The Night Sky in May

From the Night sky Newsletter:

The Night Sky This Month (May 2010)




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Key Stars



From mid-northern latitudes, Arcturus (Alpha Bootis) blazes high overhead,

while Spica (Alpha Virginis) shines in the south. Castor (Alpha Geminorum)

and Pollux (Beta Geminorum) are sinking towards the western horizon,

followed by Regulus (Alpha Leonis) and the stars of Leo. In the east, the

stars of the Summer Triangle, led by Vega (Alpha Lyrae), are rising.

Antares (Alpha Scorpii) is climbing into view in the southeast, although is

still low on the horizon.



The Planets



Mercury



During the last two weeks of May, you should be able to spot Mercury very

low in the east 30 minutes before sunrise. The planet reaches greatest

elongation (25.1 degrees west of the Sun) on May 26. This is also about

when it is highest for mid-northern observers.



Venus



Venus is the bright "Evening Star", blazing in the west after dusk. In

early May, Venus' disk spans 11" across and is 88-percent lit. By late in

the month, the disk has grown to 13" and the phase has shrunk to 81-percent

illumination.



Mars



Mars can be found after sunset in the southwestern sky, between the figures

of Cancer the Crab and Leo the Lion. It shines at magnitude +1 this month,

and its 7"-diameter disk reveals practically no detail through a telescope.





Jupiter



Jupiter was in conjunction with the Sun on February 28; now it slowly

emerges into dawn view. You can find it above the eastern horizon, about 30

minutes before sunup.



Saturn



This month Saturn remains visible nearly all night. Look for it high in the

south after sunset, just a couple of degrees below Denebola, the second

brightest star in the constellation Leo the Lion. In a telescope Saturn's

disk spans 19" across the equator and the rings appear very narrow. They

are currently tipped just 1.7 degrees to our line of sight, but after the

end of the month they will begin to widen again.



Uranus



The seventh planet is in the morning sky, in the same binocular field as

Jupiter. Uranus glows at magnitude +5.9 and its disk (3.6" across) shows up

readily in the smallest telescope.



Neptune



Neptune lies in western Aquarius, a region that stands 25 degrees high in

the southeast when morning twilight begins. Neptune shines at magnitude

+7.9, so you will need a telescope to spot it.



Pluto



Pluto, magnitude +14, lies in northwestern Sagittarius and is highest above

the horizon in the predawn sky. It can only be viewed in larger amateur

telescopes.



Bright Asteroids



Vesta



7th-magnitude Vesta is an easy find in binoculars. Look for it just after

dusk, when Leo the Lion - the constellation through which the asteroid

tracks - is highest above the southwestern horizon.



Ceres



This month, Ceres arcs through the rich star fields of northern

Sagittarius. Glowing at 8th magnitude, Ceres shows up through binoculars

under a dark sky, but you will need a scope to follow it from the suburbs.



Pallas



Pallas shines at magnitude +9 and lies in the constellation Corona Borealis

the Northern Crown. Look around midnight, when the asteroid reaches its

highest altitude.



Bright Comets



C/2009 K5 McNaught



Comet C/2009 K5 McNaught sweeps from Cepheus past Polaris to Camelopardalis

during the month and remains circumpolar (meaning it never sets) for most

mid-northern observers. It glows with the combined light of a 9th-magnitude

star, easily accessible from suburban backyards with a 4-inch scope.



81P Wild



This periodic comet glows around 10th magnitude and lies within a few

degrees of the 4th-magnitude star Iota Virginis all month. At 10th

magnitude, Wild will be as tough to view as the faintest Messier galaxies

in Virgo.



Meteor Showers



The Eta Aquarids radiate from a point in northern Aquarius, close to Eta

Aquarii. Eta Aquarid meteors first appear around April 28, and some can be

seen until May 21. The shower's peak occurs around May 7, when up to 20 or

30 meteors can be seen each hour from a dark-sky site. Before and after the

maximum, the Eta Aquarids produce only two or three meteors per hour.



Sky Events



May 2 - Venus is 6.4 degrees north of Aldebaran (Alpha Tauri) at 9:56 P.M.

EDT.



May 6 - Last Quarter Moon at 12:15 A.M. EDT. The Moon is at apogee, the

point in its orbit when it is farthest from Earth.



May 7 - The Eta Aquarid meteor shower reaches maximum activity.



May 13 - New Moon at 9:04 P.M. EDT.



May 16 - The Moon is 0.1 degree south of Venus at 6:16 A.M. EDT.



May 19 - The Moon is 4 degrees south of the Beehive cluster (M44) in Cancer

at 7:03 A.M. EDT.



May 20 - First Quarter Moon at 7:43 P.M. EDT. The Moon is at perigee, the

point in its orbit when it is nearest to Earth.



May 26 - Mercury is at greatest western elongation, 25.1 degrees west of

the Sun in the morning sky.



May 27 - Full Moon at 7:07 P.M. EDT.



May 28 - The Moon is 1.9 degrees north of Antares (Alpha Scorpii) at 12:30

A.M. EDT.



May 29 - The Moon is 0.1 degree south of the dwarf planet Ceres at 5 P.M.

EDT.




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