Stargazing Challenges - April 2025

Challenge 1 - Moon and Jupiter

Can you see Jupiter beside the Moon on 2 April?

Look to the west around 21:00 on 2 April to catch the waxing crescent Moon sitting beside the largest planet in our Solar System, Jupiter. You should be able to spot the pair from around 20:00 as the skies begin to darken after sunset and Jupiter will likely be one of the first points of light you see beginning to shine in the evening sky.

As the Earth continues to spin on its axis, you may notice that throughout the night all the celestial objects appear to move from east to west (just as the Sun does during the day). By roughly 01:00 the following morning Jupiter and the Moon will have set below the northwestern horizon, so ideally you want to catch them before midnight.

Being the king of the planets – Jupiter is one of the brightest naked eye planets. Though on average it lies some 780 million kilometres away, its sheer size means that Jupiter is able to reflect enough sunlight to be clearly visible without the aid of binoculars or a telescope. However, with some optical aids, it’s possible to see the four large Galilean moons as points beside Jupiter and with a good telescope you can even make out the bands stretching across the planet.

Because the Moon and the planets in our Solar System all exist in roughly the same plane (meaning our Solar System looks like a pizza or a pancake), we’ll often see the Moon appearing close to the planets each month as it orbits around the Earth. While you’ll see the Moon nestled near Jupiter on 2 April, a few days later it will have traversed across the sky to sit beside Mars on 5 April.

Challenge 3 - The Leo Triplet

Can you find the Leo Triplet of galaxies on 30 April?

After becoming familiar with the constellation of Leo, look to the south at 21:00 at the end of April to find the constellation of Leo. Just below the star Chertan, lies a trio of galaxies forming a small triangle – NGC 3628, M65 and M66 - the Leo Triplet.

Using a small telescope it’s possible to see the Leo Triplet of galaxies, with M65 and M66 appearing as two blobs and then the fainter and longer NGC 3628 may become more visible. But if you’ve got a moderate to large telescope (6-8” aperture) that can collect more light from these faint and distant objects, you’re likely to have better views, especially if you’re observing from light polluted areas.

To see the galaxies in the same field of view, rather than a zoomed in image of one galaxy, you’ll need a telescope with a short focal length. This lets you see a wider section of the sky with lower magnification – ideal for spotting the Leo Triplet.

These three interacting galaxies are all spiral in shape (like our own Milky Way). Bound together as a group, they're engaged in a gravitational tug of war. M66 is the largest of the three spanning 100,000 light years across, and though its disc appears longer, NCG 3628 is the faintest, making it the most difficult to spot.

Finding the galaxies is a real challenge – ideally you need dark skies, with the trio remaining elusive if viewing from light polluted areas. You might only be able to spot the small central cores of the galaxies if the sky is bright, but you’ll be looking at ‘islands of stars’ that are 35 million light years away.

How did you get on? Were you able to spot our stargazing highlights this month?