May Skynotes

MONTH HIGHLIGHTS

Saturn is the still the only evening planet to be seen, in the north-eastern sky at sunset. Jupiter, Venus and Mars are in the early morning sky.

SUNRISE & SUNSET TIMES

MOON PHASES

The Moon will be at apogee (furthest from Earth) on Thursday 14th, at a distance of 404 914km.

The Moon will be at perigee (closest to Earth) on Tuesday 26th, at a distance of 361 154km.

LET THE MOON BE YOUR GUIDE

The Moon can be used as a pointer to find other objects in the sky:

• On the night of the 3rd the waxing gibbous Moon is close to Regulus (Leo).
• On the following evening of the 4th the Moon lies near the planet Saturn.
• During the night of the 10th the Moon is very close to the red giant star Antares (Scorpius).
• The near-Full Moon sits near the star Spica (Virgo) on the night of the 13th.
• After midnight on the 16th and during the morning of the 17th the last quarter Moon sits alongside Jupiter.
• Before sunrise on the 21st, the last glimpses of the waning crescent Moon can be seen near Venus.
• After sunset on the 26th the first glimpses of the thin crescent Moon can be seen above the star Elnath (Taurus).
• After sunset on the 27th the new crescent Moon sits to the west of the twin stars Castor and Pollux (Gemini), forming a triangle with them, and the following evening of the 28th the Moon lies above them, forming a line.
• On the 30th the Moon again draws near Regulus (Leo).
• During the evening of the 31st the First Quarter Moon sits beside Saturn.

PLANETS

Mercury is again too close to the Sun in the sky to be seen this month.

Venus appears in the eastern sky just before dawn. It starts the month brilliantly, reaching its greatest brightness on the morning of the 2nd, making a strong contrast with the nearby planet Mars. During the month the planet starts to fade, although only slightly, but rises earlier and is higher in the sky at sunrise. On the morning of the 21st the crescent Moon sits alongside Venus.

Mars remains close to Venus throughout the month, but the 'morning star' outshines it. Sitting near Venus and Mars on the 21st is the crescent Moon.

Jupiter rises in the east after midnight and can be seen throughout the early hours of the morning. Well below Jupiter, sitting much closer to the eastern horizon are Mars and Venus. On the morning of the 17th the last quarter Moon is beside Jupiter.

Saturn continues to shine brightly throughout the night until it sets around midnight. It can be seen in the north-east at sunset. On the nights of the 4th and again on the 31st the Moon sits near Saturn.

METEORS

The Eta Aquarids, linked to Comet Halley, are well placed this year, with the waxing Moon setting before the shower's peak occurs on the morning of the 6th. Typical rates for the shower are normally high with the Southern Hemisphere reaching 30 meteors per hour. This year may be a good year for this shower with peak rates of over 70 meteors per hour. Eta Aquarids are often very fast, usually yellow in colour and with persistent trains. The meteors appear to come from the constellation Aquarius, which can be found in the north-east before sunrise.

There are also some minor meteor showers centred on the constellations of Scorpius and Sagittarius that can be seen until July. Meteors are best looked for between midnight and dawn.

STARS & CONSTELLATIONS

The constellation of Scorpius can be seen rising in the south-east. The scorpion's heart is marked by the red star Antares. This is a very rich area of the Milky Way and the scorpion's tail contains many beautiful star clusters that can be seen using binoculars.

The brightest star in the night sky, Sirius, is low to the western horizon. Lying above and to the south of Sirius is Canopus, the second brightest star in the night sky. Canopus belongs to the constellation Carina (the keel). Low in the north-west the twin stars of Gemini, Castor and Pollux, have almost disappeared from our evening sky by the end of May.

Prominent in the northern sky is the constellation of Leo, the lion. We view Leo upside down compared to how it is seen in the Northern Hemisphere. To find Leo, look for an upside down question mark or sickle shape. The brightest star in this constellation is Regulus, meaning ‘little king’.

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION

From Earth, the ISS appears as a bright star that steadily moves across the sky. It can often be seen from Melbourne, for example at:

6:55pm – 7:00pm, Sunday 3rd May.

The Station will first appear above the north-west horizon and will travel overhead, pass the bright star Sirius, and travel towards Saturn, disappearing shortly before it reaches the position of the planet.

Predictions of when to see the ISS can be obtained from the website: www.heavens-above.com

ON THIS DAY

1st 1958, the discovery of the powerful Van Allen radiation belts (concentrations of electrically charged particles) that surround Earth is announced.

4th 1989, the first planetary mission launched from a Space Shuttle, Magellan is sent to study Venus.

5th 1961, Mercury 3 launched the first American, Alan B. Shepard Jr, into space.

7th 1992, the Space Shuttle Endeavour blasts off on its maiden voyage. It was the 7th shuttle mission.

8th 1963, the first transatlantic colour TV pictures were sent via Telestar 2 (USA).

9th 1962, a laser beam was bounced off the Moon from Earth by MIT scientists.

11th 1916, Albert Einstein’s ‘General Theory of Relativity’ was first presented.

14th 1973, Skylab 1, USA’s first space station was launched.

18th 1991, Helen Sharman, the first Briton in space, blasts off onboard a Soyuz spacecraft.

18th 1969, Apollo 10 was launched. It was a full dress rehearsal for the Apollo 11 mission without actually landing on the Moon.

19th 1919, Total solar eclipse studied by British astronomer Eddington in order to test Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity.

20th 1990, The Hubble Space Telescope sent its first photograph from space, an image of a double star 1,260 light years away.

25th 1961, President John F. Kennedy launches the USA’s race to the Moon.

28th 1959, Rhesus monkey Abel and squirrel monkey Baker were launched for a brief suborbital space flight in the nose cone of Jupiter Missile AM-18.