May’s Stars and Planets

There’s a lot going on in the night sky this month: a meteor shower this coming weekend; a solar eclipse visible from Australia and Hawaii; and a beautiful alignment of Jupiter, Venus and Mercury over Memorial Day in late May.

Meteor shower in the Name A Star Live constellation Aquarius May 5/6

Shooting stars
Long exposure photo showing shooting stars emanating from a particular point in the night sky.

Over the night of May 5/6, you may see one of the best meteor showers of the year — the “Eta Aquarid” shower.  Composed of tiny dust particles left by Halley’s Comet on its previous visits to our neck of the solar system, this year’s Eta Aquarid meteor shower promises to be impressive because moonlight will not interfere with the show.  When the Moon is out, the bright light of the Moon makes it difficult to see many of the fainter “shooting stars” of a meteor shower.  But on the night of the meteor shower’s peak — May 5/6 — the Moon will not rise until around 4:00 am (the morning of May 6).  It’s called the “Eta Aquarid” meteor shower because the shooting stars all seem to emanate from a particular point in the constellation Aquarius.

The best way to view a meteor shower is to lie down in a lawn chair or on a blanket — face up — and enjoy the show!  No telescopes or binoculars needed.  The absolute best time to view the largest number of meteors per hour will be between 3 and 4 am May 6.  But really, you can still see a lot of shooting stars the evening of May 5 — and over the nights of May 3, 4, 7 and 8 as well.  Those of you in the southern hemisphere of Earth (e.g., Australia, New Zealand, etc.) should get a particularly good view.

Remember to bring along insect repellant or warm clothes, as your weather may dictate, and have a great time!

Solar eclipse visible from Australia and Hawaii May 9/10

Annular eclipse
A solar eclipse will be visible by residents of northern Australia on May 10 and Hawaii on May 9, weather permitting. Hawaii residents will see a partial eclipse of the Sun, while lucky Australians — who happen to be along a particular, narrow path across the Australian continent that day — will be able to see what is called an “annular eclipse” (pictured here) where the Moon blocks almost all of the Sun, leaving a “ring of fire” around the Moon’s edges. Do not look directly at the Sun — even during the height of the eclipse! The sunlight seen even during an annular/partial eclipse can damage your eyes. Check with local science museums, planetariums and astronomy clubs for information about any special observing programs they may offer during the eclipse … or just watch it on the Internet!

No matter where you live, you can watch the eclipse live, via the Internet.

Also, check out this video that shows the path of the eclipse:

A trio of planets for Memorial Day

In late May — during the Memorial Day period in the United States — the planets Jupiter, Venus and Mercury will align together around sunset, and will be viewable just over over the western horizon.  These “planetary conjunctions” do not happen often, so be sure to take a gander at this heavenly display!

Planetary Trio
Facing west-northwest, shortly before sunset on Memorial Day, May 27, 2013, as viewed from the U.S. The planets Mercury, Jupiter and Venus form a triangular shape this evening. In fact, they are close together over the evenings of May 23 – 31.  You should also see the nearby, bright stars Betelgeuse and Capella.

Star hop to Saturn

Star hop to Saturn
The Moon, the bright star Spica, and the planet Saturn on May 21, 2013

Star hopping is when you use bright, easy-to-identify objects in the night sky to find harder-to-identify objects. It’s like using landmarks on Earth.

On the evening of May 21, 2013 you can star hop to Saturn!  Face southeast and start with the Moon.  Look for the bright point of light down, and to the left of the Moon: That’s the star Spica.   Then, look further down and to the left: The bright point of light you’ll see is the planet Saturn.  You can easily see Saturn’s rings through just about any telescope.  While you look at Saturn’s rings, see if you can detect a dark circle within the rings: That’s the famous “Cassini division.”

For those of you in the southern hemisphere of Earth (such as Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, etc.), you should face east the evening of May 21 as well (your time).  In your case, Spica will be down, and to the right of the Moon, and Saturn will be down, and to the right of Spica.

The Moon and Saturn will be in the Name A Star Live constellation Virgo that evening.  Spica is Virgo’s brightest star.

Finding your star 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. 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.

