This weekend, shortly before sunrise, we can see a resplendent Venus accompanied by Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.
And the Moon will join the planetary quartet in the third week of the month.
four morning stars
In this month of April, the planetary action is still concentrated in the sunrises.
At about 5:30 in the morning (peninsular time), Saturn rises in the east, followed closely by Mars, Venus and finally Jupiter, which rises over the horizon at around 6:45.
This leaves us an hour to observe the peculiar planetary quartet, along the imaginary line of the ecliptic, among the festival of colors of dawn.
The sky gradually lights up, the king star rises at 7:45 am and its radiance camouflages the rest of the stars.
Venus continues to dominate over the rest with its very intense brightness.
This luminosity is due to its proximity to Earth, now it is 127 million kilometers away (remember that the Sun is 150 million kilometers from Earth) but, as the days go by, it moves away from us.
And as Venus recedes, Mars approaches.
These two rocky brothers of the Earth will be located at the same distance from our planet in the month of June.
But this weekend the red planet is still twice as far away as Venus.
Mars shines very discreetly (130 times less than Venus), with the same intensity as the very distant Saturn.
The giant of the rings is now at a distance of almost 1600 million kilometers, twice the distance that separates us from Jupiter.
Jupiter's large size means that, despite its distance, its brightness is only eight times less than that of Venus.
The Moon comes to the appointment
This weekend we have the Moon in crescent, it can be seen from dusk until 4 in the morning, when it hides in the west.
The 16th will be in the full moon phase, this is the first full moon of spring, which sets the date for Easter Sunday, which follows on the 17th.
April 24, about 90 minutes before sunriseStellarium/RB
Beginning the weekend of April 23-24, our satellite will be visible for a few days, at dawn, near the planetary quartet just described.
The five stars will form beautiful pictures among the often fascinating colors of sunrises.
Like a double planet
These scenes take place between the zodiacal constellations of Capricorn and Aquarius.
As the days and weeks progress, the planets will gradually change position, approaching and moving away from each other, describing a kind of dance that will reach a climax at the end of the month, when Venus and Jupiter will be so close in the sky that They will form a kind of double planet.
April 30, one hour before sunriseStellarium/RB
April dawns are splendid sunrises, it is worth looking up to the sky for a few moments as we go about our daily tasks.
The contemplation of the firmament makes us rest our eyes and, above all, gives us the opportunity to think about the mysteries of this portentous cosmos of which we are a part.
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Rafael Bachiller is director of the National Astronomical Observatory (National Geographic Institute) and academic of the Royal Academy of Doctors of Spain.
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