The Total Solar Eclipse Month Is Here — Along With a Spectacular Meteor Shower, a Planet Sighting, and More in April's Night Sky

01.04.2024 - 12:19 / travelandleisure.com / April

It’s the month we’ve all been waiting for. In just a few days, the total solar eclipse will delight skywatchers along a 100-mile-wide strip of North America, known as the path of totality. This April 8 marvel is expected to draw tens of millions of viewers — especially since the contiguous U.S. won’t see another total solar eclipse until 2044.

Yet the eclipse isn’t the only sight to watch for in the skies this April. In addition to the moon-meets-sun spectacle, we have meteor showers, planet sightings, and more on the horizon. Here are the top astronomical highlights to bookmark this month.

Kick off the month with the year’s top interstellar event: the total solar eclipse, which will travel more than 9,000 miles from Mexico, across 13 states from Texas to Maine, then out over the ocean through eastern Canada, according to Astronomy.com. A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon glides between Earth and the sun, turning day into a false dusk as it fully covers the latter. Skywatchers will experience the event’s signature dimming effects as the partial eclipse begins; the partial eclipse lasts for several hours, but fleeting totality only hits for a few minutes. Eclipse-viewing parties across the country will offer festive perches to watch the event (eclipse glasses required). If you can’t watch in person, don’t miss NASA’s livestream.

The eclipse is just the start of this week’s sky-gazing fun. On the evening of April 10, head outside to see the two-day-old moon and bright Jupiter near each other along the western horizon just after sunset. The pair will be visible to the naked eye, and close enough to fit into a pair of binoculars,according to In-the-Sky.org.

According to Starwalk, bright Jupiter and green-tinged Uranus will near each other in the night sky on April 20. Look for the planets in the evening, near the western horizon, once the sun sets. While you can see Jupiter with the naked eye, you’ll need stargazing binoculars — and a destination with low light pollution — to fully admire Uranus and its vertical rings.

The medium-strength Lyrid meteor shower runs from April 16-25, and is expected to hit its peak of activity the night of April 22, according to Space.com. Viewing conditions aren’t ideal, as the bright moon will wash out many shooting stars. That said, it's always worth heading out if you find yourself in a dark-sky location with clear skies. Catch the shower near the constellations Lyra and Hercules.

This month’s full moon name doesn’t mean stargazers will actually see a pink moon — we’ll need to wait until the next supermoon in September for that. Instead, the full pink moon is an ode to the springtime blooms in North America, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac. You can catch it