Meteor Showers, an Eclipse & the Planets

Two meteor showers grace the night skies in December.  The Geminid meteor shower is the most famous meteor shower of all, and is visible from most locations on Earth every December. However, this year’s Geminid shower, which peaks on the night of December 14, occurs at a time of the month when moonlight will drown out most of the meteors we would otherwise see.  But for those of you in the northern hemisphere, check out December’s other meteor shower — the Ursids.

Shooting Stars
Time lapse photo showing shooting stars from the Geminid meteor shower. Credit: NASA/JPL

Continue reading “Meteor Showers, an Eclipse & the Planets”

December Shooting Stars & Lunar Eclipse

Mid-December is a great time to see shooting stars blasting forth from the Name A Star Live constellation Gemini!  Also, a full eclipse of the Moon will be visible throughout North America the night of December 20-21.

Shooting Stars

If you’re in the northern hemisphere of Earth, and if weather permits, then over the night of December 13-14 you may get a good view of  the Geminid meteor shower.  (If you’re in the southern hemisphere, then you may notice some shooting stars popping up over your northern horizon over the night of December 14-15.)  The annual Geminid Meteor Shower is one of the two best meteor showers of the year.  The other shower — the Perseid Meteor Shower — occurs in August each year.

Geminid Meteor Shower
The night of Dec. 13-14, look for shooting stars to emanate from the constellation Gemini.

Shooting stars are very tiny meteors – basically, dust particles or small ‘pebbles’ – that burn up in a flash of light as they enter Earth’s atmosphere.  These meteors are leftover bits of comets that have passed by Earth in years past: As comets pass by Earth from time to time, they leave a trail of small debris in their wake.  This debris remains in the solar system.  As Earth revolves around the sun each year, Earth passes through the trails of debris.

To see the shooting stars, all you need is a clear sky (away from city lights), a lawn chair, and some winter clothing if you live in the northern hemisphere of Earth.

Strictly speaking, the best time to see the meteors will be after the moon sets at around midnight in mid-December: But you should still see some meteors before midnight.   Lay down on your lawn chair or on a blanket and look up.  (If you’re in the southern hemisphere — such as in Australia, New Zealand, Argentina or South Africa — then look toward the northern horizon, not up!)  You don’t need a telescope or binoculars.  You might see several dozen shooting stars per hour!  You should see more and more meteors per hour as the night progresses, until just before dawn.  One caveat, though: How many meteors you can see per hour is pretty much hit-or-miss.  Predicting meteor showers is sorta’ like predicting rain showers: It’s not an exact science yet!  But you should see a number of shooting stars. (Don’t forget to make a wish!)

As you see the shooting stars, try to notice where they are coming from in the night sky.  If you have one of our planispheres, you’ll see that the meteors come from the constellation Gemini.

Enjoy the view … and may all your wishes come true!

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Lunar Eclipse

A total eclipse of the Moon will be visible throughout all of North and Central America (local weather permitting) the night of December 20-21 … but you’ll have to stay up late to see it!  A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth’s shadow covers at least part of the Moon’s surface.  A total eclipse occurs when the entire Moon is covered in Earth’s shadow.

Total Lunar Eclipse
The total eclipse of the Moon, February 21, 2008. The Moon does not become completely dark during a total eclipse: Sunlight refracted through the Earth's atmosphere casts an orange glow on the lunar surface.

Observers throughout North America, the Hawaiian Islands, and Central America can see the total eclipse of the Moon from 2:41 a.m. to 3:53 a.m. EST, December 21 (11:41 pm Dec. 20 to 12:53 a.m. Dec. 21 PST).  If you’re in Australia, New Zealand, or east Asia, the eclipse will already be underway at sunset December 21.  Those of you in Europe, western Africa and South America may see a partial eclipse at sunrise the morning of December 21.

Visit MrEclipse.com for full details.

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Seeing planets this month

The mighty planet Jupiter again dominates the night sky this month.  Jupiter is the bright point of light you’ll see toward the south after sunset (towards the north, if you’re in the southern hemisphere of Earth): It’s easy to spot.

Venus and Saturn will be in the Name A Star Live constellations Virgo and Libra, respectively, in December.  Both planets are low on the eastern horizon around sunrise in mid-December.  Look for the two planets about an hour before sunrise: Saturn will be above the planet Venus.

Mars is on the other side of the Sun now, so we cannot see the Red Planet this month.

Finding your star 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.

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