Introduction
The month of April ended with a few thunderstorms and rain showers as well as some nice weather and clear skies. The last week of April also offered Utahns another unique chance of viewing the Northern Lights. The Northern Lights are unpredictable, especially in Utah. An interested observer needs to pay attention to the local news or use an app like SpaceWeatherLive to help track the possibility of viewing these lights over Utah.
May will likely continue the rainy weather and the temperature warmup that began in April. Hopefully, there will also be some clear skies for stargazers to enjoy the night sky. May will offer observers the chance to view another meteor shower, although the number of meteors to be seen will be limited. The Moon will occult, or pass between the Earth and Jupiter, blocking the giant planet from view during the second half of the month. Mars and Venus can be found paired together in the evening sky.
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| Mercury |
Mercury will reach inferior conjunction with the Sun on May 1st and will be hard to spot for most of the month. The innermost planet can be found in the morning sky, close to Jupiter. This gas giant can be used to help find Mercury around the 23rd of May when the pair are located within 7° of one another. The best chance of viewing Mercury will come on the 29th when this planet reaches its greatest western elongation, allowing it to rise above the Utah mountains about 30 minutes before the Sun.
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| Venus |
Venus will continue to shine brightly throughout May, making it an easy object to spot shortly after the Sun sinks below the western horizon. During the first few evenings of the month, Venus can be found between the horns of Taurus. Mars can be found a short distance above Venus, in Gemini the Twins. As the month progresses, Venus will rise higher in the sky as Mars dips closer to the horizon. Venus will pass into Gemini by the second week of the month. By the end of May, Venus will be in the same position, near Pollux in Gemini, as Mars was at the beginning of the month. A conjunction will occur between Venus and Mars in July. The Moon can be found close by on the 22nd and 23rd of this month.
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| Mars |
Mars will start the month off in Gemini, near the bright star Pollux. This star will be similar in color to Mars, so don't confuse this pair of red lights in the sky! Mars will slowly make its way to the next constellation to the East, Cancer the Crab. This transition will occur by the 17th of this month. As observers watch the Red Planet, they will notice it moving closer to M44, the Beehive Cluster. Mars won't quite reach this Messier object during May but will pass in front of this open star cluster in June. This will create a great astrophotography opportunity as well as a visual treat. The Moon will join Mars in the night sky on the 24th.
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| Jupiter |
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| Saturn |
Jupiter was in conjunction with the Sun on April 11 and is slowly making its reappearance in the morning sky. With each passing morning, Jupiter will rise earlier, leading up to its best views in May occurring at the end of the month as it rises about an hour before the Sun. Like many observers, the Moon also can't wait to view Jupiter and will meet up with this planet on the 17th. On this date, the Moon will occult Jupiter, completely blocking it from view. This will occur around 5:45 in the morning for those interested in watching.
Saturn will rise above the eastern horizon around five in the morning at the beginning of the month and a full two hours earlier by the end of the month. Saturn will make a great target to view for observers waiting for Jupiter to rise above the horizon, especially near the 17th when the Moon will occult Jupiter. The best time to view Saturn will come at the end of the month when it can be found higher in the sky, trying to escape the glow of the Sun. The Moon can be found close by on the 13th of May.
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| Neptune |
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| Uranus |
The two ice giants can be viewed through a pair of binoculars but will look their best through a telescope. Uranus reaches conjunction with the Sun on May 9th and will be lost from view for most of the month. The best chance for viewing Uranus will come at the end of the month when it rises above the horizon about an hour before the Sun. However, this distant planet will likely be washed out in the morning glow of the Sun so interested observers may need to wait until later in the year to view this planet.
Neptune fairs a little better than Uranus during May. This most distant ice giant will rise above the horizon around 5:45 in the morning on the 1st and about two hours earlier by the end of the month. The Moon will join Neptune in the sky on the morning of the 14th.
Meteor Shower
The Eta Aquariid Meteor Shower will return to the skies in May. This shower will appear to radiate from Aquarius, near Saturn, in the morning sky on the 6th. Typically, an observer can expect to see up to 50 meteors per hour during this shower, however, this year, the Full Moon will severely affect the number of meteors that can be seen. Due to the Full Moon, the best time to view this shower will come the week before and after the peak date.
Spot Me....🕵️
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| Ursa Major can be found high in the northeastern sky after sunset. |
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| Ursa Major and the surrounding constellations with constellation lines. |
The first target in Ursa Major is M40 (aka Win 4, Winnecke 4) which is the only double star in the Messier Catalog. M40 lies about 510 light years from our Sun and can be seen with binoculars. To find M40, locate the star that makes up the base of the Great Bear's tail and then slightly drop your field of view towards the Ursa Minor (Little Dipper) and this double star should pop into view. Even though a pair of binoculars can be used to see M40, a telescope will allow this object to be found more easily. See the image below for the location of M40.
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| Location of M40 in Ursa Major. |
The next two objects can be found in a single field of view if a low-power eyepiece is used. The first object is M81 (aka Bode's Galaxy, NGC 3031) and is a spiral galaxy. The second object is M82 (aka Cigar Galaxy, NGC 3034) and is a lenticular galaxy. To find both of these objects, move towards the head of the Great Bear and again slightly shift your field of view towards Ursa Minor, more specifically, towards Polaris. See the image below for the location of M81 and M82.
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| Location of M81 and M82 in Ursa Major. |
The two images below show the location of the three objects discussed in this post.
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| Location of M40, M81, and M82 in Ursa Major. |
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| Location of M40, M81, and M82 in Ursa Major with constellation lines. |
The images in the "Spot Me..." section are provided by Stellarium, a free planetarium software. Here is an updated file of the Messier Catalog. Be sure to check back around the 15th of May for the remaining Messier objects in Ursa Major!
Monthly Breakdown
May 05: Full Moon 🌕
May 06: Eta Aquariid Meteor Shower peaks
May 10: Mars and Pollux within 5°
May 12: Last Quarter Moon🌗
May 13: Moon passes within 3° of Saturn
May 17: Moon occults Jupiter
May 19: New Moon 🌑
May 27: First Quarter Moon 🌓
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| Now get outside and look up! |
Planet images were taken by NASA.
Andrew vs. the Cosmos was taken by Jeff Greenland.
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