Mercury is very "close" to the Sun this week. That close, that it will cross the Sun on Monday the 9th of May. Only use a special solar telescope to see the planet crossing the Sun. See below for more details. Venus is too close to the Sun and not yet visible. Mars is best seen from 10.40 pm to about 2.30 am low on the horizon and in the constellation Scorpius. Jupiter is best seen from 9 pm to 4 am in the constellation Leo. Saturn is best seen from 11.20 pm to 3.15 am in the constellation Ophiuchus.
Wednesday 4 May
Satellites are visible with the naked eye. They move slowly, as "stars" or "dots" in the night sky. Iridium flares sudden lit up at certain times and at certain places in the night sky. At 10.15 pm an Iridium flare appears in the North at an altitude of 11° in the constellation Cassiopeia. Another flare appears at 11.15 pm in the West North West at an altitude of 13° in the constellation Gemini. A brighter flare is visible at 11.24 pm in the West North West at an altitude of 11° in the constellation Gemini.
When you have a small telescope or you can hold a good binocular steady, you can see the 4 bright Moons of the giant planet Jupiter. You also can see some activity on the planet's disc. At 3.19 am the Great Red Spot is in transit on the planet.
The Lunar crescent is visible at 5.20 am and 39 hours before New Moon. The Moon is 4% illuminated and the Moon rises at 5.06 am, 19 minutes before the Sun.
This evening the Eta Aquarid meteor shower is active. Watch some shooting stars!
Thursday 5 May
Today in 1930 Amy Johnson left Croydon on the first solo flight by a woman between England and Australia, a distance of 11000 miles. She flew a single-engine De Havilland Gipsy Moth named Jason, and landed in Darwin in Australia on 24 May.
At 9.14 am the International Space Station (ISS) crosses the disk of the Sun for Ashbourne area. At least if ISS does not have any boost corrections. This is only visible with a special solar telescope. The transit duration is only 1.19 sec.
The Eta Aquarid meteor shower reaches its peak tonight. You will be able to see shooting stars from the East throughout the night but your best chances of seeing them will come in the pre-dawn hours as the constellation of Aquarius rises over the horizon. With a maximum rate of 65 an hour and with the Moon nearly new, this reasonably strong shower should produce a few shooting stars worth getting up early for.
An Iridium flare appears in the North North East at 11.06 pm at an altitude of 22° in the constellation Cygnus.
The Great Red Spot is in transit on the disc of the giant planet Jupiter at 11.10 pm.
A rather bright Iridium flare appears at 11.18 pm in the West North West at an altitude of 11° in the constellation Gemini.
At 11.25 pm the Jupiter Moon Ganymede ends its transit.
Another bright flare appears in the West North West at 11.28 pm at an altitude of 10° in the constellation Gemini.
The Jupiter Moon Ganymede begins its shadow transit on the Jupiter disc at 0.41 am.
The Moon is in perigee at 5.06 am. The distance of the Moon to the Earth is 357822 km or 2236.39 miles.
Just after Sun rise at 5.24 am, the Moon is close to Venus at 5.30 am. They are about 6 lunar diameters apart and just on the horizon. The Moon phase is only 0.7%. Remind that Venus is only 10° from the Sun. A nice challenge!
Friday 6 May
Today in 1840 the adhesive postage stamp was first sold in Great Britain. The "penny black" and "two-penny blue" stamps showed the profile of Queen Victoria.
It is New Moon at 8.29 pm. This is the 2nd nearest New Moon of the year. The former closer New Moon was on 7 April this year. The next closer New Moon will be on 25 May 2017.
Time to watch some nice Iridium flares. At 9.53 pm a bright flare in the North North West at an altitude of 17° in the constellation Cassiopeia. Another bright flare at 11.31 pm in the West North West at an altitude of only 8° in the constellation Gemini. At 11.40 pm a flare appears in the West North West at the low altitude of 7° in the constellation Gemini. A brighter flare in the West South West at 11.52 pm at an altitude of 38° in the constellation Leo. A very bright flare is at 2.55 am in the West North West at an altitude of 37° in the constellation Ursa Major.
Saturday 7 May
Today the giant planet Jupiter's apparent diameter shrinks to 40 arc sec. The brightness is -2.3 magnitude.
The Lunar crescent is probably visible under perfect conditions at 9.15 pm. It is only 25 hours after New Moon and is 2% illuminated. The Moon sets at 9.38 pm, 50 minutes after the Sun. A telescope or good binocular is required to find the crescent. Let us know if you did find.
At 9.47 pm an Iridium flare appears in the North North West at an altitude of 18° in the constellation Cassiopeia.
The Moon is passing the constellation Taurus and will pass some bright stars. At 10 pm the Moon is about 9 lunar diameters from the star called Hyadum II, 10 lunar diameters from the star called The1 Tau and the star The2 Tau. This is low on the horizon and the Moon phase is only 2%.
