Night sky April 2027 UK: planets, Moon and meteor showers
What to see from Britain in April 2027, with times worked out for UK skies rather than copied from American guides.
April is galaxy season, with Leo in the south and the Plough overhead, though the nights are shortening fast. Mars and Jupiter are in the evening sky in mid-April 2027. The full Moon, the Pink Moon, is on Tuesday 20 April 2027. The Lyrids peak on the night of 22 to 23 April, with the Moon 95% lit.
April 2027 night sky: key dates
| Date | What's happening |
|---|---|
| Wednesday 7 April | New Moon at about 00:55 BST |
| Thursday 8 April | Saturn passes behind the Sun (conjunction) and can't be seen |
| Tuesday 13 April | First Quarter at about 00:00 BST |
| Thursday 15 April | The Moon passes near Mars in the evening |
| Thursday 15 April | The Moon passes near Jupiter in the evening |
| Tuesday 20 April | Full Moon, the Pink Moon at about 23:30 BST |
| Thursday 22 April | Lyrids meteor shower peaks on the night of 22 to 23 April (Moon 95% lit) |
| Wednesday 28 April | Last Quarter at about 21:20 BST |
| Thursday 29 April | Mercury passes behind the Sun (conjunction) and can't be seen |
Times are UK local time, rounded to five minutes. For what's up on a particular night, see the UK night sky this week and the 7-night astronomy weather forecast.
When does it get dark in April in the UK?
On 15 April the Sun sets at about 20:05 BST in central England and the sky is dark enough for stargazing from about 21:30 until 04:45. True astronomical darkness, which faint galaxies and the Milky Way need, lasts from about 22:20 to 03:55.
| Date | Sunset | Dark enough to stargaze | Astronomical darkness |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 April | 19:40 BST | 21:00 to 05:25 | 21:45 to 04:40 |
| 15 April | 20:05 BST | 21:30 to 04:45 | 22:20 to 03:55 |
| 30 April | 20:30 BST | 22:00 to 04:05 | 23:10 to 03:00 |
For Birmingham. "Dark enough" means the Sun is 12° below the horizon; astronomical darkness means 18°. Around midsummer it never gets that dark in Edinburgh or anywhere further north. In midwinter Edinburgh is dark about 5 minutes earlier than Birmingham and Plymouth about 15 minutes later; in spring and autumn the whole country is within about 15 minutes of these times.
Planets visible in April 2027
Mars and Jupiter are in the evening sky in mid-April 2027. The details below are for 15 April from central England; times move by a few minutes from night to night.
Not well placed this month: Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.
Moon phases April 2027
| Phase | Date and time |
|---|---|
| New Moon | Wednesday 7 April, about 00:55 BST |
| First Quarter | Tuesday 13 April, about 00:00 BST |
| Full Moon | Tuesday 20 April, about 23:30 BST |
| Last Quarter | Wednesday 28 April, about 21:20 BST |
The best evenings for faint targets this month are 1 to 9 and 22 to 30 April, when the Moon is out of the sky for at least the first hour after dark. The full Moon is the Pink Moon; our moon phase tonight page shows the Moon for any night.
Meteor showers in April 2027
- Lyrids: peak on the night of 22 to 23 April. Up to 18 an hour under a perfectly dark sky with the radiant overhead; from a UK garden expect a fraction of that. The Moon is a waning gibbous (95% lit), rising at about 23:00; the darkest skies are before then.
Also active this month: Eta Aquariids.
For a quick verdict on any night, see is there a meteor shower tonight, and the UK meteor shower calendar for the year ahead.
Constellations and deep-sky objects in April
Leo is due south in mid-evening, the Plough is almost overhead, and orange Arcturus rises in the east. Following the curve of the Plough's handle leads you to Arcturus and on to Spica in Virgo, low in the south-east.
- The Leo Triplet (M65, M66 and NGC 3628), three galaxies in one low-power telescope view
- M81 and M82 in Ursa Major
- The Virgo galaxy cluster, best from a dark site with a telescope
To find your way around, our constellation guides show each star pattern, and binocular astronomy explains how to star-hop to clusters like these. For the darkest skies near you, try the UK dark sky sites map.
Kit for a month of stargazing
Kit we've reviewed in full
Nothing on this page needs more than your eyes, but a star chart and a red light make finding things far easier, and binoculars show the Moon's craters, Jupiter's moons and the best star clusters.
Philip's Planisphere (latitude 51.5° North)
Turn the wheel to the date and time and it shows exactly which constellations are up. Made for 51.5° north, so it matches the sky over Britain.
Lepro Rechargeable Head Torch with Red Light (2 pack)
Red light lets you read a chart without undoing the 20 minutes your eyes need to adapt to the dark.
The UK astronomy forums' standard first pair: waterproof, bright and the right size for clusters, the Moon and the Milky Way.
Our best binoculars for stargazing
Honest, research-based recommendations for every budget.
Browse all →Affiliate links: you pay the same price, we earn a small commission that helps keep WatchTheStars free.
Every figure on this page is calculated for central England (52.5° north) when the site rebuilds each night, using the same methods as our stargazing tonight tool, checked against the JPL ephemeris. Each month's page moves on to the following year once the month ends.