Astronomy a Go Go! May Sky Tour
This tool displays the approximate Moon phases for a given month(images are close approximations). For official phase times and dates for this month and past months are available from the U.S. Naval Observatory.
Astronomical Online Glossary
Download this month's sky map!
Skymaps.com is our favorite monthly skymap provider. Download either the Northern hemisphere, Equatorial, or Southern Hemisphere sky map so you can follow along with our viewing sessions.
Creator: Kym Thalassoudis
Southern Hemisphere Additional Information
As Astronomy a Go Go! finds its home in the higher Northern latitudes those of you who live south of the equator will benefit from these two Southern Hemisphere sites: Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand's Southern Hemisphere Calendar RASNZ site (absolutely outstanding) and
Southern Sky Watch.
M13 image courtesy of my friend Gianluca Masi at the "Virtual Telescope - Bellatrix Observatory" in Italy! Follow him on Facebook!
May Planets
(click images to enlarge)
- Mercury- In the morning sky during the last three weeks of May viewing is better the further south your latitude. Greatest elongation west on the 26th. 5.8 mag (1st) to 0.9 (21st)
- Venus- Beautiful in the western twilight. Look for the crescent Moon occulting Venus on the 16th visible in the Eastern Hemisphere. -4.0 mag (1st) to -4.0 mag (21st)
- Mars- Fantastic! Moving from Cancer to Leo this month. 0.7 (1st) to 1.0 mag (21st)
- Jupiter- Near the Pisces-Aquarius border in the morning sky. Favors the southern hemisphere -2.1 mag (1st) to -2.2 mag (21st)
- Saturn- High in the early evening sky in the arms of Virgo all month. The rings continue to open with clear spaces, on the sides, now visible in small scopes and binoculars. 0.7 mag (1st) to 0.7 mag (21st)
- Uranus- In Pisces just to the south of the 'circlet' in the eastern morning sky 5.9 mag (1st) to 5.9 mag (21st)
- Neptune- On the Aquarius-Capricorn in the eastern morning sky 7.9 mag (1st) to 7.9 mag (21st)
Astronomical Highlights for May 2010
Days and Times in UT: (help with time)
Observations are for 8 pm for Northern Hemisphere and 10 pm for the Southern Hemisphere.
Today's sunrise and sunset times or plan ahead using the US Naval Observatory Website
Occultation information can be found at the IOTA website!
| Day | Event |
| 2 |
- Mercury in descending mode |
| 3 |
- Venus 6.4 degree N of Aldebaran |
| 4 |
- Pallas at opposition |
| 6 |
- Last Quarter Moon |
| |
- Moon at apogee (404236 km) |
| |
- eta Aquarid meteor shower peak. A light shower, usually producing about 10 meteors per hour at their peak. Viewing should be good on any morning from May 4 - 7. The radiant point for this shower will be in the constellation Aquarius. Look to the east after midnight. |
| 9 |
- Jupiter 7 degrees S of the Moon |
| 11 |
- Mercury stationary |
| 12 |
- Mercury at aphelion AND 8 degrees S of the Moon |
| 14 |
- New Moon (1:04 UT) |
| 16 |
- Venus at perihelion |
| |
- Venus 0.1 degree S of the Moon, possible occultation |
| |
- Moon 0.04 degrees N of M35(Gemini) |
| 20 |
- Moon at perigee (369733 km) |
| |
- Mars 5 degrees N of Moon |
| |
- First Quarter |
| 21 |
- Venus 0.7degree N of M35(Gemini) |
| 23 |
- Saturn 8 degrees N of Moon |
| 26 |
- Mercury greatest elongation W |
| 27 |
- Full Moon (23:07 UT) |
| 28 |
- Antares 1.8 degrees S of Moon |
| 29 |
- Ceres 0.01 degrees N of Moon, possible occultation |
| 31 |
- Saturn stationary |
Date information courtesy of: RASC Observer's Handbook, Skymaps.com, Astronomical Calendar 2009, CalSky, Skymaps.com. sunrise and sunset times for your home*
Comparative lengths of day and night
This month our observing will take in 10 more galaxies...faint fuzzy objects. Most are possible to see in binoculars, but you will need a telescope and dark skies to really enjoy the sights. This will be a good practice for the Virgo Cluster of galaxies. Besides these bright and spectacular objects are a treat to tired eyes after a night of galaxy hunting.
