AstronomySky This Month: May 2023 | Astronomy.com

Sky This Month: May 2023 | Astronomy.com

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Venus places on its finest present of the 12 months within the night sky, seen till very late. Mars additionally continues as a night object, whereas different planets congregate within the morning. Saturn is starting to enhance its visibility within the predawn sky and Jupiter, reappearing after solar conjunction, takes half in a spectacular twilight occultation by the Moon.

We begin the month-to-month tour with Venus shining brilliantly within the western sky. It glows at magnitude –4.1 firstly of the month and brightens by three-tenths of a magnitude by Might 31. You’ll discover it properly positioned between the horns of Taurus the Bull on the first.

Venus exits Taurus every week later and strikes to some extent north of Eta (η) and Mu (μ) Geminorum on Might 9, when it achieves its most declination north (26°) and its farthest level above the ecliptic. A telescope will present a gibbous disk 63 p.c lit and 18″ throughout.

Within the north

Throughout the lengthy twilight in Alaska this month, Venus is located north — an uncommon location. This chart exhibits the early-morning view particularly from Anchorage.

All illustrations: Astronomy: Roen Kelly

This northerly extent locations Venus in fascinating components of the sky for northern tiers of the U.S. and notably in Canada and Alaska. Usually seen within the western sky after sundown, Venus is sort of circumpolar for Anchorage, Alaska, and is seen at midnight within the northwestern sky. Shortly earlier than 3 A.M. native time, Venus lies low on the northwestern horizon, an uncommon placement for an inferior planet. Throughout the lengthy twilight, Venus stays located north. From Fairbanks, Alaska, Venus lies due north at dawn, sitting 1° above the horizon.

Venus continues throughout Gemini and ends the month south of Pollux, just like the placement of Mars early within the month. A telescope exhibits Venus near half phase (dichotomy) on Might 31, with a 52-percent-lit disk spanning 23″.

Meet me on the Beehive

The Moon and Mars congregate close to the Beehive Cluster (M44) in late Might. As our satellite strikes away, Mars inches nearer to the younger group of stars.

Mars is 5° due south of Pollux on Might 9. The Pink Planet is magnitude 1.4; Pollux shines brighter at magnitude 1.2. Mars crosses into Most cancers by Might 17 and drifts nearer to the well-known Beehive Cluster (M44). A crescent Moon arrives 3° north of M44 on Might 24, with Mars standing 5° west of the cluster.

Mars ends the month only one° shy of M44: a fantastic pairing organising the primary couple of days of June, when Mars crosses the cluster. Observe that Venus stands solely 11° away, a number of levels south of Pollux. By means of a telescope, Mars presents a tiny disk spanning 5″, making it a problem to see any floor element besides underneath excellent situations. The Pink Planet, now passing 2 astronomical models from Earth, units quickly after midnight. (One astronomical unit, or AU, is the typical Earth-Solar distance.)

Saturn rises about 3:30 A.M. native time on Might 1 and is up by 1:30 A.M. on Might 31. Its altitude improves significantly within the hour earlier than daybreak all through the month. It lies in mid-Aquarius and is by far the brightest object (magnitude 0.8 many of the month) within the neighborhood. Fomalhaut in Piscis Austrinus is the closest 1st-magnitude star. It lies about 20° to Saturn’s south and rises about 90 minutes later.

The hour earlier than daybreak is a high quality time to view the ringed planet, when Saturn stands at greater than 20° elevation within the southeastern sky. The rings are tilted by 8° to our line of sight, presenting a fantastic view. Each northern and southern hemispheres of the disk are on present, spanning 17″. It’s time to look out for any storms brewing within the usually quiescent saturnian ambiance.

Saturn’s brightest moon, Titan, shines at magnitude 8.7. It stands due north of the planet on Might 4 and 20, and due south on Might 12 and 28. Different moons are fainter and nearer in, whereas Iapetus, farther out, reaches its faint japanese elongation on Might 14. We’ll revisit these moons within the coming months as Saturn’s visibility improves.

Mendacity on the distant fringe of our solar system, the distant planet Neptune might be noticed with binoculars. It shines at magnitude 7.8. The ice giant rises almost an hour after Saturn and stays low within the east an hour earlier than daybreak on Might 1, a tough object to identify.

