THE SOUTHWORTH PLANETARIUM
70 Falmouth Street      Portland, Maine 04103
(207) 780-4249      usm.maine.edu/planet
43.6667° N    70.2667° W  Founded January 1970
2022-2023: XCIII
Sunrise: 5:15 a.m.
Sunset: 8:00 p.m.
Civil twilight begins: 4:42 a.m.
Civil twilight ends: 8:34 p.m.
Sun's host constellation: Taurus the Bull
Moon phase: Waning crescent (10% illuminated)
Moonrise: 3:46 a.m.
Moonset: 6:04 p.m. (5/17/2023)
Julian date: 2460081.29
                "Keeping a watchful eye on a complex sky"


THE DAILY ASTRONOMER
Tuesday,  May 16, 2023
May 2023 Night Sky Calendar  Part III: Planets



*MERCURY:  *
Mercury observing is hardly an occupation for those who lack patience.
This elusive little planet always remains within close proximity to Sol
owing to, well, its close proximity to Sol.   It  is the first planet and
never ventures farther than 28 degrees from the Sun in our  sky.      On
May 1st, Mercury passed through *inferior conjunction*, at which time it
moved between Earth and the Sun, rendering it invisible.   By mid-month,
Mercury will emerge in the pre-dawn eastern sky, but will continue to be a
difficult object to observe.    However, on May 29th, Mercury reaches its
point of greatest western elongation: its point  of maximum apparent
separation from the Sun.   VERDICT:   Heavens, this verdict is straight
forward. Wait until late month to seek out Mercury.  Although it will never
dazzle nor delight, at least it will be easier to behold toward the end of
May.

*VENUS: (PICK  PLANET!):*
Oh, it couldn't possibly be simpler.    While you're outside in the early
evening chanting lamentations toward the fading dusk and wishing for the
day to be reborn so you can set everything right again, you'll behold a
blazing orb as beautiful as Aphrodite's silken tresses and as brilliant as
the Principia Mathematica.  That fiercely hot little dot is none other than
Venus, the Dantean fire sphere that outshines all the other celestial
spheres apart from the moon.    Throughout May the second world will stray
ever farther from the Sun as it approaches its greatest eastern elongation
on June 4th.    VERDICT:  As easy as 3.14159...stumble outside soon after
dark and you'll be confronted with a celestial spectacle as eye-catching as
a reptilian tongue.  Venus will remain an evening sky beacon until late
summer when it will vanish into the dusk.

*MARS:*
Only  on rare occasions does Mars glow brightly enough to beguile our
senses.  Alas, this isn't one of those occasions.   Mars is currently 208
times dimmer than Venus, the spotlight-hogging sphere with which it shares
the western evening sky stage.      VERDICT:  Although it lacks the fierce
incandescence  of Venus, Mars is still distinctive because of its reddish
hue, which is currently a bit faint.     If  you're outside worshipping
Venus, you could well spare half  a hymn for its red-headed cousin.

*JUPITER*
Jupiter hid behind the Sun on April 11th and will return to the  pre-dawn
eastern sky by mid-May.   At magnitude -1.9 Jupiter  already outshines the
brightest star Sirius -which is about to vanish into the dusk-, but remains
a bit difficult to observe owing to  its low position along the eastern
horizon.  VERDICT:  If you don't mind rising early, you could snatch a
glimpse of Jupiter in the east before sunrise.  By the end of May, the
fifth world rises by 3:30 a.m. Note: Jupiter will be at opposition on
November 3rd.

*SATURN*
The most distant of the naked eye worlds rises by 3:20 a.m. in early May
and by 1:30 a.m. by  late May.  Although it is not the brightest star, at
magnitude 1.0, Saturn shines as brightly as Spica, the alpha star in Virgo
the Maiden.         VERDICT:  If you're up well after midnight and want to
seek out the ringed planet,  just look into the eastern sky.      Saturn
reaches opposition on August 27th.



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