SKY VIEWS   May 2012

Moon Phase right now.

Jay Respler        Freehold NJ         732-431-1464        E-mail: JRespler@superlink.net

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- On May 20, people in the western two-thirds of
North America will be able to watch the moon pass in front of the
sun, creating a partial solar eclipse low in the western sky just
before sunset. Those within a 200-mile-wide path across the
southwestern United States will see a rare annular eclipse, in which
the moon appears entirely within the sun's disk. More information
about this eclipse is available at
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEgoogle/SEgoogle2001/SE2012May20Agoogle.html.
For how to view an eclipse safely see
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/eclipses/3306081.html.

Venus will be at its maximum brilliance at the beginning of May,
blazing high in the western sky in evening twilight and setting more
than three hours after the sun. But the fall of Venus from this perch
during the rest of the month will be dramatic. By month's end the
planet will be just a few degrees above the western horizon after
sunset, disappearing a half hour later. It will make a historic
transit across the face of the sun on June 5-6.

As evening twilight fades during May, bright yellow Saturn will come
into view in the southeastern sky. It will be highest in the south
around midnight at the beginning of the month and two hours earlier
by month's end. The white star Spica will be about 5 degrees to
Saturn's right (west) and about the same brightness. Saturn's rings
will be tilted 13 degrees to our line of sight. Its largest moon,
Titan, will be due south of the planet on May 4 and 20 and due north
on May 12 and 28.

Mars will dominate the constellation Leo the Lion in the southern sky
during May, though it will fade noticeably as the month advances. The
red-orange planet will gradually move away from the bright white star
Regulus to its right (west). By the end of the month Mars will come
into view about halfway up the southwestern sky at dusk and set
around 2 a.m. local daylight-saving time.

Jupiter and Mercury will be out of sight behind the sun during May
for observers at mid-northern latitudes.

Meteor shower

his month Earth will encounter a stream of dust left behind in space
by Comet Halley, causing the Eta Aquarid meteor shower that will peak
before dawn on May 5. The shower will be active for a few days before
and after the peak as well.

The meteors will appear to come from a point called the radiant in
the constellation Aquarius, which will rise in the east about two
hours before the start of morning twilight. The higher this point is
above the horizon, the more meteors will be visible. Unfortunately,
the full moon will dominate the western sky that night, washing out
the fainter meteors and making the bright ones less of a spectacle.
To reduce interference from moonlight, place yourself where a
building or trees will block the moon as you watch the eastern sky.

Observers in the Northern Hemisphere may see around 25 meteors per
hour, because Aquarius will be close to the eastern horizon. Those
watching in the Southern Hemisphere will see Aquarius much higher in
the sky, and there may be twice as many meteors per hour at the peak.

Moon phases

The moon will be full on May 5, at third quarter on May 12, new on
May 20 and at first quarter on May 28.


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Questions about space and astronomy, and comments and suggestions about this SkyViews site are welcome.
 Write to Jay Respler,   JRespler@superlink.net

Sky Views is compiled by Jay Respler and is based on information from the Sky Report
of Abrams Planetarium, Department of Physics & Astronomy at Michigan State University, and Hal Kibbey of the Indiana University Office of Communications & Marketing. Thanks are extended for their cooperation.