Suggested Searches

April

These night-sky objects are visible in April. We invite you to find them and compare your view to Hubble's!

The Milky Way above Devil's Tower National Monument.
NPS / Damon Joyce

Hubble's Night Sky Challenge is a year-round observing adventure for amateur astronomers to commemorate 35 years of Hubble science and discoveries. This challenge can also serve as a guide for star parties. Below, you’ll find a list of Messier and Caldwell night sky targets visible during April that Hubble has imaged over the years for both Northern and Southern Hemisphere observers.

Helpful Tips

  • Some objects may be visible from most locations on Earth, while others are only visible at specific latitudes and may not be accessible for those in other parts of the world. This page has two lists of recommended targets: one for the Northern Hemisphere and another for the Southern Hemisphere. For best results, we recommend using the list that corresponds to the part of the world you live in.
  • If the name of the object starts with an "M," it's part of the Messier catalog; names that start with "C" are part of the Caldwell catalog.
  • A difficulty scale of 1-3 denotes how easy an object is to find: 1 is the easiest and 3 the hardest. The easiest targets for each hemisphere are listed first, and the most difficult ones are listed last.

Northern Hemisphere Objects

These night sky objects are visible to viewers in the Northern Hemisphere.

A spiral galaxy with a bright core fills the image, surrounded by faint spiral arms laced through with dark dust. A black rectangle is at the upper left, showing a portion where there is no Hubble data.

M65

Object Type: Spiral Galaxy
Difficulty: 2

A spiral galaxy is viewed sideways, with the glowing core closer to the upper left of the image. It is surrounded by spiral arms laced through with dark dust and bright regions of star formation.

M66

Object Type: Spiral Galaxy
Difficulty: 2

A bright spiral galaxy with a large, yellow core, with small spiral arms surrounding it.

M81: Bode's Galaxy

Object Type: Spiral Galaxy
Difficulty: 2

A white band of stars that cuts across a black background, from the lower left to the upper right, is the galaxy M82. Reddish brown gas and dust overlays the galaxy concentrated in the center of the image and fanning out above and below the white band of the galaxy. Black background is dotted with stars.

M82: Cigar Galaxy

Object Type: Irregular Galaxy
Difficulty: 2

Black background dotted with stars. Image center holds an elliptical haze of white light. Along the horizontal axis of the ellipse is a band of brighter light. The center of the ellipse holds a small, bright sphere of light.

C53

Object Type: Lenticular Galaxy
Difficulty: 2

A blue star shining at the center of the nebula is surrounded by a thick white bubble, which turns pale orange at the outer edges. It has a small red "flare" outside this bubble at either pole, and a thick spherical layer of blue around the whole structure.

C59: Ghost of Jupiter

Object Type: Planetary Nebula
Difficulty: 2

Near the top left, a bright galaxy core shines, surrounded by spiral arms with dark dust and purple-white regions of star formation.

M95

Object Type: Barred Spiral Galaxy
Difficulty: 3

The galaxy resembles a giant maelstrom of glowing gas, rippled with dark dust that swirls inwards towards the nucleus.

M96

Object Type: Spiral Galaxy
Difficulty: 3

A spiral galaxy has a glowing white center and wispy arms of gas that are reddish-brown at the thickest parts and whitish-pink for the smaller arms. The galaxy is surrounded by a bluish-white glow.

C40

Object Type: Barred Spiral Galaxy
Difficulty: 3

Southern Hemisphere Objects

These night sky objects are visible to viewers in the Southern Hemisphere.

A rusty-orange background is dotted with dark clouds. One large, dark cloud at upper right, two medium-sized dark clouds at the bottom; one left, the other right, of center. The upper left corner is blacked-out in a step pattern.

C100: Lambda Centauri Cluster

Object Type: Open Cluster
Difficulty: 1

A spiral galaxy with a bright core fills the image, surrounded by faint spiral arms laced through with dark dust. A black rectangle is at the upper left, showing a portion where there is no Hubble data.

M65

Object Type: Spiral Galaxy
Difficulty: 2

A spiral galaxy is viewed sideways, with the glowing core closer to the upper left of the image. It is surrounded by spiral arms laced through with dark dust and bright regions of star formation.

M66

Object Type: Spiral Galaxy
Difficulty: 2

Black background dotted with stars. Image center holds an elliptical haze of white light. Along the horizontal axis of the ellipse is a band of brighter light. The center of the ellipse holds a small, bright sphere of light.

C53

Object Type: Lenticular Galaxy
Difficulty: 2

A blue star shining at the center of the nebula is surrounded by a thick white bubble, which turns pale orange at the outer edges. It has a small red "flare" outside this bubble at either pole, and a thick spherical layer of blue around the whole structure.

C59: Ghost of Jupiter

Object Type: Planetary Nebula
Difficulty: 2

A tumultuous landscape of gas and dust, filled with bright glowing clouds, knots of darker gas, and stars.

C92: Carina Nebula

Object Type: Emission Nebula
Difficulty: 2

Near the top left, a bright galaxy core shines, surrounded by spiral arms with dark dust and purple-white regions of star formation.

M95

Object Type: Barred Spiral Galaxy
Difficulty: 3

The galaxy resembles a giant maelstrom of glowing gas, rippled with dark dust that swirls inwards towards the nucleus.

M96

Object Type: Spiral Galaxy
Difficulty: 3

A spiral galaxy has a glowing white center and wispy arms of gas that are reddish-brown at the thickest parts and whitish-pink for the smaller arms. The galaxy is surrounded by a bluish-white glow.

C40

Object Type: Barred Spiral Galaxy
Difficulty: 3