Astro News

Comet Schwassmann- Wachmann 3 continues to crumble in the late-night
sky. Its two main pieces, now some 12° apart, are about 7th magnitude,
moving across Hercules into Lyra high in late evening. Moonlight
compromises the view this week and much of next. However, you can still
catch a short spell of moonless dark sky before the first light of
dawn on the mornings of May 6th and 7th.

After that, the next good moonless view doesn't come until late on the
night of May 17-18. But keep observing right through the moonlight
regardless!

In particular, on the evening of May 7th for North America, the
brightest piece of the comet, Fragment C, passes almost exactly over
the Ring Nebula in Lyra. Closest approach should be around 11 p.m. EDT
Think photo opportunity.

Friday, May 5

The Eta Aquarid meteor shower should be at its peak before dawn around
this date. The Eta Aquarids are mostly for tropical and, especially,
Southern Hemisphere observers. The Moon is first quarter and sets by
the middle of the night.

Jupiter's Great Red Spot should cross Jupiter's central meridian
around 12:12 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time Saturday morning. The "red"
spot is currently pale orange-tan. It should be visible for at least
50 minutes before and after in a good 4-inch telescope if the
atmospheric seeing is sharp and steady. A light blue or green filter
helps. Following about 1 hour 10 minutes behind the Great Red Spot
is "Red Spot Junior".

Saturday, May 6

The Moon shines in Leo, with Regulus to its right at dusk and to its
lower right later in the night.

Sunday, May 7

Comet Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 (Fragment C) crosses the Ring Nebula
in Lyra tonight!.

Jupiter's Great Red Spot should transit around 1:50 a.m. Monday
morning Eastern Daylight Time.

Monday, May 8

Jupiter's Great Red Spot transits around 9:33 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

Tuesday, May 9

Look for Spica about a third of the way from the Moon to Jupiter this
evening. Below the Moon is the constellation Corvus.

Wednesday, May 10

Late this afternoon, the dark limb of the waxing gibbous Moon occults
Spica in daylight for much of eastern North America, low above the eastern
horizon.

Jupiter's Great Red Spot should transit around 11:19 p.m. EDT.

Thursday, May 11

Jupiter shines left of the Moon this evening, as shown here. Alpha Librae
below it is a nice, wide double star for binoculars.

This Week's Planet Roundup

Mercury is hidden in the glow of sunrise.

Venus is the bright "Morning Star" very low in the east at dawn.

Mars glows orange-red in the west during evening. In a telescope it's
only 5 arcseconds wide - a tiny blob.

Jupiter was at opposition on the night of May 3-4. It shines low in the
southeast in twilight, climbs higher after dark, poses at its highest in the
south in the middle of the night, and descends to the southwest before dawn.

Saturn shines pale yellow high in the southwest during evening, between
Gemini
and Leo. Just 2° upper left of Saturn is the big Beehive Star Cluster, M44.
Watch Saturn close in on it during May. This week Saturn forms a nearly
equilateral triangle with the faint stars Delta and Gamma Cancri
(magnitudes 4.0 and 4.7, respectively); the Beehive is centered in the
triangle.

Uranus is still low in the glow of dawn, upper right of Venus.

Neptune is in the southeast just before dawn.

Pluto is high in the south before dawn.

Xena, or officially 2003 UB313,is behind the glare of the Sun.



--
The Lone Sidewalk Astronomer of Rosamond

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