The moon begins this month just past first quarter, and is at full phase May 7. This will put a damper on the Eta Aquariid meteor shower May 6 and 7, overpowering all but the brightest meteors. By May 12, Jupiter and Saturn are within two or three degrees of the moon in the morning pre-dawn sky. Mars is at a close three degrees May 14. May 24, Venus, Mercury, and the minor planet Vesta are all close by our satellite. Vesta is occulted for viewers in North America, except the west and north coasts of British Columbia. An occultation like this can be an exciting event, watching the solar system in motion, as the moon overtakes the tiny object and moves in front for about an hour. Then the minor planet appears on the sunlit side of the moon as the occultation ends. The difficult part is the time of day – the event occurs in full daylight.
Mercury is coming out from behind the sun for the first half of the month, shining low in the west at twilight May 12 and gradually moving up (east) to pass by Venus May 22. This apparition presents a good opportunity to spot the speedy planet as the ecliptic is almost vertical for viewers in the Northern Hemisphere. Use Venus as your guide in the nights leading up to May 24, when the moon joins in, to get a feel for Mercury’s appearance.
Venus has been shining high in the west through April, and on May 13, begins its downward trek to inferior conjunction in early June. The bright planet joins up with the moon and Mercury, as mentioned above, May 24.
Mars is a morning object, along with Jupiter and Saturn. Early risers can catch all three naked-eye planets in a row about 4 a.m. in the early part of May. Neptune is in there, too, but not without optical assistance. Watch for the moon May 14. The Red Planet appears gradually larger as it nears Earth, so astrophotographers are taking advantage of this time to capture impressive detailed images.
Jupiter shares the morning sky with Mars and Saturn, rising around 3 a.m., just ahead of Saturn. The moon glides by the two large planets May 12, then goes by Mars May 14.
The same can be said about Saturn as was stated above for Jupiter, they are that close in the sky, leading up to an extreme event Dec. 21, when Jupiter and Saturn are 0.1 degrees apart – a rare event.
Uranus is too close to the sun to be seen until late in the month.
Neptune rises just about at sunup, so a difficult object for viewing.
James Edgar has had an interest in the night sky all his life. He joined the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada in 2000, was national president for two terms, is now the editor of the Observer’s Handbook, and production manager of the bi-monthly RASC Journal. The IAU named asteroid 1995 XC5 “(22421) Jamesedgar” in his honour.
