70 Falmouth Street Portland, Maine 04103 43.6667° N 70.2667° W Altitude: 10 feet below sea level Founded January 1970 Julian Date: 2459327.18
2020-2021: CXIX
THE DAILY ASTRONOMER
Wednesday, April 28, 2021
May 2021 Night Sky Calendar Part I
Leaping ahead a bit, are we?
Not really. May begins on Saturday! We've scheduled the weekly quiz on Friday, which leaves us two days in which to at least begin to post the monthly night sky calendar.
SATURDAY, MAY 1: MAY DAY (BELTANE)
We all know about the different seasonal points:
- vernal equinox (~March 21)
- summer solstice (~June 21)
- autumnal equinox (~Sept 22/23)
- winter solstice. (~December 21)
The calendar also includes four cross-quarter days, those midway between successive seasonal points:
- Imbolc (Groundhog's Day) Feb 2 [Between the winter solstice and vernal equinox]
- Beltane (May Day) May 1 [Between the vernal equinox and summer solstice]
- Lammas : August 1 [Between the summer solstice and autumnal equinox]
- Samhain (Halloween) October 31 [Between the autumnal equinox and winter solstice.]
Today is May 1, the second of the four cross quarter days. Although spring started more than a month ago, consistent spring-like weather should arrive someday soon.
SUNDAY, MAY 2: TA TA, TAURUS!
Using constellations as calendars is deliciously good fun! Regard the zodiac constellation Taurus the Bull. The Sun appears to move through Taurus between May 15 - June 21. In fact, the Sun leaves Taurus just after the summer solstice and moves into Gemini. Consequently, one shouldn't bother to find Taurus in May as its stars will appear too close to the Sun. However, by late July one can see Taurus rising in the pre-dawn eastern sky. Its v-shaped face, consisting primarily of the Hyades Star Cluster, will appear in full just before the intensifying twilight obscures it. Remember that stars rise four minutes earlier each day so that by late summer, Taurus will be well placed in the eastern morning sky. By autumn, Taurus will move into the evening sky. By early winter, Taurus -and the Pleiades Star Cluster poised on its shoulder- rises in the early evening. However, as winter is far away from us, Taurus is about to exit stage west.
MONDAY, MAY 3: LAST QUARTER MOON
MONDAY, MAY 3: SATURN 4.4 DEGREES NORTH OF THE MOON
The last quarter moon and Saturn will rise together just after 2:00 a.m. today. At magnitude 0.7, Saturn is about as bright as Altair, the brightest star in Aquila the Eagle. Having the moon appear nearby will help one find this moderately bright planet. One important note: the configuration above doesn't last long as the moon moves 1/2 degree every hour. Throughout the morning, one will see the moon appear to shift away from the sixth world in our sky. Both the moon and Saturn will occupy the constellation Capricornus the Seagoat.
TUESDAY, MAY 4: JUPITER 4.9 DEGREES NORTH OF THE MOON
See the waning crescent moon (43% illuminated) just south of Jupiter, the brighter of the two morning sky planets. One will observe both worlds by 3:00 a.m.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 5: ETA AQUARID METEOR SHOWER PEAKS
Although considered a minor shower, the Eta Aquarid shower is particularly noteworthy because Halley's Comet is its parent body. Although we won't see Halley's Comet in our sky again until 2061, we can still see the lights its particles create when they infiltrate the atmosphere. While one might see 30 - 40 meteors an hour at the peak time after midnight, this shower tends to favor tropical and southern hemisphere observers because the radiant is located in Aquarius, one of the most southerly of the zodiac constellations.
THURSDAY, MAY 6: AN EARLY MORNING ISS FLY-OVER
Early risers won't want to miss the bright ISS fly-over this morning.
At 2:59:56 a.m, the International Space Station will appear 26 degrees above the NW horizon.
At 3:00:39 a.m. the ISS attains its maximum altitude of 29 degrees. At that time, the ISS will shine at magnitude -2.0, making it as bright as Jupiter.
At 3:05:56, the station will set on the ENE horizon.
Refer to the star chart below to see the ISS path through the starfield.
TUESDAY, MAY 11: NEW MOON
Beginning of Lunation cycle 1217
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