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Jack Fusco Photography. Used withpermission.

April 2012 provides another great month for watching planets! Four of the five visible planets

 – Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn – come out at

nightfall. Mercury rises in the east before sunrise.

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Mars is the brightest light near the moon on the night of April 4, 2012

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Don't forget to look westward in early April 2012 as Venus sweeps near the Pleiades star cluster,

also know as the Seven Sisters. More about Venus and Pleiades here. Image taken April 1, 2011 by

EarthSky Facebook friend Lyle Evans in California. Thank you, Lyle!

April 2012 presents another great month for watching the five visible planets. In fact, four of them

 – Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn – will be visible at nightfall for most of the month from both

the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The missing planet – Mercury – will be extremely

difficult to view from the Northern Hemisphere, as it sits in the glare of morning twilight. But for the Southern Hemisphere, Mercury’s apparition as the morning “star” couldn’t be much better,

 because the solar system’s innermost planet rises in the east well before the onset of dawn in that

 part of the world.

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Evening planets: Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn

Three visible planets – Venus, Jupiter and Mars – pop out first thing at dusk throughout April

2012. Saturn comes up in the east at nightfall in early April, and reaches opposition on April 15.In middle April, watch Saturn from dusk till dawn, shining at its brightest for the year. The red

 planet Mars beams rather high in the east as darkness falls. Sirius, the brightest star in thenighttime sky, is brighter than Mars, and sparkles in the Northern Hemisphere’s south to southwest

sky at dusk and early evening.

Sirius and all of these worlds – Venus, Jupiter, Mars and Saturn – drift westward throughout the

night. Jupiter sets at early evening, followed by Venus at mid to late evening. Mars stays out till

almost dawn, and Saturn shines pretty much all night long.

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Jupiter and its moons as seen on August 15, 2009. From left to right, these moons are Europa,Ganymede, Io and Callisto.

The waxing crescent moon swings close to Jupiter and Venus, starting the fourth week of April.

If you have an absolutely unobstructed horizon and crystal-clear sky, you might catch the last

 pairing of the waxing crescent moon and Jupiter in the 2012 evening sky on April 22. But youshould have no trouble seeing the waxing crescent moon close to Venus as evening twilight falls

on April 23, 24 and 25.

On a moonlit night, it’s pretty easy to see Jupiter’s four largest moons with a backyard telescope.

In their outward order from Jupiter, these moons are Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. However,the positions of Jupiter’s moons – as seen from Earth – vary from night to night. Sometimes, a

moon may be “missing” because it’s in front of or behind Jupiter. If you want to know which

moon is which at a certain date and time, check out this handy almanac. You better catch themoons of Jupiter in early April, before this giant world sinks into the glare of evening twilight.

Jupiter photo credit: Velo Steve

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Moon and Mars Feb 9, 2012 via Jack Fusco Photography. Used with permission.

Mars is found rather high in the east to southeast sky as darkness falls in early April. Mars

shone at its brilliant best for the year in March, but it’ll still be bright and beautiful throughoutApril 2012. This ruddy world climbs highest in the sky around 11 p.m. local daylight time in early

April, 10 p.m. local daylight time in mid-April and at dusk by the month’s end. Be sure to see themoon pair up with Mars on April 2 and 3.

Mars, though dimming, is still shining on par with the brightest stars. Mars started to retrograde(move westward) toward the star Regulus in the constellation Leo on January 24. Mars had been

 brightening ever since retrograde motion began, and its brilliance culminated with the Martian

opposition in early March. Mars should remain fairly easy to see in the evening sky for the nextseveral months, even though Earth is now speeding ahead of Mars, causing the red planet to fade

in brightness.

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Look for Mars and Regulus near the moon on Monday, April 30

In early April, the bright waxing gibbous moon swept close to Mars on April 2, 3 and 4. If you

missed the attraction, you’ll get another chance to see the moon with the red planet on April 30.

All month long, Mars shines in front of the constellation Leo the Lion, but outshines the Lion’s brightest star, Regulus. You can also distinguish Mars from Regulus by color. Mars glowers in a

ruddy hue while Regulus sparkles blue-white.

Moon near red planet Mars and star Regulus on April 30

At mid-northern latitudes, Saturn rises at nightfall in early April 2012. By mid-month, whenSaturn resides opposite the sun in our sky, Saturn will be rising in the east at sunrise and setting inthe west at sunrise. So in April 2102, Saturn will be at its brightest best for the year, and moreover,

will shine all night long!

Saturn closest, brightest, opposite the sun April 15 

Give me 5 minutes, and I’ll give you Saturn in 2012

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Full moon by the star Spica and planet Saturn on Friday, April 6

Saturn isn’t as dazzling as Venus or Jupiter. It’s not as exciting as Mars or Mercury. It’s the least

conspicuous of the visible planets. In fact, early stargazers used to call Saturn “the oldest of the old

sheep.” Thank goodness Saturn is fairly close to Virgo’s brightest star, Spica now. If you see two bright objects close together on the sky’s dome, one of them might be Saturn!

Drive a spike to Spica – and Saturn – in springtime 2012

Be sure to watch the first full moon of spring join up with Saturn and Spica on April 6. Watch

again on April 7, as the waning gibbous moon begins to leave Spica and Saturn behind.

April full moon near Spica and Saturn on April 6

Moving in orbit, moon leaving Spica and Saturn behind

Morning planets in April 2012: Mars, Saturn and Mercury

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Waning crescent moon and Mercury before sunrise on Wednesday, April 18

Although Mars and Saturn appear in the evening sky, these two worlds also light up the morning

hours after midnight. After Mars sets in the west shortly before dawn, Saturn and Spica still hover 

over the western horizon as morning twilight starts to paint the sky.

Mercury is a morning planet all month long. This planet will be almost impossible to see from the Northern Hemisphere, yet fairly hard to miss in the Southern Hemisphere. Mercury reaches its

greatest elongation from the rising sun on April 18.

Moon and Mercury in eastern sky before sunrise April 18

Bottom line: Jupiter and Venus are still in fine view in the west after sunset. Mars, thoughdimming, is still bright, shining high in the east to southeast sky as darkness falls! This month,

three planets – Venus, Jupiter and Mars – come out first thing at dusk, while Saturn climbs above

the eastern horizon by nightfall. Mercury, the shyest of the five visible planets, puts on a goodshowing in the predawn and dawn sky for residents of the Southern Hemisphere.