Sky Watch: What's Up In the April 14 - 21 Night Sky, Including A First Look At The Lyrid Meteor Shower
From a chance to see some of the Lyrid Meteor Shower to Venus, Hydra, and Leo, mid-April stargazing doesn't disappoint.
Here's our guide to what's up in the night sky for the week of April 14 to April 21.
Monday - Look for Mars and Jupiter in the Western sky around sunset. They'll be visible all month.
Tuesday - Watch for Venus, the closest planet to Earth and the brightest in our solar system, to reach peak brightness in the early mornings this week.
Wednesday - Two constellations might be easy to spot this week, Leo and Hydra. The latter is only seen in the Northern Hemisphere in winter into spring.
Thursday - This is when the Lyrid Meteor Shower picks up. It doesn't peak until the night of April 21 into the morning of April 22, but the Lyrids start to get active a few days prior. That's why early Thursday morning before sunrise is a good time to start watching. You can check your sunrise time here.
The first known observation of the Lyrids was in 687 BC, making it one of the earliest recorded meteor showers.
'So we're going on 3,000 years of looking at this,' Pamela Gay, senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute, told us in a recent interview.
The bright quarter moon could make the show a little harder to see this year, though.
Weekend - Look for Saturn in the eastern sky before sunrise, about the same time as Venus but lower in the sky.
From weather.com senior meteorologist Jonathan Erdman:
We'll see a pair of frontal systems in the Midwest and East, one Monday through Tuesday, then another one Thursday through Saturday.
Meanwhile, a spinning area of low pressure could bring showers and thunderstorms to the Southwest, then to parts of the Plains late next week into the Easter weekend.
-Here's What's Up In April's Night Sky
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Weather.com senior writer Jan Childs covers breaking news and features related to weather, space, climate change, the environment and everything in between.
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