Evening Mars and Jupiter, Venus in the morning and the Lyrid meteor shower feature this month.
by Mark Phillips using data from Dominic Ford’s in-the-sky.org
The chart shows the sky at 22:00 BST 15 April 2025.
Highlights:
- Twilight begins to interfere. By mid month there is only 4h 39 mins of true astronomical dark and 2h 04 mins of nautical dark.
- There will be a conjunction of the Moon and Mars on 5 April when they will be 2°09′ apart at an altitude of 56° as it gets dark.
- Jupiter and Mars are observable early evening
- Full Moon is on 13 April, New Moon on 27 April
- The Lyrid meteor shower peaks on 22 April with a max ZHR of 18 although 16 per hour is more likely from Edinburgh.
- Venus will be at its brightest for the morning apparition at -4.5 on 24 April.
Click on an item to expand for more information:
Showing for 15 April 2025
Mercury is emerging into the morning sky as it approaches greatest elongation west.
04 Apr 2025 – Mercury at highest altitude in morning sky
21 Apr 2025 – Mercury at greatest elongation west
22 Jun 2025 – Mercury at highest altitude in evening sky
04 Jul 2025 – Mercury at greatest elongation east
Venus recently passed in front of the Sun at inferior solar conjunction.
10 Feb 2025 – Venus at highest altitude in evening sky
31 May 2025 – Venus at greatest elongation west
19 Aug 2025 – Venus at highest altitude in morning sky
14 May 2026 – Venus at highest altitude in evening sky
Mars is currently an early evening object. From Edinburgh, it will become visible at around 21:10 (GMT), 52° above your south-western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. It will then sink towards the horizon, setting at 04:19.
24 Feb 2025 – Mars ends retrograde motion
10 Jan 2027 – Mars enters retrograde motion
19 Feb 2027 – Mars at opposition
20 Feb 2027 – Mars at perigee
Jupiter will soon pass behind the Sun at solar conjunction. From Edinburgh, it will become visible at around 20:43 (GMT), 35° above your western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. It will then sink towards the horizon, setting at 01:22.
04 Feb 2025 – Jupiter ends retrograde motion
11 Nov 2025 – Jupiter enters retrograde motion
10 Jan 2026 – Jupiter at opposition
11 Mar 2026 – Jupiter ends retrograde motion
Saturn recently passed behind the Sun at solar conjunction.
23 Mar 2025 – Saturn ring plane crossing
06 May 2025 – Equinox on Saturn
13 Jul 2025 – Saturn enters retrograde motion
21 Sep 2025 – Saturn at opposition
Uranus will soon pass behind the Sun at solar conjunction.
30 Jan 2025 – Uranus ends retrograde motion
06 Sep 2025 – Uranus enters retrograde motion
21 Nov 2025 – Uranus at opposition
04 Feb 2026 – Uranus ends retrograde motion
Neptune recently passed behind the Sun at solar conjunction.
07 Dec 2024 – Neptune ends retrograde motion
04 Jul 2025 – Neptune enters retrograde motion
23 Sep 2025 – Neptune at opposition
10 Dec 2025 – Neptune ends retrograde motion
Data from in-the-sky.org
| Comet name | Mag | Constellation | Separation from Sun | Trend | Absolute magnitude last updated |
| C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) | 11.7 | Phoenix | 44° | Fading | 3 Mar 2025 |
| C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) | 13.2 | Delphinus | 58° | Fading | 3 Dec 2024 |
| 217P/LINEAR | 13.4 | Aquarius | 26° | Brightening | 30 Nov 2017 |
| C/2021 G2 (ATLAS) | 13.9 | Libra | 129° | Brightening | 4 Apr 2024 |
| 48P/Johnson | 13.9 | Aquarius | 20° | Brightening | 31 Oct 2018 |
| 12P/Pons-Brooks | 14.2 | Ara | 100° | Fading – in outburst | 3 Oct 2024 |
| C/2022 E2 (ATLAS) | 14.2 | Andromeda | 49° | Fading | 3 Mar 2025 |
| 65P/Gunn | 14.5 | Sagittarius | 87° | Brightening | 1 Aug 2017 |
| C/2023 C2 (ATLAS) | 14.8 | Pegasus | 31° | Fading | 5 Sep 2024 |
| C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS) | 15.0 | Taurus | 77° | Fading | 2 Dec 2023 |
| C/2022 N2 (PANSTARRS) | 15.4 | Pisces | 6° | Brightening | 3 Dec 2024 |
| 47P/Ashbrook-Jackson | 15.4 | Capricornus | 45° | Brightening | 29 Feb 2012 |
| 60P/Tsuchinshan | 15.6 | Aries | 41° | Brightening | 3 Oct 2020 |
| 240P/NEAT | 15.7 | Aquarius | 22° | Brightening | 1 Mar 2018 |
| C/2021 S3 (PANSTARRS) | 15.8 | Pegasus | 37° | Fading | 1 May 2024 |
| 32P/ComasSola | 15.9 | Virgo | 147° | Fading | 14 Sep 2017 |
| 43P/Wolf-Harrington | 16.1 | Aries | 47° | Brightening | 4 Dec 2018 |
| 69P/Taylor | 16.2 | Aquarius | 35° | Brightening | Unknown |
| 154P/Brewington | 16.2 | Cancer | 117° | Fading | 8 Feb 2017 |
| C/2020 V2 (ZTF) | 16.6 | Indus | 67° | Fading | 30 Aug 2023 |
| C/2023 Q1 (PANSTARRS) | 16.8 | Lynx | 102° | Fading | 4 Jan 2025 |
| 88P/Howell | 16.8 | Leo | 149° | Brightening | 1 Apr 2018 |
| 168P/Hergenrother | 16.9 | Norma | 113° | Brightening | 15 Jan 2013 |
| C/2020 K1 (PANSTARRS) | 17.0 | Lepus | 81° | Fading | 30 Aug 2023 |
| C/2019 L3 (ATLAS) | 17.0 | Crux | 121° | Fading | 31 Jul 2023 |
The Lyrid meteor shower will be active from 16 April to 25 April, producing its peak rate of meteors around 22 April.
