What’s Up in the Sky – May, 2013

Looking for something really cool to observe, something you’ve never seen before that you  can now show the kids?  This could be your month.  And I am not talking about the rings of Saturn or craters on the Moon, both of which can be easily observed these days.  No, this month you should be able to witness a gathering of planets that will be spectacular, although it will take some effort and a pair of binoculars.

You probably have seen Jupiter this spring in the southwestern sky after sunset.  Around Memorial Day it will be joined by Venus and Mercury, the three forming a compact triangle about as wide as three fingers held at arm’s length.  Now, before you get too excited, I must also tell you that they will all be very low after sunset and you will not only  need a clear view of the western horizon, but also a pair of binoculars (not a telescope).  I guarantee, however, that your reward will be well worth the effort.

Start early.  Find Jupiter.  Locate a convenient site with a clear view to the west.  On Saturday, May 11, locate the thin crescent Moon just below Jupiter.  If that didn’t work, try again on Sunday when the Moon will be just to the left or the planet.  If Jupiter were the center of a clock, look where the 5 would be.  You should see Venus. (If you see anything it will be these planets.  You do not have to worry about trying to pick them out of a Hubble-like field of stars.)

Now, keep watching.  Each clear evening, take a look.  Notice how gradually Venus and Jupiter get closer together and are joined by Mercury around mid-month (when will you first spot it?).  By Memorial Day weekend, you should know just what to look for as well as where and when to look.  It will be especially interesting to note the drastic changes in the configuration during the last week.

Of course, this raises the question: what would the ancients have thought of this, the King and Queen of the gods in a close encounter with the swift messenger, Mercury, passing close by?  Back then the most important things were up in the sky.

This month in history:
May 5:    Alan Shepard becomes first American in space – 1961
May 10:    M2-F2 lifting body crash lands: footage later becomes opening scene of “The Six Million Dollar Man” – 1967
May 12:    First planetarium in Western Hemisphere, Chicago’s Adler Planetarium, opens – 1930
May 20:    IKAROS, the first space craft to successfully use solar-sail propulsion, is launched – 2010
May 25:    President Kennedy gives speech challenging nation to land astronaut on Moon before the end of the decade – 1961

What’s Up in the Sky – April, 2013

This Month, Things You Can Actually See

Twice. That’s how many times I was able to spot the topic of last month’s column, Comet PANSTARRS. Even knowing just where and when to look and having the help of binoculars, I was barely able to pick it out of the glare and haze. So this month I will try to write about stuff readers actually have a chance of observing.

Cross the comet off the list, as well as Mercury, Venus, and Mars. (Dedicated observers can find Mercury near the eastern horizon 40 minutes before sunrise on April 8. Look to the lower right of the thin crescent Moon). Jupiter and Saturn, though, more than compensate with dazzling displays of their own. In fact, this will be one of the best times to observe Saturn as it is nearly opposite the sun and thus shows us its fully illuminated side all night.

The premier naked-eye sights this month occur one hour after sunset on April 13 and 14. Look toward the west and find the thin crescent Moon. On the 13th, it will be below Jupiter and to the left of the Pleiades. On the 14th, it will be right next to Jupiter in a lovely close encounter.

Then, on the evenings of April 24 and 25, the Moon comes close first to the star Spica on the 24th and then to Saturn on the 25th. Again look an hour after sunset, this time toward the southeast, you will see the nearly full Moon just below each object.

This is the time of year when the winter constellations, such as Taurus and Orion, appear to drift westward night to night, setting nearly two hours earlier my month’s end. In the opposite part of the sky the summer constellations, including Hercules and Cygnus, rise earlier each night and will join Leo to dominate the sky in the coming months.

In fact, I find it interesting this time of year to observe Ursa Major (the “Big Dipper”) and Leo. Face north about 10 p.m. and you will see the Dipper almost overhead and upside down. Now turn facing south and look for a backwards question mark to the right of a triangle of stars, together about the same size as the Dipper. This is Leo, the lion, on his haunches facing west, one of a number of springtime creatures soon to be found up in the sky.

This month in history:
April 1: Comet Hale-Bopp nearest Sun – 1997
April 7: Deployment of Compton Gamma Ray Observatory – 1991
April 12: Yuri Gagarin becomes first human in space – 1961
April 15: Wilbur Wright is born – 1867
April 24: China becomes the fifth nation to launch its own satellite – 1970
April 25: Deployment of Hubble Space Telescope – 1990

What’s Up in the Sky – March, 2013

Comet Who?

