Photo of the Week. Clouds roll beneath a vivid blue
sky.
Astronomy news for the week starting Friday, May 14, 2010.
Having gone through new on Thursday, May 13, the Moon waxes this
week in its crescent phase, finally
reaching first quarter the night of
Thursday the 20th, when it is close to the celestial meridian to the south, allowing
you to see the quarter in near perfection. While the first
sighting of the crescent could be in twilight the evening of Friday
the 14th, it will be much easier to see the following evening, that
of Saturday the 15th, when the Moon will make a lovely pairing with
Venus
, which will be up and to the left. Then look the following
night to see them switch places, Venus now down and to the right of
the silvery crescent. However they are positioned, the sight of
the Moon and Venus, the two brightest objects in the sky (aside
from the Sun and the
occasional meteor
) is always a treat.
The night of Thursday the 20th, the Moon will glide a few degrees southwest of Mars.
Look for it next just to the south of Regulus in Leo the night of the first quarter, when it will also
be near perigee, its closest point to Earth.
Venus of course now dominates the early evening sky, as it shines
brightly to the west-northwest, nicely positioned passing between
the horns of Taurus. While
setting later each evening, now about 10:30 PM Daylight Time, the
end of twilight is getting later each night as well and keeping
good relative pace with the bright planet, Venus still setting only
about an hour after the sky is truly dark.
In early evening set high in the southwest, Mars does better. The
red planet, now in western Leo just
to the west of Leo's Sickle and
Regulus, does not set until 2 AM. Watch over the next three months
as Mars slowly gains on Saturn
, which still resides in far western Virgo rather well to the west of Spica, Mars, Regulus, Saturn, and
Spica all in a nice row. The two planets will come into
conjunction August 28. Saturn finally sets around 3:30 AM just
before dawn begins to light the sky and about the time
Jupiter rises, the giant planet making a nice sight in eastern
twilight.
With spring well advanced, the winter stars have pretty much
disappeared, and those of summer are coming in. Nearly gone are
Taurus and Gemini, replaced by
Leo and Virgo, Leo to the east of bright Mars, which has just left
Cancer and the Beehive cluster behind. Above
them all glides the Big Dipper of Ursa
Major.
