North Coast Skywatch January 2009

by Bob Duke - As Published Monthly in the Daily Astorian

Meteors fly all month, providing fireworks for night sky watchers trying to catch May's parade of planets. All this celestial activity seems to herald the fullness of spring and the coming of long summer days.

Spring Skies
Official summer is not much more than a month away and the biggest transition to warm sunny days happens in May. On May 1 the sun rises at 6:01 a.m. and sets at 8:26 p.m. By month's end sunrise and sunset occur a full one-half hour later respectively, adding one more hour of sunlight to our days. In addition, the sun rises and sets farther north along the horizon resulting in long, lingering twilight. As May opens the Northwest experiences 6 hours of complete darkness between the end and beginning of astronomical twilight. By the end of the month that period shrinks to less than 4 hours and even then the sky is completely dark only when the moon is absent from the night sky. Expect a grand total of just 16 hours of true darkness for the entire month.

Aquarid Meteor Shower
Meteors, tiny specks of dust left in the trail of passing comet Halley, will fly through our upper atmosphere all month, emanating from the constellation Aquarius. The period of greatest activity occurs from May 3 through 10, when as many as 30 meteors per hour may be spotted. This count jumps to 60 per hour as the earth scoops up the biggest swarm on the night of May 5/6. The closest to ideal conditions, when the sky is darkest, occurs the morning of May 6, around 4 a.m. when the moon sets and twilight begins.

A Month of Planets
Three planets are easily visible to the un-aided eye this month while 2 may be found with binoculars and another 2 with a telescope, and that's every official planet in the solar system, not counting earth.
Begin the hunt with binoculars on May 2 and a walk on the beach at sunset. Scan the horizon to the west-northwest and locate the familiar Seven Sisters star cluster in the hazy twilight 1 hour after the sun disappears. Mercury, the smallest and most elusive of the planets because it doesn't stray far from the sun, may be found just to the left of the cluster. A small telescope will show its thin crescent phase. By mid-month the planet will leave the evening sky.
On the same evening, and for the remainder of the month, wait until dark and look high in the sky to the Southwest to find bright Saturn in the constellation Leo. A gibbous moon will pass close by on the night of May 3. Saturn's rings are still visible in a small telescope but will appear edge-on next month and disappear.
Jupiter rises around 3 a.m. at the first of the month, and by 1 a.m. at month's end, easily visible in the constellation Capricornus. A small telescope reveals the 4 moons discovered by Galileo 400 years ago this year. Watch, as Galileo did, the moons change position nightly as they orbit the giant, banded planet.
The third planet visible without optical aid rises just before sunrise in the east. Venus is bright and easy to spot. It also exhibits a crescent phase in a small telescope. Use binoculars and scan to the left for reddish Mars. On May 21 a crescent moon will sit just above the red planet.
That leaves two more planets to find, Uranus and Neptune. They are in the same area of the sky as Jupiter, and Neptune will be in conjunction with Jupiter on May 27. Both require a telescope to locate. For their exact position in the sky, go to www.SkyandTelescope.com/uranusneptune on the Internet.

Bob Duke - Starstuff Administrator

Welcome to Starstuff

Having authored the Skywatch column for the Oregonian newspaper for 17 years, I am now pleased to announce it has moved to The Daily Astorian. I currently write two weekly columns for the Daily A., a history archive column "Water Under the Bridge" and a business column "Making the Dollar."

I have developed this web site over the years to support the activities and interests of those who love the night sky. You will find many links here to support your passion.

Join me every month at Adelaide's Books and Coffee, on Bay Ave. in Ocean Park, Wa. the first Saturday at 7 p.m. for an evening of astronomy talk and wonderful slide programs, and even night sky viewing when the weather cooperates.

North Coast Skywatch Archives