Over this period, there will be a chance of seeing Lyrid meteors whenever the shower’s radiant point – in the constellation Hercules – is above the horizon.
The radiant point culminates (is highest in the sky) after dawn – at around 05:00 BST – and so the shower is likely produce its best displays shortly before dawn, when its radiant point is highest.
The shower is expected to reach peak activity at around 14:00 BST on 22 April 2025, and so the best displays might be seen before dawn on 22 April and after dusk on 22 April.
From Edinburgh, the radiant of the shower will appear at a peak altitude of 67° above your horizon, and on the basis of this, we estimate that you may be able to see up to 16 meteors per hour at the shower’s peak.
The parent body responsible for creating the Lyrid shower has been identified as comet C/1861 G1 (Thatcher).
The shower will peak close to new moon, and so moonlight will present minimal interference.
You can see all meteors captured by ASE cameras on our Meteor Camera page.
| Date | Age of Moon | Sun | Moon | ||||||||
| Rise | Culm | Set | Constellation | Rise | Culm | Set | Constellation | ||||
| 2025 | Apr | 01 | 03 days | 06:41 | 13:15 | 19:50 | Pisces | 07:24 | 16:02 | –:– | Aries |
| 2025 | Apr | 08 | 10 days | 06:23 | 13:13 | 20:04 | Pisces | 14:56 | 22:28 | 05:30 | Leo |
| 2025 | Apr | 15 | 17 days | 06:05 | 13:11 | 20:18 | Pisces | –:– | 02:32 | 06:08 | Libra |
| 2025 | Apr | 22 | 24 days | 05:47 | 13:09 | 20:33 | Aries | 04:41 | 08:33 | 12:38 | Capricornus |
| 2025 | May | 01 | 04 days | 05:26 | 13:08 | 20:51 | Aries | 07:07 | 16:54 | 01:36 | Taurus |
Better known by its nicknames ‘the Big Dipper’ or ‘the Plough’, Ursa Major is among the most instantly recognisable groupings of stars. It is also the third largest of all the constellations.
The Ancient Greeks identified Ursa Major as a bear – its name is Latin for ‘the greater bear’. Some historians believe this tradition dates back at least 10,000 years.
Brightest Objects in Ursa Major
| Stars | Open Clusters | Globular Clusters | Galaxies |
| Alioth (mag 1.8) | NGC 3231 | Messier 81 (mag 6.9) | |
| Dubhe (mag 1.8) | NGC 2726 (mag 7.8) | ||
| Alkaid (mag 1.9) | Messier 101 (mag 7.9) | ||
| Mizar (mag 2.2) | Messier 82 (mag 8.4) | ||
| Merak (mag 2.4) | NGC 3184 (mag 9.8) | ||
| Phecda (mag 2.4) | NGC 2768 (mag 9.9) | ||
| ψ-UMa (mag 3.0) | Messier 109 (mag 9.9) | ||
| Tania Australis (mag 3.0) | NGC 3077 (mag 9.9) | ||
| Talitha (mag 3.1) | Messier 108 (mag 10.1) | ||
| θ-UMa (mag 3.2) | NGC 3675 (mag 10.1) | ||
| Megrez (mag 3.3) | NGC 3953 (mag 10.1) | ||
| Muscida (mag 3.4) | NGC 5322 (mag 10.1) | ||
| Tania Borealis (mag 3.4) | NGC 2976 (mag 10.2) | ||
| Alula Borealis (mag 3.5) | NGC 2841 (mag 10.2) | ||
| κ-UMa (mag 3.6) | NGC 4605 (mag 10.3) | ||
| h-UMa (mag 3.6) | NGC 3938 (mag 10.4) | ||
| χ-UMa (mag 3.7) | NGC 3941 (mag 10.4) | ||
| υ-UMa (mag 3.8) | NGC 3198 (mag 10.4) | ||
| ζ-UMa (mag 3.9) | NGC 3631 (mag 10.4) | ||
| Alcor (mag 4.0) | IC 2574 (mag 10.5) | ||
| TYC2520-2634-1 (mag 4.3) | NGC 3726 (mag 10.5) | ||
| Alula Australis (mag 4.4) | NGC 4088 (mag 10.5) | ||
| f-UMa (mag 4.5) | NGC 2985 (mag 10.5) | ||
| 26-UMa (mag 4.5) | NGC 3359 (mag 10.6) | ||
| DK UMa (mag 4.6) | NGC 4096 (mag 10.6) | ||
| φ-UMa (mag 4.6) | NGC 3893 (mag 10.6) | ||
| π²-UMa (mag 4.6) | NGC 3718 (mag 10.7) | ||
| τ-UMa (mag 4.6) | NGC 3079 (mag 10.7) | ||
| 83-UMa (mag 4.7) | NGC 3898 (mag 10.7) | ||
| ω-UMa (mag 4.7) | NGC 3945 (mag 10.8) |
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Much of the material is provided with thanks to Dominic Ford on his excellent site in-the-sky.org.