April Brings a Micro Moon, Return of the Morning Star

By Matthew Johnson

The derivation of the name April is uncertain. It may stem from the Latin Aprilis which possibly is related to the verb aperire, meaning to open, reflecting on the blossoming of nature. In Norfolk, April begins with the sun rising at 6:26 a.m. and setting at 7:10 p.m., providing 12 hours and 44 minutes of daylight. By month’s end we will experience 14 hours and three minutes of daylight, having gained an additional hour and 57 minutes since March 20, the first day of spring.  

Stars and Planets
During April, the moon provides an excellent reference point for locating certain stars, star clusters and planets. The Pleiades, in the constellation Taurus, is one of the most brilliant open-star-clusters and is easily located on April 1: find the crescent moon and look directly below to find the Pleiades. It is a wonderful sight, appearing like a tiny dipper of six closely grouped stars. Although the Pleiades are also referred to as the “Seven Sisters,” only six stars are typically discerned with the naked eye. There are numerous historic and mythologic explanations for the missing seventh Pleiad. For example, one of the stars varies in brightness and thus is most often not visible to the naked eye. The Pleiades are brilliant blue stars indicative of their high temperature. With binoculars, it is possible to view from 30 to more than 80 stars in the cluster, which has more than 1,000 stars.

On April 2, the planet Jupiter can be found next to the crescent moon. Jupiter will be the brightest object in the sky after the moon and its four largest moons are easily discerned with binoculars. On the evening of April 5, the moon can be seen alongside Mars in the constellation Gemini. After April 12, look to the east at dawn to view Venus, also known as the Morning Star. If one is up early, at 5:30 a.m. from April 19-30, it is possible to see the planets Mercury and Saturn directly below Venus. On April 25, locate the waning crescent moon at dawn. The moon will join the planets Venus, Mercury and Saturn: the Moon will be to the left of Saturn and above Mercury. Venus will be the highest of the three planets. 

Moon Phases
April 4:  First quarter (right half of moon illuminated)
April 12: Full moon. This is known as the pink moon
April 20: Last quarter (left half of the moon illuminated)
April 27: New moon (no visible moon) The best time of the month to observe faint objects such as distant galaxies and star clusters are the few days before and after the new moon because there is no moonlight to interfere.

The “Pink Moon” has nothing to do with the color of the moon. April’s full moon often corresponded with the springtime blooms of a wildflower native to eastern North America. Phlox subulata, commonly called creeping phlox or moss phlox, which also goes by the name moss pink.  Hence the name.

The moon orbits the earth in an elliptical path, which means that one end of the path is closer than the other to the Earth. This April’s full moon will be a micro moon, meaning that the full moon occurs when the moon is farthest in its orbit from the Earth or at apogee. This is the opposite of a supermoon when the full moon occurs at its closest point from earth in its orbit or at perigee. To the naked eye, the micro moon appears 13 to 14 percent smaller and 27 to 30 percent dimmer than a supermoon.

Meteor Showers
The primary meteor shower in April is the Lyrid meteor shower. It is created by the earth’s orbit intersecting the path of particles left from the orbit of the Comet C/1861 G1. The best time to watch is late evening on April 21 and 22 between midnight and dawn, before the moon rises in its last quarter phase. The meteors will radiate from near the bright star Vega in the constellation Lyra, thus the name Lyrids. They can appear in any area of the sky. The Lyrids occasionally produce a very bright meteor called a fireball. The American Meteor Society collects data on fireballs and asks observers to provide information of their sightings to the society. (Website below.)

If viewing the Lyrids, bring a pencil and card to record information on a fireball as soon as possible. Observations to record are location (GPS helpful), date and time; whether there were concurrent or delayed sounds and/or flashes; the duration of event; any colors observed or trail of smoke. If possible, note where it began and ended against the background of the sky.

Earth Day: April 22
The theme for Earth Day 2025 is “Our Power, Our Planet” with a focus on renewable energy.
The peak nights to view the Lyrid meteor shower also correlates with Earth Day.

Notes:
The website for the American Meteor Society is https://www.amsmeteors.org/. 

To report a fireball:https://fireball.amsmeteors.org/members/imo/report_intro/