Astronomy
2007
Southern Sky
Almanack
May skies
Posted on 2007 January 01 @ 00:01 - filed under Astronomy.
Mercury is visible in the morning sky from the second week of May onward. Venus is prominent in the evening sky setting about 3 hours after the Sun. Mars can be seen in the morning sky, rising about four hours before the Sun. Jupiter can be seen for most of the night, rising two hours after sunset at the beginning of the month, and at sunset by month's end. Saturn is in the evening sky, setting around midnight.
Early evening: In the south, Crux and the Pointers are visible. Scorpius is on the south-eastern horizon. Facing east, Spica is prominent. In the north, Saturn and Leo can be seen, while in the north-west, Venus and Gemini - and Procyon (in Canis Minor) higher up - are prominent. In the west, Taurus, Orion and Canis Major can be seen. The Milky Way passes almost directly overhead, from south-east to north-west.
Around midnight, facing south, Crux and the Pointers are high up. High in the east, Jupiter accompanies Scorpius and Sagittarius. In the north-east, Altair (in Aquila) and Vega (in Lyra) are near the horizon. Facing north, Arcturus, and Spica above it, are prominent. Saturn and Leo are low in the west. The Milky Way is high up, passing just south of the zenith.
Before sunrise, Crux and Canopus are low in the south, while Achernar is prominent high up. High in the east is Fomalhaut. Mars is well-placed in the north-east with Pegasus lower down. Altair (in Aquila) is high up in the north, while Deneb (in Cygnus) and Vega (in Lyra) are lower down. Towards the west, Scorpius plunges head-first downward, accompanied by Jupiter. Overhead, Sagittarius can be seen, with the Milky Way oriented north-south, passing westward near the zenith.
May events
Day | Event |
| May - June: (4) Vesta reaches mag 5.8. |
01 | Anniversary of the first sighting of supernova SN 1006, the brightest supernova on record, in Lupus, in 1006. |
01 | Spica near the Moon (1.2°). |
02 | Full Moon (12: 09). |
03 | Jupiter's moon Ganymede at maximum distance from the planet (5.5 arcmin east at 00h). |
03 | Mercury at superior conjunction. |
03 | Minor planet (2991) Bilbo makes close approach to Earth (1.155 AU). |
04 | Antares occulted by the Moon, seen from southern Africa, New Zealand, Tasmania and Antarctica. |
04 | Periodic comet 17P/Holmes reaches perihelion (period 6.88 years). |
05 | Jupiter near the Moon (5.8°). |
05 | Moon in Ophiuchus for about 21 hours. |
06 | eta Aquarids meteor shower reaches maximum, active Apr 19-May 28 (parent body is comet 1P Halley). |
06 | Jupiter's moon Ganymede at maximum distance from the planet (5.5 arcmin west at 12h). |
06 | Moon southernmost declination this month (-28.3°). |
06 | Willem de Sitter's birthday (1872). |
07 | Jupiter's moon Callisto at maximum distance from the planet (9.7 arcmin east at 08h). |
07 | Jupiter's moons attractively arranged, two on either side (from 00h onward). |
08 | Jupiter's moons attractively arranged, two on either side (from 22h onward). |
08 | Mercury at perihelion (second of four occurrences in 2007). |
10 | Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin's birthday (1900). |
10 | Jupiter's moon Ganymede at maximum distance from the planet (5.6 arcmin east at 02h). |
10 | Last Quarter Moon (06: 27). |
10 | Neptune near the Moon (1.6°). |
11 | Richard Feynman's birthday (1918). |
12 | Minor planet (17) Thetis occults star TYC 1405-00167-1 (mag= 9.7) at 20:17. |
12 | Periodic comet P/LONEOS-Tucker (1998 QP54) reaches perihelion (period 8.60 years). |
12 | Uranus near the Moon (1.2°), occultation seen from N. Atlantic, British Isles (except S.E. part) and E. Greenland. |
13 | Jupiter's moon Ganymede at maximum distance from the planet (5.6 arcmin west at 16h). |
13 | Jupiter's moons attractively arranged, two on either side (from 20h to 22h). |
13 | Mars near the Moon (2.8°). |
