Tag: constellation cancer

June 2010 Night Sky

Want to see where your star is in the night sky?

Stars are located within constellations, which are just areas of the night sky. Scorpius, Aries and Taurus are examples of constellations. Your Name A Star Live Star Certificate displays the name of your constellation.

You can use our online World Constellation Guide to determine if you can see your constellation during the evening hours (between sunset and midnight). Of course, you’ll need a telescope to see your star. (That’s why we include the SLOOH online telescope experience in our Deluxe, Framed and Ultimate Gift Sets!) But you can see your constellation without the use of a telescope.

Star-forming galaxies like grains of sand

Thousands of galaxies crowd into this recently-released Herschel Space Observatory image of the distant Universe. Each dot is an entire galaxy containing billions of stars. These galaxies are located in the constellation Ursa Major, one of Name A Star Live's constellations. Credit: European Space Agency

You can also find your constellation by using our Virtual Planetarium™ astronomy software. A planisphere is another useful device.

The Planets This Month

Several planets are visible with the naked eye in May, including Venus, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter.

  • Venus is the bright object you’ll notice in the western sky around sunset this month: It will set in the west a couple of hours after sunset. It is in the constellation Cancer now.
  • Mars is in the constellation is in Leo this month: If you live in the northern hemisphere of Earth, Mars will appear toward the west-southwest after sunset. If you live in the southern hemisphere, Mars will appear toward the north-northwest at sunset.
  • The ringed planet Saturn will be to the east of Mars — in the constellation Virgo. If you live in the northern hemisphere of Earth, look for Saturn toward the southwest after sunset. If you live in the southern hemisphere, look for Saturn toward the northwest after sunset. Like all the other planets, Saturn gradually moves west across the night sky. In fact, Saturn will be visible through most of each night in June.
  • If you’re an early bird, then you might see the mighty planet Jupiter as it rises above the eastern horizon before sunrise this month. Next to Jupiter is the planet Uranus, but you’ll need a telescope to see it.
This illustrates the relative sizes of Uranus, Earth and Earth's Moon. The images are shown at the proper relative size, but not the correct relative distance from each other. Uranus is approximately 31,000 miles (50,000 kilometers) in diameter, or about four times the size of Earth. The Earth is approximately 7,900 miles (12,800 kilometers) in diameter, or about four times the diameter of the Moon, 2,100 miles (3,500 kilometers). Credit: NASA, ESA and L. Sromovsky (University of Wisconsin)
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May 2010 Night Sky

Want to see where your star is in the night sky?

Stars are located within constellations, which are just areas of the night sky.  Scorpius, Aries and Taurus are examples of constellations.  Your Name A Star Live Star Certificate displays the name of your constellation.

You can use our new, online World Constellation Guide to determine if you can see your constellation during the evening hours (between sunset and midnight). Of course, you’ll need a telescope to see your star.  (That’s why we include the SLOOH online telescope experience in our Deluxe, Framed and Ultimate Gift Sets!)  But you can see your constellation without the use of a telescope.

You can also find your constellation by using our Virtual Planetarium™ astronomy software.  A planisphere is another useful device.

Galaxy Cluster
Galaxy Cluster MACS J025.4-1222. Click image above to view video.
Credit: NASA, ESA, CXC, M. Bradac (University of California, Santa Barbara), and S. Allen (Stanford University)

The Planets This Month

Several planets are visible with the naked eye in May, including Venus, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter.

Saturn
Hubble Space Telescope photo of Saturn: Note the aurora at the bottom of the planet. Credit: NASA, ESA, J. Clarke (Boston University), and Z. Levay (STScI)

  • Venus is the bright object you’ll notice in the western sky around sunset this month: It will set in the west a couple of hours after sunset.
  • Mars is in the constellation Cancer this month: If you live in the northern hemisphere of Earth, Mars will appear toward the south after sunset. If you live in the southern hemisphere, Mars will appear toward the north at sunset.
  • The ringed planet Saturn will be to the east of Mars — in the constellation Virgo. If you live in the northern hemisphere of Earth, look for Saturn toward the southeast after sunset. If you live in the southern hemisphere, look for Saturn toward the northeast after sunset. Like all the other planets, Saturn gradually moves west across the night sky. In fact, Saturn will be visible through most of each night in May.
  • If you’re an early bird, then you might see the mighty planet Jupiter as it rises above the eastern horizon shortly before sunrise this month.