A planetary parade featuring Mercury, Venus, and Saturn will grace the predawn sky on Friday. Visible about 45 minutes before sunrise low in the east, near the crescent moon, Venus and Saturn will be easiest to spot. This celestial event is one of several this year, following February's alignment of all seven planets and preceding an August appearance of Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn. April also offers the Lyrid meteor shower and views of Messier 3, an ancient globular star cluster.

Prepared by Olivia Bennett and reviewed by editorial team.