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[Energetic music]

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[Preston Dyches]
What’s Up for April?

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Planets at dusk and dawn,

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April showers,

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and observing a
distant city of stars.

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First up, in the evening sky,
we begin and end the month

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with Jupiter and the crescent
Moon shining brightly

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together in the western sky
as sunset fades.

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On both April 1st and 30th,
you can find the charming pair

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about half an hour after sunset,
setting about 3 hours later.

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Mars is high overhead
in the south on April evenings.

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At the start of the month,

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it's directly in between bright
stars Procyon and Pollux,

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but it moves noticeably
during the month.

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You'll find the
first-quarter moon

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right next to Mars on
April 4th and 5th.

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Moving to the morning sky,
Venus has now made the switch

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from an evening object
to a morning one.

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You may start to notice it
rising low in the east

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before dawn,

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looking a little higher
each morning through the month.

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Around April 24th and 25th,
you'll find Venus, Saturn,

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and the crescent moon

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gathered low in the east as dawn
warms up the morning sky.

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Those with a clear
view to the horizon

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might also pick out
Mercury looking bright,

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but very low in the sky.

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April brings shooting stars
as Earth passes through one

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of the streams of comet dust

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that create our
annual meteor showers.

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The Lyrids are a modest
meteor shower that peaks

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overnight on April 21st and
into the morning of the 22nd.

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You can expect up to
15 meteors per hour

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near the peak under dark skies.

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The Lyrids are best observed

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from the Northern Hemisphere,
but can be seen

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from south of the
equator as well.

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View them after about 10:30pm

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local time until dawn, with
the best viewing around 5 a.m.

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The waning crescent moon
will rise around 3:30am,

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but at only 27% full,

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it shouldn't interfere too much
with your meteor watching.

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For the best experience, face
roughly toward the east,

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lie down in a safe, dark place

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away from bright lights,
and look straight overhead.

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Meteors can appear
anywhere in the sky,

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and some Lyrids can leave
bright trails

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that last for a few seconds
after they've passed.

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NASA studies meteors
from the ground, in the air,

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and from orbit

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to forecast meteor activity
and protect spacecraft,

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and to understand
the composition of comets

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and asteroids
throughout our solar system.

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April offers a
chance to observe 

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a truly distant wonder –

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a globular cluster
known as “M3.”

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It’s a vast collection of stars

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that lies 34,000
light-years from Earth 

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in our galaxy's
outer reaches.

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Astronomer Charles Messier
discovered this object

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in 1764, while searching
for new comets.

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Realizing it wasn’t one,
he added it to his list

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of interesting objects
that were not comets,

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which today we know
as Messier’s catalog.

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Through binoculars,
Messier 3, or M3,

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appears as a small, fuzzy,
star-like patch of light.

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With a small telescope,

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you'll see a more defined glow
with a slightly grainy texture.

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And with telescopes 8
inches or larger,

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the cluster begins to resolve

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into hundreds of
individual stars.

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Now, globular clusters contain
some of the oldest stars

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in the universe,
often over 10 billion years old.

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Unlike open clusters
like the Pleiades,

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which sit within the
Milky Way's spiral arms,

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globular clusters
are found in the galaxy's halo,

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orbiting far above and below
the Milky Way's disk.

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Our galaxy has around
150 confirmed globular clusters.

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M3 itself is probably
11 to 13 billion years old

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and contains around
half a million stars.

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And it's relatively easy
to spot in April

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under dark skies with binoculars
or a small telescope.

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Finding M3 starts
with the Big Dipper.

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Facing east, use the Dipper’s
handle to “arc to Arcturus,”

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the fourth-brightest star
in the night sky.

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From there, look
higher in the sky

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to find the star Cor Caroli

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located here to the west
of the Dipper’s handle.

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It’s about as bright as
this star in the Dipper’s cup.

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M3 is located roughly
a third of the way from Arcturus

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to Cor Caroli.

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With binoculars
or a finder scope,

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sweep within this area until
you spot a faint, round glow.

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M3 is an excellent target

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for beginners and
seasoned observers alike.

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Whether using binoculars or a
telescope, you'll be rewarded

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with a view of one of the oldest
objects in our galaxy.

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Here are the phases
of the Moon for April.

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Stay up to date on
all of NASA's missions

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exploring the solar system
and beyond at science.nasa.gov.

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I'm Preston Dyches from NASA's
Jet Propulsion Laboratory,

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and that's
What's Up for this month.