible for most of this month.
VENUS is moving out from behind the Sun after its Superior Conjunction (passing behind the Sun) on 6th January but still appears very close to the Sun and the western horizon. As it moves out and away from the Sun, over the next months, it will appear fully illuminated but will be looking small because it is still beyond the Sun and further away. It will be visible after sunset this month close to the western horizon and in the bright sky after sunset.
MARS is still located close to the Sun. It was at its Superior Conjunction with the Sun (passing behind the Sun) on 9th January and still appears very close to the Sun and is not observable this month.
JUPITER was at its Opposition (passing Earth with the Sun on the opposite of Earth) on 10th January when it was at its highest point above the southern horizon and due south at 01:30 GMT. At Opposition Jupiter was at its closest point to Earth as Earth ‘under-took’ Jupiter on their orbits. Jupiter is still at its best for observing earlier each evening and is very high in the night sky and perfect for observing.
SATURN has now passed over the western horizon and is no longer observable. Saturn was in conjunction with the Sun on 25th March. It will begin to appear in the evening sky again, later this year.
URANUS is still well placed in the southern sky at and in its best position for observing with a telescope. Uranus can be found using a 9 x 50 binocular and appears as a ‘fuzzy’ bluish star. It is quite easy to find and see using a ‘beginner’s’ telescope appearing as a small disc but is not much bigger than a star. It is noticeably blue when viewed through even a smallish telescope.
NEPTUNE is following Saturn along the Ecliptic and will be in conjunction with the Sun on 22nd March. It will appear in the evening sky again, later this year.
To see a full version of this article and a guide to the night sky with charts, read the monthly magazine on the Newbury Astronomical Society website at: Magazine April 2026
For details and directions visit the Newbury Astronomical Society website at: Home – Newbury Astronomical Society
Our next meeting will be at Stockcross Village Hall on Wednesday 15th April 2026, from 7pm until 9pm.
