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Stars In the Sky 05/2008

Saturn is excellent this month. It sits high in the sky as it grows dark- a must see.

Mars is still bright but small as it first grows dark. It goes through the Beehive Cluster (M44) May 22nd and May 23rd.

Jupiter is very bright in the morning sky in the east.

Mercury is a good target around mid month in the west near sunset.

The Eta Aquarid meteor peaks on May 5th. The moon does not interfere but the southern hemisphere gets a better view.

Mercury will be a good target this month. It changes position, size and brightness quickly through May. Early in the month it shines quite brightly at magnitude -0.9. It will sit low on the western horizon near the Pleiades (M45). As the month goes on it gets higher above the horizon but at the same time it dims. It gets to its greatest elongation on May 13/14 when it will be magnitude 0.4. This is a good time to try to observe it- when it is furthest away from the sun’s glare. After the 14th Mercury will continue to get dimmer and quickly get lower on the horizon.

Venus will be impossible to see this month. It will be too close to the sun.

Mars will sit high in the southwest sky as it grows dark. It will still conspicuously bright at magnitude 1.4 at midmonth but Mars has shrunk in size considerably since it was in opposition at the beginning of the year. You will need high magnification and steady skies to make out much detail. Mars will cross over from Gemini into Cancer early in May. Mars will be shining with an orange-red color.

Jupiter will be dominating in the morning sky. Around midmonth it will be shining at -2.5. It will be in the southeastern morning sky early in the month. As the month goes on Jupiter climbs higher and rises sooner every morning. It comes up around 1:00AM early in the month then around 3:00AM late in the month. The best time to observe it then is before dawn when it has climbed higher and before any morning twilight glare can interfere. Its banded surface and 4 orbiting moons make it a great sight even through a small telescope. It shines bright white in color.

Saturn will be excellent this month. It sits high in the sky as it grows dark making it well positioned for observation. Saturn will shine at around magnitude 0.6 this month. It will be in Leo near the star Regulus. Telescopic observers will notice that Saturn’s rings are getting closer to edge on. Next year Saturn’s rings will appear almost completely edge on all year. This makes the rings harder to see and puts the spotlight on Saturn’s other features. Saturn has equatorial banding. It is more subtle than Jupiter’s. Saturn shines yellow-orange in color.

Uranus gets high enough above the horizon to be a good target late in the month. It is in the morning eastern sky. By the end of the month it will be sufficiently above the horizon avoid the morning twilight. It will not be high in the sky but only 20º above the horizon. It will be in on the border between Aquarius and Pisces. At magnitude 5.9 Uranus is a theoretical naked eye object and an easy binocular object. Uranus shines with pale aquamarine color.

Neptune can be found this month in the eastern sky an hour or two before sunrise. It will be higher in the sky than Uranus. It will be in Capricornus near its star Delta Capricornus. Neptune will be shining at magnitude 7.9. It will take some careful looking with a pair of binoculars to spot it. Through a telescope Neptune shines with a pale blue color.

Pluto will sit above Jupiter in the morning sky. Around 1:00AM it gets fairly high in the sky making it a potential target. It sits in the constellation Ophiuchus but lower down toward Sagittarius. Pluto is always a very tough target. You need dark skies, a good chart, at least an 8” telescope and patience to find it. This month it shines at magnitude 13.9.

The Eta Aquarid meteor shower peaks on May 5th. It will have been active for 3 weeks or so before so May 5th is not expected to be a steep peak. The radiant is in Aquarius which is low on the eastern horizon for the northern hemisphere. The moon will not interfere making nearly ideal conditions for observing. Like most meteor showers the best time to look is after midnight until dawn. Typically these meteors leave long streaks.