Night Sky Tonight: Guide to stargazing in April 2026

In this guide we'll reveal what you can see in the night sky tonight, and throughout the month.

Our guide is centred around what's visible from the UK, but all northern hemisphere observers should be able to use it, with the odd adjustment to stated times.

April 2026 astronomy highlights

• 18 April: A thin waxing crescent Moon lies near Venus
  20 April: See Ganymede and Callisto transit events on Jupiter
  20/21 April: A Callisto shadow transit
  22 April: Peak of the Lyrid meteor shower
  25 April: The Plato’s Hook effect is visible on the Moon

In our guide, we use Universal Time (UT) and British Summer Time (BST). UT is the standard time used by astronomers around the world. BST is one hour ahead of UT.

We also use RA (Right ascension)and dec. (declination).

These coordinates are the night sky’s equivalent of longitude and latitude, describing where an object is on the celestial ‘globe’.

For help with these, read our guide to celestial coordinates.

Read our guide on how to stargaze and sign up to receive the BBC Sky at Night Magazine e-newsletter every week.

If you're south of the equator, find out what you can see in the Southern Hemisphere night sky tonight.

Family stargazing tip for April 2026

Venus is now becoming easier to spot in the evening sky. It’s a good one for youngsters to try to find – though slightly challenging because of the bright twilight, it doesn’t call for any optical equipment.

It’s important to wait for the Sun to properly set before trying, so be sure to only start the hunt 20–30 minutes after the Sun is fully below the horizon.

The planet appears low in the west and finding it in twilight is a good astro skill to learn. For added interest, record how soon (again, fully after sunset) it can be found on different evenings.

Planets and Moon

With spring now well and truly underway, we have a hiatus with the planets which are all clustered too close to the Sun to be seen well.

Just to illustrate this situation, four of them are gathered together with a thin 2%-lit waning crescent Moon in the morning sky on 16 April, all five objects within a 9° circle.

However, the ecliptic makes a shallow angle with the eastern horizon at sunrise keeping them all so low that they are unlikely to be seen from the UK. 

The counter situation occurs in the evening, the ecliptic then being steep against the western horizon. This means that on the evening of 18 April, you can see a close meeting between a 2%-lit waxing crescent Moon, Venus and Uranus.

If you struggle with this, on 19 April, the Moon will still be there and easier to see at 7% illumination. 

If you have a clear sky on the night of 20/21 April, take a look at Jupiter where you’ll see Callisto’s shadow in transit between 20:11-00:41 BST (19:08-23:41 UT).

Not to be outdone, on the far side of the planet, Ganymede pops out of occultation at 23:03 BST (22:03 UT). However, not for long, as it’s then eclipsed by Jupiter’s shadow at 00:46 BST (23:46 UT).

The Moon reaches a 37% waxing phase on the evening of 22 April when it can be seen just 2.7° to the north of mag. -1.9 Jupiter.

The following evening on 23 April, Venus moves to a position where it’s just 47-arcminutes north of mag. +5.8 Uranus; a great chance to catch both planets in the same view through a telescope.

In the early hours of 26 April, see whether you can spot mag. +1.3 Regulus (Alpha (α) Leonis) which sits 45-arcminutes north of the Moon’s centre.

As the Moon is 31-arcminutes across on this date, Regulus appears one apparent Moon diameter north of the Moon’s edge. 

Lyrid meteor shower

23 April is the night when the annual Lyrid meteors reach their peak. Fortunately, this Moon gets low soon after midnight, leaving the sky sufficiently dark for a great view of the Lyrids if the weather is clear.

At its peak this shower typically delivers a zenithal hourly rate (ZHR) of 18, which can on rare occasions, elevate to 90 meteors per hour.

This figure represents what you’d see under perfect conditions with the radiant overhead; a situation that is rarely ever achieved. However, in this case, the radiant does get quite close to the zenith just before dawn starts to kick in.

Stars

As far as the stars are concerned, April is galaxy territory due to the fact that the Milky Way, which represents the plane of our own galaxy, has tilted out of the way.

There are many wonderful, albeit faint and fuzzy galaxies to hunt, some spectacular examples to be found in Leo, Coma Berenices and within the large asterism known as the Bowl of Virgo.

There are so many galaxies found within the Bowl, in particular near to mag. +4.9 Rho (ρ) Virginis, that this area of sky is known as the Realm of Galaxies.

In addition there are some superb examples of more local objects in the form of globular clusters. Our highlight pick would include M13 in Hercules, M3 in Canes Venatici and M5 in Serpens Caput.  