Neptune’s visibility improves by Might 31, when it stands about 20° excessive within the japanese sky on the onset of twilight. The dim bluish object lies inside 1° of 20 Piscium, a Fifth-magnitude discipline star, forming a triangle along with 24 Piscium. The three lie some 5° southeast of 4th-magnitude Lambda (λ) Piscium. From night time to nighttime, Neptune wanders east, farther from 20 Piscium.

Briefly order

Shortly earlier than dawn within the Midwest on Might 26, Io and its shadow are crossing the face of Jupiter. Io’s shadow will slip off the disk moments earlier than Ganymede disappears in an occultation. Europa is behind Jupiter and never seen right now; Callisto lies far east of the planet.

Jupiter sits about 10° above the japanese horizon one hour earlier than dawn on the finish of Might. The enormous planet reappears within the morning sky among the many stars of Aries the Ram, shining at an easy-to-spot magnitude of –2.1. Might is an effective time to get acquainted with Jupiter once more after a few months of restricted viewing. Examine on its atmospheric exercise to see if any new options have arisen after solar conjunction.

Don’t miss the lunar occultation of Jupiter the morning of Might 17. The precise timing of the occasion varies primarily based in your location. Watch the pair rise round 4:30 A.M. native time and, as twilight brightens within the Midwest (it’s already daylight on the East Coast), the limb of the Moon approaches Jupiter, hiding the large planet round 7:11 A.M. EDT in Miami, 7:21 A.M. EDT in Atlanta, 7:45 A.M. EDT in Boston, 6:29 A.M. CDT in Kansas Metropolis, 6:36 A.M. CDT in Chicago, and 6:32 A.M. CDT in Denver. It takes virtually a minute for the Moon to fully cowl the planet.

The primary mutual Galilean satellite occasion that you could simply observe happens Might 26, when Io and its shadow are crossing Jupiter’s disk because the planet rises. As twilight grows throughout the Midwest, Io’s shadow leaves the disk at 5:24 A.M. CDT. Ganymede quickly disappears behind the identical limb of Jupiter at 5:27 A.M. CDT.

Uranus is just too near the Solar for statement throughout a lot of the month. Catch it within the half hour earlier than dawn in late Might.

Mercury reaches inferior conjunction Might 1 and strikes into the morning sky shortly after, however stays faint and past attain for the primary three weeks of the month. On Might 23, it reaches magnitude 1 and is positioned 7° due east of brighter Jupiter, which acts as a pleasant information to discovering the innermost planet. Mercury is 4° excessive half-hour earlier than dawn. Six days later, it reaches its best elongation west of the Solar (25°) at magnitude 0.5. Its location south of the ecliptic retains Mercury hugging the japanese horizon whereas Jupiter pulls away, increased within the sky. On the finish of Might, the 2 planets are separated by a dozen levels.

A deep penumbral eclipse of the Moon happens on the night of Might 5 for observers in Africa, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. For many of the eclipse not a lot is clear, however throughout best eclipse (17:24 UTC), when greater than 90 p.c of the Moon is contained in the penumbra, the northern limb will seem noticeable dusky. The eclipse is just not seen from the U.S.

Observe: Moon phases within the calendar fluctuate in dimension because of the distance from Earth and are proven at 0h Common Time.

Rising Moon: Moon mounds


What a sight the Moon will need to have been 3 billion years in the past: Lava surging from the lunar inside and spreading throughout enormous basins! Because the floor cooled and solidified, native upwellings over scorching spots continued right here and there. In distinction to the depth, violence, and superspeed of influence cratering, the Rümker hills rose comparatively slowly and reached solely modest heights.

A great have a look at this topographic mound means observing on the 2nd. Its uncommon nature is eye-catching. The japanese flank simply doesn’t seem like the rim of a walled crater. It’s as if the Moon had hives that day.

The light hills forged lengthy shadows underneath the rising Solar, however a mere 24 hours later, they’ve all however disappeared. We will’t know for certain that the flat central half is a caldera, but it surely seems like the outlet left from the collapse of the height, which then flooded with magma. Rümker returns to visibility late on the thirty first.