- M51
- The famous Whirlpool galaxy in Canes Venatici is a bright face on spiral with a smaller elliptical companion, NGC 5195. Look for a pair of fuzzy patches of light. The slightly larger and brighter one is M51. Make sure to spend some time here as there is almost always some spiral structure to be seen, on good nights the detail possible is unbelievable. This is a difficult but very possible object in binoculars appearing as a hazy patch of light.
- M63
- Another spiral galaxy in Canes Venatici smaller and fainter than M51, but seen more edge on so the galaxy appears as an elongated patch of light with a bright star at one end. Further inspection will show a faint halo around this patch. A difficult object in binoculars.
- M94
- Just past M63 is another galaxy in Canes Vanitici. Look for a bright fuzzy star to find the core of M94, surrounded by a faint haze. A tough binocular object.
- M101
- In Ursa Major one of the most difficult Messier objects to find in a telescope. This is a large faint patch of light almost as big as the full moon. There are no real condensations so use low power and look for a brighter part of the sky, more of a change in contrast than an object at first glance, which is the galaxy. Dark skies really help in the search of this one and are a to find M101 in binoculars.
- M102
- Not an official Messier object in most references, we will look for the galaxy NGC 5866 which is a somewhat standard insertion. Look for a small, faint patch light that looks like a short fuzzy line.
- M64
- In a telescope this galaxy in Coma Berenices is a fairly bright, slightly oval shaped patch of light. Look for the dark lane which gives this galaxy the common name Black Eye. The galaxy appears as a faint fuzzy patch in binoculars.
- M85
- This elliptical galaxy lies in Coma Berenices just north of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies. This appears as a bright, but small, patch of light with a bright stellar core.
- M49
- This is an elliptical galaxy in Virgo just south of the main cluster of galaxies. M49 is round patch of light with bright center gradually fading to a round halo. M49 looks like a faint fuzzy star in binoculars.
- M61
- This is a face on spiral galaxy just south of M49 in Virgo, but much fainter. Look for a faint, round fuzzy patch of light.
- M104
- This is the well known Sombrero galaxy in Virgo. It is bright edge on spiral galaxy which looks like a bright, elongated streak. It is very possible to see in binoculars.
From the Astronomical Connection and the Moncton Center in Canada
From the Tony Cecce, Corning, NY - Twelve Month Tour of The Messier Catalog
Bright(er) Comets for May 2010
More comet information at Seiichi Yoshida's comet website. Also checkout Gary Kronk's comet and meteor pages
Skyhound Comet pages
Historical and Current Events
...Did you know?
Mark has developed his own website so let's all trot on over and see the pages of wonderful history he has for us this month!
Help us out by leaving a donation in the ol' PayPal hat
or write us a favorable review in iTunes of Podcast Pickle or iPodder!
Music B.D. Lenz -"Lazy Bones"
Gred Federico- "Beneath the Stars"
Great Big Sea- "Eavesdropper's/Both Meat and Drink/Off We Go"
Great Astronomy Activities!
Citizen Sky
For those in Northern Hemisphere, Capella, the "She Goat" in Aurigae, is circumpolar. At my 47 deg North, Capella disappears behind the tree line, and into the light polluted horizon, but she pops up in a few hours and is easy to find. Also easy to find are epsilon Aurigae (al Maaz the Billy Goat) and "The Kids" which make a small, long, triangle of stars just to the Southwest of Capella.
For the next 21 months Epsilon Aurigae, usually the brightest of the trio, will start behaving quite differently than it has for the past 27 years. Epsilon Aurigae is a type of variable star called an eclipsing binary. Epsilon Aurigae and some unknown dark partner, rotate around a common center of mass and every 27 years that dark companion eclipses the giant F-type star. August marks the anticipated beginning for that eclipse which will last for 714 days, dimming from 3.0 mag to about half of its brightness.
So why am I calling this a great astronomy activity? Epsilon Aurigae has some definite quirks and more eyes are needed to help scientist figure out what Epsilon Aurigae's invisible partner really is! We need help...WE NEED YOU!! Anyone can participate; we need people to observe epsilon Aurigae, folks to look at the data for quirks, patterns, or voids, artist to help present the data to the public, friends willing to get the word out to others! To find out more visit:
