The Sky This Week from May 1 to 8 – Astronomy Magazine

Tuesday, May 5The Eta Aquariid meteor shower, which has been active since late April, peaks this morning. Although this shower tends to put on a strong show in the Southern Hemisphere, its low radiant in the Northern Hemisphere results in a predicted rate of 10 meteors per hour at its peak. But with good weather and a bit of luck, you may still catch some of the showers meteors this morning.

Mars hangs near the Eta Aquariids radiant, low in the sky around 4 A.M. local time. Although its typically best to concentrate on an area opposite the radiant in the sky, a bright waxing Moon is setting in the west, nixing that plan of attack. Instead, scan the other three quadrants of the sky to catch errant shooting stars. These are the debris left behind by the famous Comet 1/P Halley, which last graced our skies in 1986 and will return in the early 2060s.

Tonight, the Moon will reach perigee the closest point in its orbit to Earth at 11:03 P.M. EDT. It will then sit 223,478 miles (359,653 kilometers) from our planet.

Wednesday, May 6Not to be shown up by its fellow Galilean satellites, Jupiters moon Io and its shadow cross the face of the gas giant this morning. The whole thing starts at 2:59 A.M. EDT, as Ios shadow slips into view on Jupiters eastern limb. At 4:13 A.M. EDT, Io begins to cross in front of the same limb, with its shadow more than halfway across the planets face. An hour later, the moons shadow disappears, with the moon slipping off the planets disk beginning at 5:29 A.M. CDT. (East Coast observers will miss this finale as the Sun rises and interrupts the show.)

Thursday, May 7Full Moon occurs at 6:45 A.M. EDT. Rising as the Sun sets tonight, our satellites bright light will wash out much of the dark sky. But that doesnt mean there arent still tempting targets to observe. The Beehive Cluster (M44) is a large open cluster in the constellation Cancer the Crab. Also known as Praesepe, this cluster is one of the closest to Earth at around 600 light-years away. The entire cluster covers an area nearly three Full Moons in size and contains 1,000 or so stars. On a dark night, its visible to the naked eye; even on this bright, moonlit night, youll be able to catch several of the clusters young stars in binoculars or a telescope. More will pop out as you move to larger apertures.

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The Sky This Week from May 1 to 8 - Astronomy Magazine