At 0.49 am the Great Red Spot is in transit on Jupiter. And at 1.47 am the Jupiter Moon Io disappears for an occultation.
Sunday 8 May
Sir David Frederick Attenborough is 90 years old today! He was born on 8 May 1926.
The Great Red Spot is in transit on Jupiter at 8.41 pm.
The Moon continues moving through the night sky and is close to the bright star Aldebaran at 9.25 pm. They are about 11 lunar diameters apart. It is low on the horizon at an altitude of 6° and the Moon phase is 6%. Look for the Lunar crescent 49 hours after New Moon. The Moon sets at 10.51 pm and 121 minutes after the Sun.
An Iridium flare appears at 10.58 pm in the North North East at an altitude of 27° in the constellation Cygnus.
Get your telescope out or hold a good binocular steady and watch Jupiter. At 10.58 pm the Jupiter Moon Io begins its transit. At 0.07 am the Jupiter Moon Io begins the shadow transit and at 1.13 am the transit ends.
The Moon is in maximum libration North at 1.14 am. The North Pole on the Moon and Mare Frigoris are tipped into our view.
The Jupiter Moon Io ends it shadow at 2.22 am and at 2.25 am the Jupiter Moon Europa disappears for an occultation.
Monday 9 May
Today in 1962 a laser beam was bounced off the Moon from Earth by scientists. The area of the light beam on the surface was estimated at a diameter of 4 miles.
Today the smaller planet Mercury will transit in front of the Sun. The two inner planets Venus and Mercury can only go in front of the Sun. You will need a solar telescope or connect to a local club who have the good and safe instruments to watch the Sun. The transit starts at lunch at 12.12 pm. Maximum will be at 3.56 pm and the transit ends at 7.40 pm. It takes Mercury 7 hours 28 minutes to cross the disc of the Sun. The planet is so small that you will not be able to see the black dot with eclipses glasses.
At 1.15 pm the giant planet Jupiter is stationary or what we call getting prograde.
Look for the Moon with Earthshine at 9.35 pm.
An Iridium flare appears at 9.42 pm in the North North East at an altitude of 76° in the constellation Draco.
The Moon is in maximum declination North at 10.55 pm. This is the lowest Northernmost Moon position of the next 10 years. The former lower Northern Northernmost Moon position was on 12 April this year. The next lower Northern Northernmost Moon position is on 15 September 2033.
At 11.41 pm the Jupiter Moon Io ends its eclipse.
An Iridium flare appears at 11.43 pm in the West South West at an altitude of 35° in the constellation Leo.
Not visible, but for the solar observers the Carrington Solar Rotation begins it rotation number 2177 at 1.48 am.
At 2.28 am the Great Red Spot is in transit on the giant planet.
Tuesday 10 May
Having passed through Pisces in the pre-dawn skies of the 3rd, the Moon has now returned to the early evening twilight and is moving through the constellation Gemini. Look for Earthshine on the waxing crescent Moon at about 10.35 pm as it shines below the twin stars of Castor and Pollux in the darkening sky. The Moon is in maximum libration at 11.18 pm.
At 11.37 pm a very bright Iridium flare appears in the West South West at an altitude of 36° in the constellation Leo.
The Jupiter Moon Europa begins it shadow at 11.42 pm.
Midnight and the Moon is close to the star called Lam Gem. They are less than 4 lunar diameters apart. Look low at the horizon. The Moon phase is 23%.
At 0.06 am the Jupiter Moon Europa ends its transit and at 2.27 am the Jupiter Moon Europa ends its shadow transit.
A rather bright Iridium flare appears at 2.40 am in the North West at an altitude of 32° in the constellation Ursa Major.
Wednesday 11 May
Mercury has its closest approach at 6 pm. The distance to the Earth is 0.554 AU. One AU (Astronomical Unit) is the average distance from the Earth to the Sun.
Satellites are visible with the naked eye. They move slowly, as "stars" or "dots" in the night sky. Iridium flares sudden lit up at certain times and at certain places in the night sky. A rather bright Iridium flare appears at 10.49 pm in the North East at an altitude of 34° in the constellation Cygnus. Another bright flare appears at 2.33 am in the North West at an altitude of 30° in the constellation Ursa Major.
The Moon is in maximum libration East at 3.55 am. Mare Crisium limb is tipped into our view.
When you have a small telescope or you can hold a good binocular steady, you can see the 4 bright Moons of the giant planet Jupiter. You also can see some activity on the planet's disc. The Great Red Spot is in transit on the Jupiter disc at 4.07 am.
The International Spaces Station, called ISS is visible as a satellite and can be seen as a bright star moving between all other stars. ISS appears at 4.39 am in the South South West. Culmination or highest spot in the sky will be at 4.42 am in the South East at an altitude of 17°. ISS disappears at 4.47 am in the Eastern horizon.
Get in touch with me via www.patrickpoitevin.weebly.com if you need more information.