14 | Minor planet (195) Eurykleia occults star TYC 6918-00261-1 (mag= 10.4) at 04:29. |
15 | Jupiter's moon Callisto at maximum distance from the planet (9.9 arcmin west at 16h). |
15 | Minor planet (911) Agamemnon occults star TYC 5817-00790-1 (mag= 9.4) at 02:47. |
15 | Moon at perigee. |
16 | New Moon (21: 27). |
17 | Jupiter's moon Ganymede at maximum distance from the planet (5.6 arcmin east at 06h). |
17 | Jupiter's moons attractively arranged, two on either side (from 20h onward). |
17 | Religious holiday: Ascension Day. |
18 | Anniversary of the earliest astrophotograph taken of the Moon, by (Sir) David Gill, in 1869. |
18 | El Nath (beta Tauri) occulted by the Moon. |
18 | Mercury near the Moon (3.0°). |
18 | Moon in Auriga for about 10 hours. |
18 | Moon northernmost declination this month (+28.9°). |
19 | At noon, Venus is 8° from the Moon (looking NE; altitude 8° Cape Town, 20° Johannesburg). |
19 | Moon in Auriga for about 16 hours. |
20 | At noon, Venus is 5.5° from the Moon (looking NE; altitude 8° Cape Town, 20° Johannesburg). |
20 | Jupiter's moon Ganymede at maximum distance from the planet (5.7 arcmin west at 20h). |
20 | Pollux near the Moon (2.8°). |
20 | Sagittarids meteor shower reaches maximum, active Apr 15-Jul 15 (parent body unknown). |
20 | Venus near the Moon (1.7°). |
22 | Jupiter's moons attractively arranged, two on either side (from 22h onward). |
22 | Minor planet (416) Vaticana occults star HIP 44400 (mag= 8.8) at 18:01. |
22 | Saturn near the Moon (0.8°), occultation seen from Europe, British Isles, N.E. Africa, N.W. Asia, Arctic regions and N.W. Canada. |
23 | Jupiter's moon Callisto at maximum distance from the planet (9.9 arcmin east at 22h). |
23 | Regulus near the Moon (0.6°), occultation seen from Asia (except E. part), N.E. Europe, British Isles, Greenland and N.E. tip of Canada. |
23 | Religious holiday: Feast of Weeks (Shavuot). |
24 | First Quarter Moon (01: 03). |
24 | Jupiter's four Galilean moons all located on same side of the planet (east), from 01h onward. |
24 | Jupiter's moon Ganymede at maximum distance from the planet (5.7 arcmin east at 10h). |
24 | Solar rotation number 2057 starts. |
25 | Mars enters Cetus (May 25-29) from Pisces. |
25 | Neptune stationary. |
27 | Jupiter's moon Ganymede at maximum distance from the planet (5.7 arcmin west at 22h). |
27 | Religious holiday: Whit Sunday - Pentecost. |
28 | Moon at apogee. |
28 | Spica near the Moon (1.3°). |
29 | Mars exits Cetus into Pisces. |
30 | Jupiter's moons attractively arranged, two on either side (from 21h to 23h). |
30 | Minor planet (4) Vesta reaches opposition (mag 5.4, declination -14°). |
30 | Venus makes a close approach (25.5 arcmin) to kappa Gem (mag=3.7). |
30 | Venus near Pollux (4.0°). |
31 | Anniversary of the establishment of the European Space Agency (1975). |
31 | Jupiter's moon Ganymede at maximum distance from the planet (5.7 arcmin east at 12h). |
31 | Jupiter's moons attractively arranged, two on either side (from 19h onward). |
31 | Martin Schwarzschild's birthday (1912). |
31 | Periodic comet 135P/Shoemaker-Levy reaches perihelion (period 7.48 years). |
Constellations
Constellations visible from Southern Africa at 21:00 SAST (* = overhead):
Antlia*, Apus, Ara, Auriga, Boötes, Canis Major, Canis Minor, Carina, Centaurus*, Chamaeleon, Circinus, Columba, Coma Berenices, Corona Australis, Corona Borealis, Corvus*, Crater*, Crux, Dorado, Gemini, Hydra*, Hydrus, Leo, Leo Minor, Lepus, Libra, Lupus, Mensa, Musca, Norma, Octans, Orion, Pavo, Perseus, Pictor, Puppis, Pyxis*, Reticulum, Sagittarius, Scorpius, Scutum, Sextans, Taurus, Telescopium, Triangulum Australe, Tucana, Vela*, Virgo, Volans.
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Keywords: Astronomy, Southern Sky Almanack, 2007, monthly sky review, Southern Sky Talk podcast
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