Spring is here, so it is time to say goodbye to Orion until next winter! By the end of April, it will by hidden by the glare of the Sun, and during June the Sun will be directly above Orion.

The Sun is setting later and later, setting now at 8pm summer time. In fact, the Sun is setting 40 minutes later at the end of the month than at the start. Although the nights are getting shorter, making it more difficult for observing, it is also getting warmer - a welcome relief to anyone who has been observing in sub-zero temperatures this winter!

The Moon is a wonderful sight in the evening for the first few weeks of April, but the full Moon is on the 20th, making it very difficult to see any but the brightest stars. Last quarter is on the 28th of April, so that is another good opportunaty to observe the fainter objects this month.

The only planets visible in the evening this month are Mars (look west for a red object all evening, although it gets very low in the sky after midnight), and Saturn (high in the south at sunset, and setting in the west at 3am).

Saturn is easy to spot this month since it is so close to the bright star Regulus, in the constellation of Leo (Saturn is the slightly fainter of the two). On the night of the 14th of April, the Moon is just to the right of the pair, and on the following night, the Moon is just below the pair.

If you have never seen the rings of Saturn before, then those two nights are the best time to be amazed by the sight, with the Moon acting as a very helpful guide, and Saturn being at its highest point in the sky at sunset in the evening - very convenient!

We know summer is rapidly approaching, because the summer triangle is once again visible in the evening sky, rising during April at around 10pm.

And for those staying up really late, Jupiter is very bright indeed. Just look towards the south-east to see Jupiter rising at 3am. If you have binoculars, take a closer look and you may be able to see up to 4 moons orbiting around Jupiter.