Evening sky in April 2008

The reddish planet Mars and the two bright stars of Gemini - Castor and Pollux - form a distinctive triangle above the north-western horizon that should be easy to locate. To its right (above the northern horizon) and slightly higher is a distinctive pair of bright objects, the yellowish planet Saturn and the bright star Regulus in Leo.

Over in the west, the easy identified constellation of Orion, will disappear into the evening twilight over the next month or so. Climbing high above the southern horizon is the Southern Cross. Roughly between Orion and the Cross are the brightest and second-brightest stars in the night sky, Sirius and Canopus. Sirius, at 9 'light years', is relatively nearby and only 20 more luminous than our Sun, but Canopus is 313 light years distant and about 3500 times more luminous! Scorpius - a dominant constellation of the winter skies - rises slightly earlier each night in the east. Its bright reddish star Antares is 600 light years distant and 11000 times more luminous than our Sun!

The Moon is in the evening sky April 7 to 24.