Planets

Read our month-by-month guide to visible planets for the whole year

• Mercury: a morning planet, but poor positioning means that it won’t be seen this month.
• Venus: visible in the west after sunset.
• Mars: another morning planet with poor positioning and consequently is unlikely to be seen this month.
• Jupiter: bright planet in Gemini. Best seen at the start of the month
• Saturn: a morning planet, part of the four-planet morning ‘club’ along with Mercury, Mars and Neptune that are badly placed for observing this month.
• Uranus: visible in Taurus. Best seen at the start of the month
• Neptune: another morning planet. Currently close to Saturn, but a dimmer appearance means it’s more sensitive to background lighting.

Night sky in April 2026, night-by-night

Thursday 2 April

This evening’s full Moon passes immediately south of the bright star Spica (Alpha (α) Virginis). Approaching midnight, the Moon will be a little over 2° from the mag. +1.0 star.

Sunday 5 April

76km crater Columbo on the Moon is best seen tonight and tomorrow evening, along with views on 20 and 21 April.

Friday 10 April

The northern celestial hemisphere’s brightest nighttime star, Arcturus (Alpha (α) Bootis), is high in the south in the early hours after midnight. A classic way to locate it is to extend the line of the curving handle of the Saucepan away from the pan.

Wednesday 15 April

With the Moon currently out of the way, the wonderful face-on Whirlpool Galaxy, M51, is virtually overhead, giving you the best atmospheric view of this iconic object. M51 sits 3.6° west-southwest of Alkaid (Eta (η) Ursae Majoris).

Thursday 16 April

This morning’s 2%-lit Moon is close to Mars, Saturn, Mercury and Neptune (all within a 9° circle), but twilight will sadly mean all planets will probably remain unseen.

Saturday 18 April

This evening, as the twilight darkens, look out for a delicate 2%-lit waxing lunar crescent 7.7° west of mag. –3.8 Venus. 

Monday 20 April

From 20:12 until 00:34 BST (19:12–23:34 UT), Callisto’s shadow transits Jupiter’s disc. Ganymede reappears from occultation at 23:03 BST (22:03 UT). Ganymede goes into eclipse at 00:46 BST (23:46 UT).

Tuesday 21 April

Try to spot the mag. +5.1 open cluster M35 in Gemini this evening. At around 23:00 BST (22:00 UT), it lies 3° south of the 25%-lit crescent Moon.

Wednesday 22 April

The Lyrid meteor shower peaks tonight and into tomorrow morning, producing around 18 meteors per hour.

Just before midnight, the 37%-lit Moon sits 2.7° north of mag. –1.9 Jupiter. 

Thursday 23 April

As the sky darkens, a view of mag. –3.8 Venus through binoculars will reveal mag. +5.8 Uranus lying 46 arcminutes to the south. Right now, both are a little over 3.5° south of the Pleiades.

Saturday 25 April

There’s a chance to spot the controversial Plato’s Hook this evening on the Moon. Take a look at crater Plato around 20:20 BST (19:20 UT) and see if you can see any curvature in the shadow.

Monday 27 April

The large arc of illuminated mountain peaks which forms the clair-obscur effect known as the Jewelled Handle can be seen at about 01:30 BST (00:30 UT).

Tuesday 28 April

The large arc of illuminated mountain peaks which forms the clair-obscur effect known as the Jewelled Handle can be seen at about 01:30 BST (00:30 UT).

Wednesday 29 April

Take a close look at mag. –1.9 Jupiter. Can you spot mag. +3.5 Wasat (Delta (δ) Geminorum) 0.6° to the south of the planet?

FAQs

What time is best for stargazing tonight?

It might sound obvious, but the best time for stargazing is when it's properly dark! That means when the Sun has truly set and the sky is at its darkest.

Having said that, not all objects visible in the sky tonight will be visible for the whole night. You might want to observe a planet that sets shortly after the Sun. Or you might be looking for the Moon before it has risen.

A good stargazing app will help you decide what you want to observe in the night sky tonight, where and when to look.

Do I need a telescope?

You don't need a telescope to get a good view of the night sky, and this is especially the case for beginners. If you have a clear night and a dark sky free from light pollution, there's a lot you can see.

Bright stars and constellations, bright planets, meteor showers and even distant star clusters can be seen with the naked eye.

Binoculars will get you a closer look at these objects, and you'd be surprised at what even a modest pair can do for your view of the night sky.

A telescope, however, takes things to the next level, giving you amazing detail on the surface of the Solar System planets and the Moon, and revealing objects that would be invisible to the naked eye.

What if it's cloudy tonight?

Keep an eye on the weather forecast; it may be due to clear later on in the evening. If you really are facing a night of clouds, however, there's not much you can do.

You could stay indoors instead and plan for future stargazing sessions. Take a look at the weather forecast for the coming week. Work out when you've got the best chance of having a clear sky and plan what you might want to observe in advance.

That way, when a clear night rolls around, you'll have a plan of action and will be able to get your stargazing underway much more quickly.

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