Saturn and Mars sit to the right of Venus, on the edge of the constellation Capricornus. Mars is far out to the right and has a +1.1 magnitude, still a little dim to see in the light-polluted skies of the Washington area. The ringed Saturn, between Mars and Venus, is +0.7 magnitude, slightly brighter than Mars, according to the observatory.

As coffee aroma wafts through your house, get up tomorrow (April 4) before the sun and see Saturn and Mars conjunct. After the conjunction, these two planets seemingly switch places and the planets start forming a line.

Mars, Saturn and Venus start spreading out each day for a middle-of-the-month morning lineup, and the large gaseous Jupiter (-2 magnitude, very bright, according to the observatory) emerges from the sun’s glare to join the planetary parade in the east-southeastern morning sky, close to the horizon.

These four fabulously fun planets fall in line for a notable sight — before sunrise — about April 10-24, with a defined line around April 16-18. Jupiter anchors the group in the east, while the vivid Venus lines up next. Mars follows beautifully in the east-southeast, while Saturn forms the end of the procession in the southeast.

The elderly, waning moon approaches Saturn on the morning of April 24, and the splinter of a moon scoots under Mars on April 25.

As April began with the Mars-Saturn conjunction, it will end with a clash of the bright planets — a Venus-Jupiter conjunction, according to the observatory. Enjoy it before sunrise on April 30.

The Lyrid meteors peak April 22 — with about 20 shooting stars an hour at that peak, according to predictions from the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. Late in the evening, find a dark spot free of streetlights and get your eyes acclimated. Be patient and see a few meteors (dusty remnants of Comet Thatcher found in 1861) streak across the heavens.

There will be a partial solar eclipse on April 30 at the very tip of South America and in the Antarctic region. Don’t fret if you miss it.

Down-to-Earth Events

* April 8 — “Supermassive Black Holes at the Centers of Galaxies,” an online lecture by Shobita Satyapal, a professor of astrophysics at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. 8 p.m. It is hosted by PSW Science. For information, visit pswscience.org, as the YouTube link to the lecture is at that website.

* April 9 — “A Review of the Exoplanet-Host Star Composition Connection,” an online talk by Johanna Teske, an astronomer at the Carnegie Earth and Planets Lab. The meeting is hosted by the National Capital Astronomers, and the virtual Zoom doors open at 7 p.m. The meeting starts at 7:30 p.m. For more details, visit capitalastronomers.org.

* April 10 — “How to Measure Velocities of Distant Galaxy Clusters — and Why,” an online talk by Arthur Kosowsky, a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Pittsburgh. The meeting is hosted by the Northern Virginia Astronomy Club (novac.com). 7:30 p.m. To view the lecture: meet.google.com/osh-bcyd-gti.

* April 20 — “Ancient Cities and Landscapes from Space: How Remote Sensing is Transforming Archaeology,” an in-person and online lecture by Timothy M. Murtha, a professor at the University of Florida in Gainesville. In partnership with the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, the event is hosted at the National Museum of the American Indian (Rasmuson Theater) on the Mall in Washington. 8 p.m. To register for the concurrent in-person event or to view the online stream, go to: https://s.si.edu/3IYDzop.