April isn't going to be a great month for observing the planets; anyone who's a planet observer or imager may be feeling pretty fed up of what 2024 has delivered so far!
That's due to change as we head into the latter half of 2024, but for now, yet again April is due to be a challenging month.
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None of the planets is particularly well-placed in April 2024 as they all lie very close to the Sun.
And even those that do re-emerge into the dawn twilight do so at a low altitude.
Jupiter and Uranus remain in the evening sky, but not for much longer. Find out more about this in our guide to observing Jupiter and Uranus in April 2024.
Below we'll take a look at what each of the planets is doing in April 2024.
How to see the planets in April 2024
Jupiter
- Best time to see: 1 April, from 19:20 UT
- Altitude: 23°
- Location: Aries
- Direction: West
- Features: Complex markings, Galilean moons
- Recommended equipment: 100mm scope or larger
Mercury
- Best time to see: 1 April, 40 minutes after sunset
- Altitude: 8°
- Location: Pisces
- Direction: West
Mercury is an evening planet at the start of April, shining at mag. +1.8 on 1 April and setting 100 minutes after the Sun. It thereafter rapidly dashes towards inferior conjunction, which occurs on 11 April. This means its visibility for the first part of April is generally poor.
Mercury passes 1.7° north of mag. –3.8 Venus on 19 April, but only rises 20 minutes before the Sun, making the conjunction virtually impossible to see, especially with Mercury now at mag. +3.2. Things improve towards the end of April, but only slightly, mag. +1.3 Mercury rising 30 minutes before the Sun.
Venus
Venus is approaching the Sun in the morning sky and not well-placed, rising just 16 minutes before sunrise on 1 April. Towards the end of the month, Venus gets too close to the Sun’s position to be seen safely, rising just 8 minutes before sunrise on 30 April.
Mars
- Best time to see: 30 April, 40 minutes before sunrise
- Altitude: 2° (very low)
- Location: Pisces
- Direction: East
Mars is currently a morning planet, but – as is the way with the major planets this month – is not well-placed. On the morning of 6 April, mag. +1.2 Mars sits 3.1° west of mag. +0.8 Saturn, both planets accompanied by a 9%-lit, waning crescent Moon 2.7° further to the south.
Mars and Saturn converge over the next few mornings to reach a minimum separation (as seen from the UK) of 30 arcminutes on the morning of 11 April. On 29 April, mag. +1.1 Mars passes mag. +7.9 Neptune by just 2.1 arcminutes, although this is unlikely to be visible due to the bright dawn twilight.
Saturn
- Best time to see: 30 April, 04:00 UT
- Altitude: 5° (low)
- Location: Aquarius
- Direction: East-southeast
Saturn is a morning object but not well-placed, appearing very low in the dawn twilight. A 9%-lit waning crescent Moon sits 3.7° southwest of the mag. +0.8 planet on the morning of 6 April. By the end of the month, Saturn only manages a paltry altitude of around 5° before being lost to the dawn twilight.
Uranus
- Best time to see: 1 April, 20:40 UT
- Altitude: 14°
- Location: Aries
- Direction: West
An evening planet, now on its last legs as it slips slowly but surely into the evening twilight. Uranus is on of the best planets to see in April 2024, but that's not saying much.
It's in conjunction with bright Jupiter on 20 and 21 April, but the evening twilight will make this a very hard conjunction to see properly.
Neptune
Not visible this month.
This guide originally appeared in the April 2024 issue of BBC Sky at Night Magazine.
