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Look Up, Get Lucky

By Lewis McCool �2009

MOON PHASES

First quarter: May 1, 2:44 p.m.; May 30, 9:22 p.m.

Full*: May 8, 10:01 p.m.

Last quarter: May 17, 1:26 a.m.

New: May 24, 6:11 a.m.

*May’s full moon is called the “Flower Moon,” thanks to the abundance of flowers this month.

IN HISTORY

May 1, 1949 – Sixty years ago, Dutch-born American astronomer Gerard Kuiper discovered the Neptunian moon Nereid.

May 5, 1961 – In his Mercury capsule “Freedom 7,” astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American in space as a Redstone rocket boosted the craft 115 miles high during the 15-minute suborbital mission.

May 11, 1918 – Birth of charismatic physicist-educator Richard Feynman, who pointed out, “Nature cannot be fooled.” He died in 1988.

May 18, 1969 – 40 years ago, the Apollo 10 crew of Thomas Stafford, John Young and Gene Cernan were launched en route to the moon to rehearse the lunar landing that would be accomplished two months later by Apollo 11.

May 21, 1961 – President John F. Kennedy delivered his speech that launched the nation on a race to the moon with the Soviet Union.

May 28, 1959 – Fifty years ago, the U.S. launched the first primates into space, rhesus monkeys Abel and Baker, on a suborbital flight atop a Jupiter C rocket.

Now that we are fully immersed in spring, outdoor activities in the evening ? including stargazing ? can be very rewarding.

May is chosen for annual Astronomy Day festivities for that very reason. This year the date is May 2. Check out local publications and Web sites, including www.astroleague.org, for information on related activities that may be planned in your area.

The annual Eta Aquarid meteor shower peaks on the morning of May 6. Unfortunately, this year the nearly full moon will interfere. The shower's low radiant point in the constellation Aquarius adds to the difficulty in spotting the "shooting stars." Still, if you are out and about in the predawn hours, look up. You might get lucky.

Two brilliant planets dominate the eastern sky before sunrise.

Venus is the "morning star" and cannot be missed, shining at magnitude minus 4.5. In Pisces, it rises about 4:30 a.m. on May 1 and a few minutes earlier each day. The crescent moon will hover nearby on the mornings of May 20 and 21.

The gas giant, Jupiter, in Capricornus, rises around 3 a.m. in early May and nearly two hours earlier by month's end. Though not as bright as Venus, it shines at magnitude minus 2.4 and is easy to spot with the naked eye. However, a telescope will reveal a bonus nearby.

The outermost designated planet, Neptune, can be seen in the same field of view as Jupiter beginning around mid-May. The two planets will be less than 1 degree apart. They will be closest on the morning of May 25. Neptune is quite faint (magnitude 8). The slighter brighter star Mu Capricorni (magnitude 5) will be in the vicinity, but Neptune's tiny bluish disk should help distinguish between the two.

The tiny greenish disk of Uranus (magnitude 5.8) might be worth a look with your scope in late May. By the third week of the month, it rises shortly after 3 a.m. and is about 20 degrees west of Venus in Pisces.

Mars, too, is in the predawn sky, but it appears closer to the sun in our sky than Venus and is much fainter (magnitude 1.2), so it is difficult to spot in morning twilight. It's about 6 degrees east of Venus, so you might be able to pick it out before sunrise in mid- to late May.

Speedy Mercury was relatively easy to locate in evening twilight during April and still lingers there in early May. But it's dropping fast and will soon be lost in the sun's glare as it passes between us and the sun (inferior conjunction) on May 18.

Beautiful Saturn is well up in the western sky after dark. Shining at magnitude 0.8 in Leo, it is definitely worth a look. Our waxing gibbous moon is nearby on May 3-4. Saturn ends its retrograde motion against the background of stars on May 17 and resumes normal (eastward) motion. Take note of the angle of its rings, as they will gradually close from our perspective this summer.

As of this writing, the space shuttle mission STS-125 is scheduled for launch on May 12. Its goal is the fourth and final repair/upgrade mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. A successful mission will expand Hubble's capabilities and extend its expected lifespan. Since its launch in 1990, Hubble has been one of the most successful space missions and has provided thousands upon thousands of inspiring and scientifically invaluable photographs of our universe. Keep your fingers crossed that all goes well.