There's a nice planetary alignment in the early morning sky now. Mars, Saturn, and Mercury are close together in the dawn twilight. But they are so low in the sky that you need a clear horizon and binoculars to spot them.
Weekly Stargazing Tips
Provided by StarDate.org. Unless otherwise specified, viewing times are local time regardless of time zone, and are good for the entire Lower 48 states (and, generally, for Alaska and Hawaii).
April 16: Alignments
April 17: Morning Meeting
There's a meeting of planets in the dawn sky. It's a bit frustrating because the planets are quite low, so they are hard to see. Mercury is the brightest member of the trio, followed by Saturn, then Mars. The view is best from southern latitudes.
April 18: Moon and Venus
The planet Venus is the brilliant Evening Star now. It's quite close to the crescent Moon this evening. The Moon will stand above the planet tomorrow night.
April 19: Moon and Companions
The Moon is passing through the bull tonight. The bull's "eye," represented by the star Aldebaran, is to the left of the Moon. The bull's face and shoulder are even closer, represented by a pair of star clusters, the Hyades and the Pleiades.
April 20: Lyrid Meteors
The Lyrid meteor shower should be at its best the next couple of nights. Even at its peak, the shower produces no more than a dozen or so meteors per hour. But the Moon won't get in the way, so if you have good weather and a good viewing spot, it's worth a look.
April 21: Venus and Uranus
The planets Venus and Uranus cross paths in the evening sky this week. Venus is the Evening Star. Uranus is a couple of degrees to its upper left tonight, and is easy to see with binoculars. They will be even closer on Thursday, standing almost side by side.
April 22: Moon and Jupiter
The planet Jupiter appears just below the Moon tonight. It looks like a brilliant star. Through binoculars, Jupiter's four largest moons look like tiny stars quite close to the planet.