Not too much has happened since this column last appeared, besides a small asteroid not hitting any GPS satellites and a meteor not hitting a city! As Harry Carey used to say, “Holy Cow” Of course, anything I write about that now is ancient history, but I just had to mention it. The meteor videos were unbelievable. I saw one about a hundred-millionth that big once and IT was impressive.

Hopefully we won’t see anything like that but we may have an opportunity to see the first of two comets that could be visible to the naked eye in 2013. Comet PanSTARRS should appear low in the western sky after sunset starting around March 7. You will need a clear view of the horizon and crystal clear skies, but it still may be difficult to spot low in the twilight so bring binoculars.

Comet-hunter David Levy once said, “Comets are like cats; they have tails and they do precisely what they want. That’s why it’s so difficult to predict how bright they will become as they pass close to the Sun and Earth. Right now the comet is visible to viewers in the southern hemisphere where good, naked eye observations are being reported. The comet will pass closest to Earth on March 5 and closest to the Sun on March 10. Comets are usually brightest when near the Sun due to the solar heating of the surface which releases gasses and dust that form the tail.

My personal recommendation is to look as soon as the sky darkens on March 12. Scan with binoculars low in the west and look for a very thin, crescent Moon. You should be able to spot the comet just to its left.

Even if you are not able to see this comet, your experience in hunting will come in handy in December.

In case you are wondering, comets are named after their discoverer(s), like Comets Hyukataki or Hale-Bopp (two guys) and by “discoverer” I mean the first person to see it (nowadays, image it) in a telescope. This comet was “discovered” by the PanSTARRS automated sky survey in Hawaii almost two years ago. Hence the name.

This month in history:
March 1: Venera 3 impacts on Venus – 1966
March 8: Voyager 1 discovers first active extraterrestrial volcanoes (on Jupiter’s moon Io) – 1979
March 14: Albert Einstein born – 1879
March 22: Comet Hale-Bopp passes closest to Earth – 1997
March 25: Comet Hyakutake passes closest to Earth – 1996
March 31: Official end of Pioneer 10 mission – 1997

What’s Up in the Sky – February, 2013

A Good Month for Planets

You probably don’t have many fond memories of camping out under the stars or lying on the beach enjoying the night sky in February.  In fact, it is likely most readers have no such memories at all, fond or otherwise, since Michiganders tend to stay inside at night this time of year.  Good news.  This month there are several opportunities for good viewing from the warmth of your home or car.

The first opportunity occurs, unfortunately, before sunrise.  If you are up next Sunday an hour before the Sun, look for the third quarter Moon (the “left” side will be lit  up) in the south-southwest.  The planet Saturn can be spotted just above and to the right of the Moon.  No big shakes but, hey, it’s Saturn.

The next sight is more conveniently timed but much more difficult to see so binoculars are a must.  During the first week of February, start scanning the western horizon fifteen to twenty minutes after sunset and see if you can find Mars.  It won’t be difficult to identify because if you see anything in the binocs, it will be Mars.  Toward the end of the week Mars is joined by the planet Mercury, the two being separated by only the width of a full Moon on the 8th.  Be forewarned, however, that in order to witness this close pairing we will need very clear skies all the way to the horizon.

If you do not have good luck finding the planets, try looking again on the 11th when you should be able to see a very thin crescent Moon near the western horizon 45 minutes after sunset.  Scan down and left with the binocs to find Mars and Mercury.  That would be very cool.

Then we have the easiest observation of all, again involving the Moon and a planet, this time – Jupiter. If you go out any night next month you can easily see Jupiter blazing near the Pleiades, seemingly leading Orion on his nightly journey across the sky.  On the nights of February 17 and 18, they will be joined by a lovely first quarter Moon.  This one is easy and will be memorable.

So either bundle up or gaze out the window, there’s plenty to enjoy up in the sky.

This month in history:
Feb. 1:    Shuttle Columbia breaks apart during reentry killing all 7 astronauts – 2003
Feb. 6:    Alan Shepard hits first golf balls on Moon – 1971
Feb. 8:    Jules Verne born – 1828
Feb. 15:    Galileo Galilei born – 1564
Feb. 19:    Nicholas Copernicus born – 1473
Feb. 23:    Light from supernova 1987a reaches Earth – 1987
Feb. 24:    Detection of first pulsar (by Jocelyn Bell in 1967) is announced – 1968