Happy April everyone! We’re starting off the month with a 7:15 am sunrise and a 7:56 pm sunset, making for a total of 12 hours, 40 minutes, and 27 seconds of daylight. We’ll be ending the month on April 30th with sunrise at 6:33 am and sunset at 8:25 pm, which equates to 13 hours, 52 minutes, and 26 seconds of daytime.
We will have a full moon on Thursday, April 2nd, and a new moon on Friday, April 17th. The Lyrids meteor shower will take place from April 16-25, and will be at its peak from April 22-23. This meteor shower will take place near the constellation Lyra, which has the fifth brightest star in the sky (and the second brightest in just the northern hemisphere), Vega, making it easily findable. Lyra was named by Ptolemy in the 2nd century, and is referred to as the harp.
2026 Lyrids Meteor Shower Viewing from Sky and Telescope
On April 17th, you will have the best chances of seeing comet C/2025 R3 using binoculars or a telescope (which could be the brightest comet of the year!), and on April 25th, it will be closest to Earth. On April 3rd, Mercury will be at its most easily viewable point in its trajectory.
That’s all for this month!
Sources:
- https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/usa/columbus?month=3&year=2026
- http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/astronomy-calendar-2026.html
- https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/space-astronomy/space-astronomy-highlights-2026#February
- https://starwalk.space/en/news/night-sky-tonight-april#6-best-night-sky-events-in-april-2026
- https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/whats-up-april-2026-skywatching-tips-from-nasa/
- https://earthsky.org/constellations/lyra-the-harp-vega-summer/