What you will see on a clear night in
May-June 2013
Constellation: The Big Dipper (part of the Great Bear)
Double Stars: Alcor & Mizar
Solar System: Saturn, Jupiter, & The Moon
Special Event: Saturn-Moon conjunction on May 22, June 18 & 19
There's good news and bad news when it comes to the planets. The good news: Saturn, which appears as a bright "star" in the east in early May, will be with us all spring and summer. The bad news: Jupiter will disappear over the western horizon by late May.
Finally, we are enjoying spring weather. On the ground, snow has given way to green grass, tulips, daffodils as well as budding trees and bushes. In the sky, changes have taken place as well. ORION the hunter, the largest and brightest winter constellation, has left us.
What happened to Orion with its 3-star belt? Most constellations relocate from east to west as the Earth rotates. Constellations such as Orion, which are well below the North Star, disappear below the horizon during a portion of the day. It will return next winter.
Gone with Orion is SIRIUS, the brightest star in the night sky. Replacing it is ARCTURUS, the second brightest. Here's how you find Arcturus: First, locate The BIG DIPPER high overhead. Then draw an imaginary arc-shaped line beyond the handle of the Big Dipper and you will see Arcturus.
That's why some astronomers exclaim, "Let's arc to Arcturus." Continue your imaginary line beyond Arcturus and you will spot another star, Spica. Thus the expression, "Speed on to Spica!" once astronomers have found Arcturus.
The Big Dipper
The seven-star BIG DIPPER--the most well known star configuration in the night sky--is a circumpolar grouping, which means that we see it year-round because it is close to the North Star. The Dipper is part of the constellation URSA MAJOR (Big Bear).
Locate the Dipper's bowl. If you draw an imaginary line beyond the two end stars of the bowl, you will find THE NORTH STAR. Many people think that the North Star is the brightest in the night sky. Not true! It's way down on the brightness scale (close to no. 50 on the brightness scale). However, it is in the same spot every night because it is above the Earth's axis.
The North Star is the lead star of the seven-star LITTLE DIPPER, which pours into the bowl of The Big Dipper. But you have to be at a very dark site-like a farm or a cottage away from city lights-to be able to make out The Little Dipper.
There is something unique about one of the seven stars of the Big Dipper. Look carefully at the second star from the end of the Dipper's handle and you'll spot a double star, ALCOR & MIZAR. The star duo is more definitive with binoculars or a telescope.
Saturn
As of late April, Saturn was in the east. During the next two months it will gradually move to the right. By mid-May, Saturn will be in the southeast and by late May in the south-southeast. By mid-June the planet will be in the south and by late June in the south-southwest.
Locating Saturn is easy once you find stars Arcturus and Spica beyond Big Dipper`s handle. Saturn appears as a star lower left of Spica. The three form a triangle, with the two long sides going from Arcturus to Spica and Saturn. Arcturus is the brightest of the three.
Since Saturn looks like a bright star, you will need a good quality telescope to find Saturn's dramatic rings. You might even see a "star' next to the planet. That will be Titan, the largest of its moon family. Titan is about 50 per cent larger than our Moon!
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun. Is there anyone in your family 30 years old? That's how long it takes the ringed planet to orbit the Sun. Although the gaseous planet appears tiny in a telescope, it is the second largest planet in the solar system. It would take 10 Earths to span Saturn’s diameter and 20 Earths to span its rings.
Jupiter
By late April, JUPITER appeared high overhead in the west as a bright "star." Unfortunately, as mentioned above, the largest planet in the solar system will be gone by late May. The only way you will see it is if you can face an unobstructed view of the west. An excellent viewing site is Wilmot Line, a road that branches off Erb St., just past the Waterloo landfill. Recently some parents drove their kids a mile or two along Wilmot Line, stopped the car, and saw a clear view of the planet.
Jupiter, with a diameter 11 times than of Earth, is the giant of the solar system. It takes 12 years to orbit the Sun--about the same time you've been on the Earth! The fifth planet from the Sun is a huge gas ball of helium and hydrogen so big that its volume would contain 1,300 Earths.
The Moon
The brightest object in the night sky - some astronomers say the most rewarding - is the MOON. Between May 5-to-28 and between June 4-to-26, the Moon will display is early evening phases:
May May 14 & June 13: crescent Moon
May 18 & June 16: first quarter Moon.
May 25 & June 23: full Moon.
The photo below shows the Moon between crescent and first quarter.
The photo below shows the Moon between crescent and first quarter.
Craters and "seas" (the grey areas of the Moon) can be easily picked out with binoculars or a low power telescope. The secret to viewing the night sky with binoculars is to keep them as steady as possible: either mount them on a tripod or sit back in a lawn chair that has a tilted back.
Where to look for the Moon after sunset? The crescent phase will appear in the west, the quarter phase in the south and the full Moon in the east.
Did you know that the Moon's craters are the result of our closest celestial object being pummelled and battered by giant space rocks or asteroids? If the Moon had an atmosphere, the craters would have long eroded away from wind and water erosion like what happened here on Earth. But because there is no atmosphere on the Moon, the craters have not changed ever since they were formed.
The Moon's craters and mountains are most dramatic if you look near the terminator, the line that separates the dark side from the sunlit side. That's because the shadows created by the Sun are the longest. If you look through a telescope, you can even spot crater walls disappearing into the shadows.
Saturn-Moon Conjunctions
As noted above in Specials Events, a Saturn-Moon conjunction - when the two will appear close to each other - will occur on May 22, June 18 & 19. The ringed planet is ten times as far from the Sun as the Earth. It's no wonder Saturn looks like a star!