What's in the Sky Tonight?

APRIL 2026

Our Favorite Astronomical Binoculars for under $100

Celestron SkyMaster Giant 15x70 Binoculars with Tripod Adapter

Orion 15x70 Astronomy Binoculars with Tripod Adapter

April 2 - Full Moon.

April 17 - New Moon.

April 19 - Close appearance of Crescent Moon, Venus and the Pleiades after sunset in the West. Best viewing 1 hour after sunset.

April 22, 23 - Lyrids Meteor Shower. The Lyrids is an average shower, usually producing about 20 meteors per hour at its peak. The shower appears every year from April 16-25, and peaks this year on the night of the night of the 22nd and morning of the 23rd. The first quarter moon will set shortly after midnight leaving dark skies for what should be a pretty good show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight.

What are the 2026 best viewing nights when the Moon is least bright?

2026 best viewing nights

ASTRONOMY BINOCULARS
A mini telescope you can take anywhere

If you love sky gazing, you have to have a pair of astronomy binoculars! Binoculars are a fantastic alternative to telescopes—inexpensive, lightweight, and portable. For city dwellers where there is a lot of light pollution, binoculars are essential if you want to see much of anything.

Binoculars enlarge and brighten the beauty and immensity of the night sky. You can see the detail of the moon's craters, the phases of Venus, the moons and stripes of Jupiter, the awesome jewels that dot the Milky Way, nebulae, star clusters, and comets when they're passing near.

Our favorite astonomy binoculars is the Celestron SkGiyMaster Giant 15x70 Binoculars. These are excellent as well:

ANOTHER GREAT ASTRONOMICAL TOOL:

THE PLANISPHERE
A year-round, real-time sky map

planisphere star locator map A planisphere is a rotating star chart that allows you to dial in the entire visible sky for any day and time of the year and with great precision. It has been called an analog star computer and was considered magical in ancient times.

Planispheres show the brightest stars, constellations, notable galaxies and nebulae, as well as the path of the Milky Way. The plane of the ecliptic is also shown, which reveals the pathway of the planets as they appear to move across the night sky.

Purchase a planisphere for $7.95