May Day, Maine Day, May the Fourth be with you

The cross-quarter May Day begins our week which is full of astronomical sights. At the end of the week, look for the Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower.  In between, why not check out From Lightsabers to Tricorders on May the 4th at the planetarium, or Hitchhikers Guide to the Universe: Exoplanets on May 5th. Here is your guide to the sky for May 1 to 7, 2017…

Sun – Earth – Moon

May 1st is “May Day” a cross-quarter day between the Vernal Equinox and Summer Solstice, and the Celts used these to mark the start of the seasons instead of the equinox and solstice points.  Traditionally it marked the return of spring and often celebrations and agricultural rituals intended to ensure fertility for crops were employed by cultures such as the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans. Today, many people mark this ancient festival by the gathering of wildflowers and the setting up of a decorated May tree. Sunrise this week is at 5:22 am and sunset at 7:43 pm.  First quarter Moon takes place on Tuesday at 10:47 pm.

Planets in the Sky

Mercury is hidden in the glow of sunrise this week.  Venus rises in the east at 3:50 am and is low in the sky, but at -4.7 it is extremely bright and hard to miss. Mars in Taurus sets just before 10:0 pm this week.  Jupiter is getting higher eastern sky at sunset, on Sunday it will be 2 degrees south of the Moon. Saturn rises in the eastern sky around 11:15 pm in the constellation of Sagittarius.

Constellations – Patterns in the Sky

Last week we looked for Draco the Dragon, this week we will focus on Hercules which is just above the eastern horizon by 9:00 pm in the early evening.  Hercules had many labors, and a number of them are immortalized in the sky with constellations such as the Nemean Lion (Leo), The Apples of Hesperides (Draco), and Lernean Hyrda (Hydra).  Look for Hercules between the two bright stars of Vega and Arcturus.  The keystone shape marks the body, and appendages to the north mark his arms, while ones to the south mark his legs. Hercules is home to the globular cluster M13.  Look for it with binoculars between the stars marking the western side of the keystone.  It will look like a ball of stars which is a bit fuzzy.  M13 has over a half million stars and is one of the grandest star clusters in our Milky Way Galaxy.

Hercules courtesy of Heavens-Above.com

 

May 3 at 8:30 pm – courtesy of Heavens-Above.com

Eta Aquarid Meteors – A bit of a challenge

On the mornings of May 5 and 6 try catching the Eta Aquarid Meteors about two hours before sunrise.  This shower which is the left over material from Halley’s Comet typically produces 10-20 meteors per hour.  The radiant point is in Aquarius, so try looking to the southeastern sky, but this year there will be quite a bit of moonlight, so they might be a bit of a challenge.  Still it is worth a look if you are up before sunrise on those mornings.

Eta Aquarid Meteors – A bit of a challenge

On the mornings of May 5 and 6 try catching the Eta Aquarid Meteors about two hours before sunrise.  This shower which is the left over material from Halley’s Comet typically produces 10-20 meteors per hour.  The radiant point is in Aquarius, so try looking to the southeastern sky, but this year there will be quite a bit of moonlight, so they might be a bit of a challenge.  Still it is worth a look if you are up before sunrise on those mornings.

Satellites to See…

On Thursday evening look for the Tiangong 1 from 8:38 to 8:42 pm moving from southwest to south east. Try seeing it again on Saturday evening from 9:20 to 9:24 pm moving from southwest to southeast. The International Space Station (ISS) returns this week after being missing from Maine skies the last two weeks.  Look for it on Friday morning from 4:13 to 4:16 am moving from south to east, and on Sunday, May 7th from 4:04 to 4:09 am moving from southwest to east..

May the fourth be with you as you check our our Maine Skies.   Happy stargazing and keep your eye on the sky!

Shawn Laatsch

About Shawn Laatsch

Shawn Laatsch is the director of the Emera Astronomy Center and Jordan Planetarium at the University of Maine. He started his astronomy education career in 1984 and has directed planetariums in university and science center facilities, taught undergraduate astronomy courses, and given numerous lectures around the globe. He serves as President (2017 & 2018) of the International Planetarium Society, Inc. the world’s largest organization of planetarium professionals. Shawn has a passion for sharing astronomy and stargazing with people of all ages.