SKY VIEWS   May 2013

Moon Phase right now.

Jay Respler        Freehold NJ         732-431-1464        E-mail: JRespler@superlink.net

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- Venus, Jupiter and Mercury will have a

spectacular series of conjunctions in evening twilight during the

last half of May. Skywatchers will need a clear view of the western

horizon to see the stately dance of the planets as it unfolds.



The month will begin with Jupiter high and Venus low in the

west-northwest soon after sunset. Each evening Jupiter will settle

lower while Venus drifts higher as they move toward conjunction on

May 28.



Mercury will be out of sight for the first half of May as it passes

behind the sun, but it will reappear in the evening sky on May 19,

forming a line with Venus and Jupiter low in the west-northwest.

Venus will be 4 degrees to the upper left (south) of Mercury, and

Jupiter 9 degrees to the upper left of Venus. Binoculars may be

needed to pick Mercury out of the bright twilight.



The line will be shorter each evening as Mercury appears higher and

Jupiter lower. Then from May 24 to 29, Venus, Jupiter and Mercury

will form a triangle that fits within a circle less than 5 degrees

wide. Binoculars will show all three planets in the same field of

view. The trio will be most compact on the evening of May 26 in North

and South America. On May 28, Venus and Jupiter, the two brightest

planets, will be only 1 degree apart. Try to see these planets

immediately after sunset, when they will be highest above the

horizon.



By May 31 the three planets will again be in a line, but this time it

will be getting longer, with Venus to the lower right of Mercury and

Jupiter to the lower right of Venus. An animation of the three

planets' changing configurations can be seen at

skypub.com/may2013planets.



As evening twilight fades during May, bright yellow Saturn will come

into view in the southeastern sky. It will be highest in the south

around midnight. The white star Spica will be about 15 degrees to

Saturn's right (west) and not as bright. Saturn's rings will be

tilted 18 degrees to our line of sight. Its largest moon, Titan, will

be due south of the planet on May 6 and 22 and due north on May 14

and 30.



Mars will be too close to the sun to be seen during May.



Meteor shower



This month Earth will encounter a stream of dust left behind in space

by Comet Halley, causing the Eta Aquarid meteor shower that will peak

before dawn on May 6. The shower will be active for a few days before

and after the peak as well. The meteors will appear to come from a

point called the radiant in the constellation Aquarius, which will

rise in the east about two hours before the start of morning

twilight. The higher this point is above the horizon, the more

meteors will be visible. The waning crescent moon will not rise until

around 4 a.m. local time that night, providing a moonless sky for

viewing meteors.



Observers in the Northern Hemisphere may see around 25 meteors per

hour, because Aquarius will be close to the eastern horizon. Those

watching in the Southern Hemisphere will see Aquarius much higher in

the sky, and there may be twice as many meteors per hour at the peak.



Moon phases



The moon will be at third quarter on May 2, new on May 9, at first

quarter on May 18, full on May 25 and at third quarter again on May

31.


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Questions about space and astronomy, and comments and suggestions about this SkyViews site are welcome.
 Write to Jay Respler,   JRespler@superlink.net

Sky Views is compiled by Jay Respler and is based on information from the Sky Report
of Abrams Planetarium, Department of Physics & Astronomy at Michigan State University, and Hal Kibbey of the Indiana University Office of Communications & Marketing. Thanks are extended for their cooperation.