Find the fascinating volcanic characteristic by beginning on the good Aristarchus, then slide north alongside the wrinkled terminator. The terrain round Aristarchus was additionally molded by long-lived flows of lava. There’s a lot to soak up right here! Farther south lie the volcanic domes close to the crater Marius and the massive bowl of Schickard.

Meteor Watch: Halley’s leftovers


This month’s Eta Aquariid Bathe is lively between April 19 and Might 28, peaking on Might 6. The height of the meteor bathe is closely affected by the Full Moon (Might 5), which stays seen all night time. The everyday zenithal hourly charge of fifty per hour on Might 6 is severely decreased to a trickle, with solely the brighter members observable. The low altitude of the radiant doesn’t assist, both. It rises simply after 2 A.M. native time on the morning of most and reaches about 20° above the horizon as twilight breaks. Attempt observing in the course of the first few of days of Might to catch any early bathe members after the Moon units (4:30 A.M. on Might 2).

The Eta Aquariids are considered one of two showers related to Halley’s Comet, whose dusty particles left over from a whole lot of orbits additionally ends in the October Orionids.

Eta Aquariid meteor bathe

The Eta Aquariids’ radiant is highest simply earlier than daybreak. Attempt to catch it sooner than the height date of Might 6 to keep away from the Full Moon.

Comet Search: Follow, persistence, and energy


With a pause in vivid comets, make the most of milder spring nights to depart the frenzy behind and push your expertise in detecting faint construction over a variety of magnifications.

Underneath a darkish sky within the second half of the month, start at low energy on the Lagoon Nebula (NGC 6523) after midnight. Shift 1.5° east-northeast to NGC 6559. Think about the Tenth-magnitude star at its heart is the core of a comet, then push it to the facet. Slowly swoop the scope round, protecting the star simply outdoors the sting of the sector. The uneven nebula must be rewarding as a result of one facet is lengthy and slender like a comet tail.

Subsequent, leap to northeastern Sagittarius and NGC 6822. Half the obvious diameter of the Moon, the dwarf elliptical galaxy might be seen in a 4-inch scope. Not even a level north lies a magnitude 9.4 model of Uranus: planetary nebula NGC 6818, additionally referred to as the Little Gem. Crank up the ability to extract form and brightness variations from a beginning estimate of spherical.

From there, some 5° north-northeast lands us at Comet 237P/LINEAR. Whether it is in outburst, an 8-inch scope will do it, however extra possible you’ll want a 12-inch mirror to see the Thirteenth-magnitude fuzz. Use 150x or extra to darken the sky background and make the small cloud of dust seem large enough to your mind to acknowledge it. To the south, the pair of magnitude 12.5 and 12.9 galaxies function a comparability. LINEAR by no means crosses Mars’ orbit, however each 6.6 years loops out to Jupiter’s area.

Comet 237P/LINEAR

Attempt to spot Comet 237P/LINEAR within the second half of the month — although notice that until it experiences an outburst, you’ll want a big scope to do the job. Happily, there are many different targets close by

Finding Asteroids: Simple pickings


Excellent for a small scope within the suburbs, magnitude 7.7 1 Ceres rides with Leo excessive within the south as darkness units in. It’s solely half a binocular discipline east (left) of the intense star Denobola. (That identify’s Arabic roots imply “tail of the lion.” Deneb of the Summer season Triangle is the tail of Cygnus the Swan, however over time its full identify was shortened to its present moniker.)

There are so few background stars right here that our goal will usually be the brightest dot within the discipline of view. Nonetheless, you gained’t see it shift throughout an observing session. The principle-belt asteroid is simply popping out of the western finish of its retrograde loop as Earth runs forward on our interior orbit, making Ceres seem to maneuver slowly. However plotting it towards 4 different stars in a logbook each third night time will present the shift.

Don’t trouble when Moon is close by — Might 1 and the twenty seventh onward — as a result of the scattered mild will make a sighting tough. A spherical 600 miles throughout, Ceres was the primary asteroid found and was later supplied a spot within the dwarf planet membership.

Turning tail
Ceres skims simply east of Denebola this month, transferring via a area comparatively devoid of background stars.



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