![]() ![]() By the time of our map it’s still up, but getting a bit low, although it gets a bit higher in the sky each night. You can’t miss Venus this April – it’s the really bright one over to the west during twilight. If you want a map with all the constellation names on it, click here. On the map is marked a sort of Y shape, which is quite easy to pick out, which helps you to spot Virgo. First you come to a very bright star, Arcturus, and then you come to Spica, which is a lot lower in the sky. Another way to find Spica is to go up to the Plough and follow the curve of its handle round. Lower down and to the left of Leo is Virgo with its bright star Spica. To find out more about this famous but usually rather secretive bit of sky, click here. Click to find out more about these stars and the constellation.īetween Leo and Gemini, and quite hard to see on this map, is the constellation of Cancer. These are the main stars of Gemini, the Twins. There are some nice groups of galaxies in it which you can find with a telescope, so click here to find out more.Ībove and to the right of Leo are two bright stars, called Castor and Pollux. Leo is the main constellation in this part of the sky, and it’s very recognisable. If you do see them, consult an optician or give back those glasses your friends gave you on 1 April. Now use the map below to find more patterns nearby, but don’t expect to see those convenient lines helping you to see the patterns. Look below the Plough, about halfway between there and the horizon, and you will see a group of stars called Leo. If you can’t find it, it’s because you aren’t looking high enough – it’s almost above your head at this time of year, so it’s shown at the centre of this map. Most people recognise the seven stars that in the UK we call the Plough and in the US is called the Big Dipper. Start with something familiar and work from there. If it all looks just like a lot of dots, rather than the load of odd animals and bits of human beings that some sky maps show, here’s the way to get to grips with the sky. TIP If you aren’t sure of the direction of north from your location, click here for a page on Getting Your Bearings. ![]() The map shows the sky in mid month at about 10 pm, at the start of the month at 11 pm, or by the end of the month at 9 pm, though by the and of April it will be too light to see much at that time. It is shown for the UK, but will also work fairly well for Europe and North America. Normally you turn to see different parts of it, so to see the view looking north, for example, hold the map upside down with north at the bottom. It shows the whole sky, so the scale is quite small. When you do this, east and west will be the right way round. This is a map of the sky, so you have to hold it over your head. Now don’t write in and tell us that we have the points of the compass all wrong. Here’s our map for this month:Īll maps produced using Stellarium software. This may seem obvious, but there is a knack to understanding these things. You will need a star map, and you will need to know how it works. A hoodie? That’s up to you, as long as the hood doesn’t cover your eyes when you look up…. Who cares what you look like – no one can see you. The more comfortable you are, the better you will enjoy stargazing. And knowing that some of our readers are Old Astronomers, this applies to them, too. We don’t want frozen Young Stargazers on our hands. It may be April but it can get pretty cold out there, so put your coat on. ![]() ![]() Even so, the only way you can really do it is to go out and see for yourself. But you don’t have to go it alone – we’re here to help. When you are a beginner, there’s a lot to learn in a short time. and you want to get out and do some observing. You’re mad keen on astronomy, you’ve read about all those constellations and galaxies and so on. ![]()
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