The night sky in April 2027
Moon phases, meteor showers, planets and the best nights to look up from the UK in April 2027. Times are UK clock time (BST) for central England.
Best nights to watch
- Lyrids peak, night of 22–23 April: Poor. The Moon is 95 per cent lit and rises at 23:01, then sets at 06:21.
- Moon-free dark skies on the nights from 1 to 9 April: the best nights this month for faint shooting stars, the Milky Way and deep-sky objects.
- Moon-free dark skies on the nights from 26 to 30 April: the best nights this month for faint shooting stars, the Milky Way and deep-sky objects.
The Moon
Each day shows the Moon's shape in the evening. Shaded days start the best Moon-free dark nights.
Meteor showers
Lyrids
Poor from the UKPeak: night of 22–23 April (maximum expected around 03:00 BST on Fri 23 Apr). Zenithal hourly rate: about 18 (occasional outbursts near 100) (what one observer would see in an hour under a perfect sky with the radiant overhead; expect fewer). Radiant: Lyra (near the bright star Vega). Parent: Comet C/1861 G1 (Thatcher).
The Moon is 95 per cent lit and rises at 23:01, then sets at 06:21. Moonlight drowns all but the brightest meteors this year, so watch on the nights either side if the Moon is less bright then, or wait for next year.
Smaller showers peaking this month: Pi Puppids (around 23–24 April, a few an hour at best).
Also active: Eta Aquariids (peak around 5–6 May).
On any dark night you can also see a few sporadic meteors an hour, which belong to no shower. Rates are usually higher after midnight, when your side of Earth faces the direction it is travelling.
Planets
For the middle of the month. Magnitude measures brightness: the lower the number, the brighter, and anything brighter than about 2 is easy to see from a town.
- Mercury
- Mercury is too close to the Sun to see this month.
- Venus
- Venus is too close to the Sun to see this month.
- Mars
- Visible all night, from dusk until dawn, highest in the south at about 21:15. Brightness: magnitude −0.0.
- Jupiter
- Visible all night, from dusk until dawn, highest in the south at about 20:55. Brightness: magnitude −2.0.
- Saturn
- Saturn is too close to the Sun to see this month.
Dates for your diary
- Thursday 15 April, evening: The Moon near Jupiter. The gibbous Moon (71 per cent lit) is about 3° from Jupiter at about 20:50. A pairing like this is a good way to find a planet for the first time.
- Thursday 15 April, around midnight: The Moon near Mars. The gibbous Moon (72 per cent lit) is about 3° from Mars at about 23:40. A pairing like this is a good way to find a planet for the first time.
Find a safe spot away from street lights, wrap up warmly and lie back so you can see a wide sweep of sky. Give your eyes 20 minutes to adjust and keep phone screens dim. No telescope is needed for meteors. Children should always watch with an adult. Never look at the Sun.
Read about every meteor shower, what a radiant and the zenithal hourly rate mean, and how moonlight hides faint meteors. Children can start with how to watch for shooting stars.