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| This web site is a joint venture of the
Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium and
Vermont Public Radio with support from the Partnership
for a Nation of Learners, a Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Institute of Museum and Library
Services leadership initiative. |
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May 2008
The night skies in May are much like the weather, in a period of transition from winter to summer. Late winter stars like the Twins of Gemini are setting, though they look like triplets with Mars joining them to their right. To the northeast the brilliant Vega is rising, with the lesser Deneb lower and to the left. The southern skies host Arcturus high in the southeast, and Spice due south. The Big Dipper is found nearly overhead. Leo the Lion is high in the south, hosting Saturn, wonderfully close to the star Regulus on the right. Mercury puts on its best evening show of the year, low in the west-northwest twilight from the 6th to the 18th, Jupiter is alone in the morning skies, low in the south-southeast about 4 AM, while Venus is lost in the Sun’s glare.
11 – In honor of Mother’s Day, look in the north this evening about 10:00 PM EDT to see the Queen, Cassiopeia, along the northern horizon, featuring a "W" shaped collection of stars. She is the mother of the Princess Andromeda, a lovely winter constellation.
12 – The Moon is just to the left of Saturn this evening in the southwestern skies, at about 10:00 PM EDT. Farther to the left of the Moon is the star Regulus, in Leo, the Lion.
13 – Mercury is at its greatest elongation, or greatest separation, from the Sun this evening. Already it has begun to dim however, because we are seeing more and more of the night side of Mercury, as its orbit takes Mercury around the Sun and eventually in front of us in June.
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| | Other Links of Interest | - Star Chart - Use this interactive chart from Sky and Telescope to orient yourself to tonight's sky. Once you input your ZIP code, it creates a PDF showing you the relative positions of key stars and objects you can view in your area. Print it and take it outside with you as a guide.
- Vermont Astronomical Society - The Vermont Astronomical Society (VAS) is a group of amateur astronomers that has been serving northern Vermont for 42 years. Our membership ranges from beginning naked-eye stargazers to advanced amateurs with home observatories and elaborate equipment.
- Satellite Watch - Check out where some of the man-made objects are now orbiting earth, including the International Space Station.
- Constellations - The University of Wisconsin-Madison site shows which constellations will be in tonight's sky and how to find them.
- Advice for Beginning Stargazers - The great thing about stargazing is that you can do it simply by looking up at the sky.
- Planets - Learn more about the planets in our solar system from this site by the National Air and Space Museum. These observing guides from Sky and Telescope may be helpful too.
- Sky and Telescope - Web site for astronomy enthusiasts
- Astronomy Picture of the Day - Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
- NASA's Science News - The Science@NASA websites' stories range from astronomy and astrophysics to living in space to Earth science to physical sciences and biology. From microscopic scale, to human scale, to astronomical scale, NASA science covers them all!
- Mars Rover Mission - All about NASA Mars Rover and Mars itself
- Meteor Showers - What are meteor showers and when to see them as well as much more
- Stellafane.com - An active Amateur Astronomy and Telescope Making club located in Springfield, Vermont.
| Stargazing | |
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