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. To subscribe or unsubscribe from the Daily Astronomer: https://lists.maine.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=DAILY-ASTRONOMER&A= <https://lists.maine.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=DAILY-ASTRONOMER&A=1>