Planets of the Month: April 2019

by Erich Karkoschka

planet-of-the-month-mars Mars is still an evening object until 10 pm. It moves from the Golden Gate, between Aldebaran and the Pleiades, all the way through Taurus.
Jupiter transits at dawn.
Venus is further east and does not rise until 5 am during dawn.
Saturn is 26 degrees east of Jupiter, the closest since 2001.
Mercury races with Venus. The first half of April, it is slower than Venus, so Venus catches up to 5 degrees distance. Then is faster and gets slowly further away from Venus until it disappears after the 28th.
The minor Planet (2) Pallas is 8th Magnitude and high up in Bootes.