Pink Moon and powerful Lyrid meteor shower: what Ukrainians will see in the sky in April

In April, Ukrainians can expect a number of bright astronomical phenomena - from a full Moon to a meteor shower and even a possible "parade of planets".

Ukrainian News Agency will tell you about this.

At the beginning of the month, on April 2, the so-called "Pink Moon" will rise - a full moon, the maximum of which will occur in the morning. Despite the name, the Earth's satellite will not have a pink hue, but it will look bright and clearly visible already in the evening the day before.

On April 3, Mercury will appear in the sky in the best position for observation - it will be visible before dawn low above the horizon. And on April 4, astronomers expect the perihelion of comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS), which could potentially become visible even with the naked eye.

In the middle of the month, another rare phenomenon is possible - a predawn alignment of the planets. From April 16 to 23 (with a peak on the 18th-20th), Mars, Saturn, Neptune and Mercury will appear in the sky simultaneously, forming a conditional line.

On April 17, a new moon will occur, which will create ideal conditions for observing the starry sky without moonlight. During this period, it will also be possible to see the "da Vinci glow" phenomenon - a weak glow of the dark part of the Moon, which occurs due to the reflection of light from the Earth.

The most spectacular event will be the Lyrid meteor shower, active from April 14 to 30. The peak will fall on the night of April 22 to 23 - at this time you can see up to 10-20 meteors per hour.

Experts advise choosing places for observations away from city lights - then the celestial phenomena will be as noticeable as possible. No eclipses or extreme cosmic events are expected in April, but the month promises many beautiful and accessible phenomena.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, the crew of the Chinese space station celebrated the handover with a joint dinner - the astronauts prepared hot meals in space for the first time.

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