THE SOUTHWORTH PLANETARIUM
70 Falmouth Street      Portland, Maine 04103
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43.6667° N    70.2667° W  Founded January 1970
2022-2023: XCI
Sunrise: 5:32 a.m.
Sunset: 7:44 p.m.
Civil twilight begins: 5:01 a.m.
Civil twilight ends: 8:16 p.m.
Sun's host constellation: Aries the Ram
Moon phase: Waxing gibbous (90% illuminated)
Moonrise: 4:34 p.m.
Moonset: 4:36 a.m. (5/3/2023)
Julian date: 2460067.29
       "Our greatest weakness lies in giving up.  The most certain way to
succeed is always to try just one more time."  -Thomas Edison

THE DAILY ASTRONOMER
Tuesday, May 2, 2023
May 2023 Night Sky Calendar


*MONDAY, MAY 1: MERCURY IN INFERIOR CONJUNCTION*
Let's imagine just for a moment that we're floating well above the plane of
the solar system.  Here we acknowledge that the terrestrial position of
'above' and 'below' have little meaning, but please play along.   While
we're perched in this exalted position, let's further imagine that we can
watch an accelerated version of the planetary motions.      We notice that
the inner worlds Mercury and Venus whip around the Sun rapidly while the
more distant planets chug along at a more G-d fearing clip.    This motion
variation is a consequence of the conservation of angular momentum.  We
also note that at times Mercury and Venus pass between the Sun and Earth, a
configuration called *inferior conjunction*.    A planet at or near this
position appears too close to the Sun to be visible, except, of course, on
those all-too-infrequent occasions when the planet passes directly across
the solar disk, an event known as a transit.*  Since Mercury will be
passing just north of the Sun today, we can expect no transit to occur.
    Mercury will move into the eastern pre-dawn sky later this month.

*FRIDAY, MAY 5:   FULL MOON*
Yes, every one of May's full moon sobriquets evokes images of warm
mornings, blossoming trees and soft winds redolent of fresh grass.
Tonight's full moon has been called the Budding moon, Egg Laying moon,
Planting moon, Grass moon.  It is also known as the Mother's moon, Hare
moon and Warm moon.

*FRIDAY, MAY 5: PENUMBRAL LUNAR ECLIPSE  ('visible' in Africa, Asia, Europe
and Oceania)*
It could strike someone as grotesquely unfair that North American viewers
missed last month's total solar eclipse and will miss the lunar eclipse
that follows.   However, missing a penumbral lunar eclipse is like missing
the emergence of a bubble forming behind aged wallpaper.   There's not much
to see.   The moon will pass through the penumbra, or the outer region of
Earth's shadow.   The resultant obscuration is minimal, if not
imperceptible, the wow factor is about equal to a negative three and the
awe will be about as binding as dessicated cotton candy filaments.       In
short, do not feel deprived because we won't behold the lunar eclipse.
There's not much to see, anyway.

[image: path2d-380.png]
The penumbral lunar eclipse will only be 'visible' within the shaded region
above.    Everyone within the Americas, UK, northernmost Europe and Asia
will not be able to watch this utter invisible event.        C'est la vie!
    Image:  Timeanddate.com

*SATURDAY, MAY 6: ETA AQUARID METEOR SHOWER PEAKS*
Do you know what's going to happen on December 9th of this year?   THE
Halley's Comet will reach aphelion, or its point of greatest distance from
the Sun.  At this time, this famed icy interloper will begin its lethargic
trek back toward the inner solar system.  Halley's Comet last appeared in
Earth's skies way back in 1986!    To make one appreciate how much the
world has changed in the interim, back in 1986 the Middle East was in
turmoil, oil prices were high, and many Americans were concerned that the
president might be too old to serve.

Even though we're giddily tapping our fingertips together in eager
anticipation of Halley's return, we'll have to wait until 2061 for the
comet to become visible again.  However, one needn't wait to see pieces of
Halley's comet.  They'll be flaming through the atmosphere tonight as the
Eta Aquarid meteor shower.     Although this shower favors the tropics
-who/what doesn't?- we should still be able to observe 15 - 25 meteors an
hour this evening.    However, viewing will be diminished due to gibbous
moon's light interference.   All the same. one should see more meteors than
usual tonight, especially if one observes the eastern sky after midnight.

 The meteors will appear to originate around the star Eta Aquarid, hence
the name.

[image: eta-aquarid-shower1.jpg]
The radiant, or the point from which the meteors appear to emanate, is
located within the northern region of Aquarius,  near the asterism known as
'the water jug.'

*FRIDAY, MAY 12: LAST QUARTER MOON*
The moon was at perigee, its closest point to the Sun, yesterday.    Since
the full moon close to perigee is known as a Super Moon, is there any
special name for a quarter moon which occurs on or around perigee?    No.
It is merely called the 'last quarter moon that occurs on or around
perigee.'



*The next transit of Mercury:  November 13, 2032
The next transit of Venus:  December 11, 2117

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