Mercury - Throughout April, Mercury is rising only a few minutes before sunrise; we won’t be able to see this elusive little planet this month.

Venus - visible in the evening sky. Look for it about 30 to 35 degrees up in the west just after sunset. Venus will be magnitude -4.0. Through a telescope, the planet will have an apparent diameter of 14 to 16 arc-seconds and appear gibbous. On the evenings of April 10 - 12, Venus can be seen about 2.5 degrees from the Pleiades star cluster (M45).

Mars - located in Capricornus and Aquarius. Look for it 8 to 11 degrees up in the ESE about 45 minutes before sunrise. Mars will be magnitude 1.1 and have an apparent diameter of only 5 arc-seconds. The "red" planet will have a diameter of 16 arc-seconds when it reaches opposition in December.

Jupiter - llocated in Ophiuchus. The "King" of the planets rises by 1:30 am EDT at the beginning of April and by 11:30 pm at month's end. Jupiter is near the meridian by 5:00 am at mid-month, when it will be 26 degrees above the horizon. Jupiter will be magnitude -2.4 with an apparent diameter of 40 to 44 arc-seconds. Jupiter's Great Red Spot, a large anti-cyclone, can be seen centered on the planet's disc at the following times (EDT):

04/01/2007, 03:54 am; 04/03/2007, 05:33 am; 04/05/2007, 07:11 am; 04/06/2007, 03:02 am; 04/08/2007, 04:40 am; 04/10/2007, 06:18 am; 04/11/2007, 02:09 am; 04/13/2007, 03:47 am; 04/15/2007, 05:26 am; 04/17/2007, 07:04 am; 04/18/2007, 02:55 am; 04/20/2007, 04:33 am; 04/22/2007, 06:11 am; 04/23/2007, 02:02 am; 04/25/2007, 03:40 am; 04/27/2007, 05:18 am; 04/29/2007, 06:56 am; 04/30/2007, 02:47 am

For detailed postions of Jupiter's Moons try this interactive javascript utility.

Saturn - located in Leo, the ringed planet is near the meridian an hour after sunset. The planet will be 65 degrees above the horizon then and is well placed for viewing till about 2 am EDT. Saturn will be 0.3 magnitude during April with an apparent diameter of 19 arc-seconds. The rings will be 40 arc-seconds across and tilted 15 degrees to our line-of-sight. At least 6 of Saturn's many moons are bright enough to be seen with an 8" scope.

The Cassini spacecraft continues its observation of Saturn and its many moons and rings. For the latest images from Cassini, see:

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm

For detailed postions of Saturn's Moons try this interactive javascript utility.

Uranus - is too close to the Sun to be readily observed.

A finder chart for Uranus can be found on page 66 of the May issue of Sky & Telescope.

Neptune - is too close to the Sun to be readily observed.

A finder chart for Neptune can be found on page 66 of the May issue of Sky & Telescope.

Eris (pronounced "EE-ris") - formerly known as Xena, 2003 UB313, and "the tenth planet"  is magnitude 19 in central Cetus, high in the south during evening.

For detailed information please visit Astronomical Delights

Lyrid Meteor Shower -peaks on the mornings of April 22 and 23. This shower usually produces about 10 to 20 meteors/hour as seen from a dark site. The nearly First Quarter Moon will set by about 2:30 am EDT on the 23rd. The best time to watch for Lyrids is between moonset and 5:30 am. Look high in the east, near the star Vega.