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This week look for reddish Mars and the similarly bright, yellowish Saturn in the pre-dawn east, very low to the horizon. In the early evening, look for very bright Jupiter in the west. Find out what else April’s night skies have in store.
What’s up in the night sky: April 2024
Our monthly feature focuses on easy and fun things to see in the night sky, including eclipses, supermoons, meteor showers, planetary conjunctions, and more.
The Lyrid meteor shower 2024: How to watch
Here's everything you need to know about the annual Lyrid meteor shower and how to watch it.
Your current night sky view
Want a map of tonight's sky for your location? We recommend Stellarium, available on the web and for mobile devices.
Night Sky Toolkits
Five best things to see with a beginner telescope From planets like Jupiter and Saturn to wonders beyond our Solar System like the Andromeda Galaxy, here are five things in the night sky that beginner stargazers can find with a simple telescope or binoculars.
Astronomy for Beginners
An introduction to backyard astronomy for amateur stargazers.
How to pick the best beginner telescope
Picking out your first telescope can be overwhelming. This easy-to-follow guide will help you find the best telescope that you'll actually use.
Night Sky Photography for Beginners
An introduction to full-sky astrophotography using a digital camera.
Moon Toolkits
Moon features you can see from Earth
What can you see on the Moon tonight? This guide from The Planetary Society will help you identify some features.
What is a supermoon?
What is a supermoon, and why does it happen?
The Moon, preserving Earth's origin story
The Moon is the only world besides Earth ever visited by humans. By studying it, scientists can piece together Earth’s origin story.
Can the Moon be upside down?
When you think about how the Moon looks in the night sky, you might never have considered that it looks different to people in other parts of the world. But really, perspective is all relative.