Sky Chart For The Month of April, 2011
ASTRONOMICAL BULLETIN FOR APRIL 2011
The Moon
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New Moon occurs on 3rd at h. 20-02 I.S.T. |
First Quarter occurs on 11th at h. 17-35 I.S.T. |
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Full Moon occurs on 18th at h. 08-14 I.S.T. |
Last Quarter occurs on 25th at h. 08-17 I.S.T. |
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The Lunar Crescent becomes first visible after the New Moon day in the evening of 5th. |
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The Moon is at Apogee or farthest from the Earth on 2nd and 29th , and at Perigee or nearest to the Earth on 17th. |
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The Moon passes about 6½º north of Mars on 2nd, about 6º north of Uranus on 3rd, about 6º north of Jupiter and about 1½º north of Mercury on 4th, about 8º south of Saturn on 17th, about 5½º north of Neptune on 27th and about 6½º north of Uranus on 30th.
The Planets
The Visibility of Planets
:Mercury
:The planet sets about 1 hour after sunset upto 2nd of the month. Thereafter it is too close to the Sun to be visible until third quarter of the month, being in Inferior Conjunction on 10th. It reappears in the eastern sky shortly before sunrise on 20th of the month, rises about 1 hour before sunrise and remains visible till the beginning of morning twilight for the remaining days of the month. The motion of the planet becomes Direct with respect to the Earth on 23rd. The planet approaches Aphelion position in its orbit or reaches farthest from the Sun on 29th.Venus
:It is a brilliant object in the eastern sky, rises before sunrise and remains visible till the beginning of morning twilight. It rises about 1½ hours before sunrise throughout the month. The planet approaches Aphelion position in its orbit or reaches farthest from the Sun on 19th.Mars
:The planet is too close to the Sun to be visible throughout the month.Jupiter
:The planet is too close to the Sun to be visible upto third quarter of the month. Thereafter it reappears in the Eastern sky shortly before sunrise on 24th and remains visible till the beginning of the morning twilight. It rises about ½ hour to 1 hour before sunrise for the remaining days of the month. The planet is in Conjunction with the Sun on 6th.Saturn
:The planet rises in the evening just after sunset in the beginning of the month. It sets about ½ hour to 1 hour before sunrise during the second half of the month, being in Opposition with the Sun on 4th.Uranus
:The planet is too close to the sun to be visible upto first quarter of the month. Thereafter it reappears in the eastern sky and rises about ½ hour to 1 hour before sunrise upto second quarter of the month, about 1 hour to 1½ hours before it upto third quarter of the month and about 1½ hours to 2 hours before it for the remaining days of the month.Neptune
:The planet rises before sunrise and remains visible till the beginning of morning twilight throughout the month. It rises about 2 hours to 3 hours before sunrise upto third quarter of the month and about 3 hours to 3½ hours before it for the remaining days of the month.Conjunction of Planet :
Mars passes very close to Uranus on 3rd.
Mercury passes 3½º north of Jupiter on 11th.
Mercury passes about 1º north of Mars on 19th.
Venus passes about 1º south of Uranus on 23rd.
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Planets |
Planets in Zodiacal Constellation |
Magnitude |
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Mercury (Budha) |
Moves from Aries (Mesha) to Pisces (Mina) on 2nd. (Retrograde) |
+1.4 to +4.6 and +4.6 to +1.0 |
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Venus (Sukra) |
Moves from Aquarius (Kumbha) to Pisces (Mina) on 16th. |
-3.9 |
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Mars (Mangala) |
Remains in Pisces (Mina). |
+1.2 |
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Jupiter (Brihaspati) |
Remains in Pisces (Mina). |
-2.1 |
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Saturn (Sani) |
Remains in Virgo (Kanya). |
+0.4 |
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Uranus |
Remains in Pisces (Mina) |
+6.0 |
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Neptune |
Remains in Aquarius (Kumbha). |
+8.0 |
Source : : Director
Positional Astronomy Centre
India Meteorological Department
Salt Lake, Kolkata - 700 091