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[♪]

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What's Up for April?

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Finding the North Star, and some
nice sights at dusk and dawn.

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The North Star isn't the
brightest star in the sky.

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But it can help
you find your way

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and orient yourself nonetheless.

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Polaris, known as the North
Star, sits more or less directly

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above Earth's north pole along
its rotational axis.

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This means Polaris
doesn't move very far

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over the course
of the night,

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while the rest of the
stars sweep out big circles

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as they rotate around the sky.

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Finding Polaris is easy
on any clear night.

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Just find the Big Dipper.

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The two stars on the end
of the Dipper's "cup"

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point the way to Polaris,

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which is the tip of the
handle of the Little Dipper,

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or the tail of the little bear
in the constellation Ursa Minor.

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Once you're facing
toward Polaris,

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you know you're facing north,

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which can help you
orient yourself

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any evening you're
out stargazing.

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[whoosh]

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On April 8th, look low in
the west after sunset

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to find the slim crescent of
the four-day-old Moon

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with some companions.

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To the right of the Moon is the
Pleiades star cluster.

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Above and to the right is Mars.

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And above and to the left is the
red giant star Aldebaran.

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By the next evening,
the Moon has moved

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a bit higher in the sky

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and hangs here, above Aldebaran.

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[whoosh]

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Near the end of April,
the Moon pays a visit

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to Jupiter and Saturn
for a spot of tea.

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Currently, the solar system's
two largest planets can be found

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near the constellation
Sagittarius in the morning sky.

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Usually imagined as a centaur
wielding a bow and arrow,

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Sagittarius also contains a fun
little pattern of stars,

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called an asterism, that
looks bit like a teapot.

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On the 23rd, look south before
sunrise to spy the 19-day-old,

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waning, gibbous Moon
only half a degree

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(or half a finger's
width) above Jupiter.

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By the 25th, the Moon has
crossed over the Teapot

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to Saturn, hanging a bit
more than 1 degree

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below the ringed
planet that morning.

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So if you're up early this week,

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raise your mug for these
morning meetings.

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Here are the phases of
the Moon for April.

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You can catch up on all
of NASA's current