The starry sky has a lot to offer in April 2020: the planet Venus shines particularly brightly, the moon comes particularly close to the earth and a planet parade appears in the morning.
- The "star" that is currently shining brightly in the evening sky is the planet Venus
- Venus is also nicknamed "Morning Star" and "Evening Star"
- How to distinguish planets and stars and what can be seen in the starry sky in April 2020
It has been seen brightly in the evening sky for months, but apparently it is only now that many people really notice it: Venus . It is no wonder: the sky is currently often starry , the temperatures become more pleasant in spring - you may not be in such a hurry to get warm as night falls and you can also admire the starry sky for a moment .
Venus shines brighter than the stars - planet is considered the "morning star" and "evening star"
Venus is currently hard to miss there in the evening, it appears shortly after sunset in the west and shines brightly there. The neighboring planet Earth is not always visible in the sky, but when it is visible it is very noticeable: Venus is then standing either as a brightly shining "star" in the evening or in the morning sky - that is why it has its two nicknames: it is considered to be "morning star" and "evening star" - and of course Venus is not a star but a planet .
Got a good picture tonight of our moon, the planet Venus (right side of image towards bottom) and the star cluster Pleiades (right side of image towards top). So got the star Lambda Taurus (λ Tau) HD 25204 (far left of our moon). pic.twitter.com/80T5XggXGk
- Thomas J Clark III (@ThomasJClarkIII) March 29, 2020Planet Venus: How to distinguish stars and planets in the sky
You can tell with the naked eye that the brightly shining "star" that is currently visible in the west in the evening is a planet and not a star - if you look closely and know what to look for. In general, the light from stars that are significantly further away from the earth often flickers. It is disturbed by the earth's atmosphere. The light from planets that are significantly closer to Earth is less disturbed and usually does not flicker (exception: strong turbulence in the Earth's atmosphere).
If you regularly observe the starry sky , you will also notice that the position of the stars in relation to each other does not change - for example, the “Big Dipper” wanders across the sky, but the shape of the constellation always remains. However, planets “wander” through the constellations: they move a little further every night. For this reason, planets were formerly called "changing stars".
Planet Venus shines particularly brightly in the evening sky in April
In terms of brightness, however, no planet can keep up with Venus . At the end of April, Venus reached its so-called "greatest shine", its greatest apparent brightness. It rises to -4.8 mag in April - the highest value that Venus ever reaches. This brightness is roughly comparable to the narrow crescent moon. The sun (-26.7 mag) and the full moon (-12.7 mag) are the only celestial objects that are brighter than Venus.
Venus moves through the Taurus constellation in April. The sight on April 3 is particularly worth seeing: Then the planet Venus stands in the open star cluster Pleiades , the brightest stars of which can already be seen with the naked eye. If you have binoculars, you should aim this evening at this region of the sky.
Planet Venus hits the Pleiades and the crescent moon
From April 24th to 28th the waxing moon moves past Venus as a very narrow sickle - this should also be worth seeing. In May, Venus disappears as an “evening star” and then reappears in June: as a “morning star” in the morning sky.
If you want to see more planets in the sky besides Venus, you have to get up early in the morning: Before sunrise, three planets can be seen in the southeast: Jupiter , Saturn and Mars . On April 15, the waning crescent wanders past this planetary parade in the southeast - around 5 a.m. the moon stands between Jupiter and Saturn .
Starry sky in April 2020: "super moon" and falling stars
On April 8, 2020 at 4.35 a.m. the moon is full, the evening before it comes particularly close to the earth at 356,910 kilometers. This encounter of near-earth and full moon - colloquially also called "super moon " - regularly leads to spring tides and strong tides. Another highlight that the month of April has to offer in 2020 are the shooting stars of the Lyrids. Its high point is on April 22, 2020 in the morning.
In addition, there is always the possibility to observe the “Starlink” satellites from SpaceX during a flyover. The satellites can usually be observed in the sky before sunrise or in the evening after sunset - they look like a string of lights that quickly moves across the sky. There may also be a comet in April and May that will be visible to the naked eye. April therefore has a lot to offer stargazers - even if you just look up to the sky by accident.
By Tanja Banner
Rubric list picture: © Cj Gunther / EPA / dpa
