The planet Mercury is too close to the Sun and will not be visible. So is Venus. Venus is close to the Sun, but as the planet is brighter, you might have a go try to see where you have a good and clear horizon. Look just before Sunrise low in the East at about 5 am. The planet is in the in the constellation Aries. The red planet Mars is best seen from 10.10 pm to 4.50 am and is in the in the constellation Scorpius. The giant planet Jupiter is best seen from 9.15 pm to 3.30 am and is in the constellation Leo. Saturn is best seen from 10.40 pm to 4.30 am and is in the constellation Ophiuchus.
Ursa Minor, the Little Bear, is predominantly famous for one reason: Polaris, the star that appears directly above the North Pole of the Earth. Polaris can always be used to find due North and can be easily found by drawing a line through Merak and Dubhe in the Big Dipper. Many non-astronomers are under the mistaken belief that Polaris is the brightest star in the sky, but it isn’t. That honour belongs to Sirius and, besides its position in the night sky, Polaris is nothing outstanding. Even Ursa Minor itself is unremarkable.
Wednesday 11 May
Today at 2.26 pm the International Space Station will have a rocket burn and orbit manoeuver. Any prediction and calculation might differ slightly. Not drastically, but it will only be a minute or so.
Mercury has its closest approach at 6 pm. The distance to the Earth is 0.554 AU. One Astronomical Unit (AU) 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. At 11.31 pm a very bright Iridium flare appears in the West South West at an altitude of 35° in the constellation Leo. Another bright flare appears at 2.34 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. You do not need a telescope of binocular. ISS is visible with the naked eye. ISS appears at 4.38 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.
Thursday 12 May
A rather bright Iridium flare appears at 9.06 pm in the North North West at an altitude of 28° in the constellation Cassiopeia.
Look for the Earth shine on the Moon at about 10.35 pm.
Another very bright Iridium flare appears at 10.43 pm in the North East at an altitude of 35° in the constellation Cygnus.
Look at Jupiter before midnight at 23.50 pm. The Jupiter Moon Ganymede begins its transit. The Great Red Spot is in transit over the Jupiter disc at 11.58 pm.
Once more, a bright Iridium flare appears at 2.27 am in the North Eest at an altitude of 29° in the constellation Ursa Major.
The Jupiter Moon Ganymede ends it transit at 3.08 am.
ISS appears at 3.48 am in the South. Culmination or highest point in the sky will be at 3.50 am in the South East at an altitude of 12°. ISS disappears at 3.54 am in the Eastern horizon.
A very, very bright Iridium flare is visible at 4.05 am in the West at an altitude of 61° in the constellation Bootes. Although at twilight, worth a watch!
Friday 13 May
The equation of time is at maximum with 3.66 minutes at 5.50 pm. It means, if you use them ..., that the Sundials are early. The equation of time reaches a minor maximum. The Sun culminates before the mean noon.
It is First Quarter Moon at 6.02 pm. Having passed through the faint constellation of Cancer, the Moon now reaches First Quarter and appears close to the bright star Regulus in the constellation Leo. Jupiter awaits to the South West. Come back and see tomorrow to see the Moon closer to the giant planet.
The planet Mercury is close to Venus at 7.17 pm. Both planets are in the morning skies before Sun rise. As Mercury is much fainter then Venus, it will be very hard to see. Both planets are only 23' or less than a Lunar diameter separated. The planets are less than 7° from the Sun.
A very, very bright Iridium flare appears at 3.59 am in the West and 59° above the horizon in the constellation Bootes. Get out of bed for that!
ISS appears at 4.30 am in the South West. Culmination is at 4.33 am in the South South East at an altitude of 28°. ISS disappears at 4.38 am in the Eastern horizon.
Saturday 14 May
Another rocket burn will take place at ISS and an orbit manoeuver will take place at 8.32 am.
An Iridium flare appears at 9.39 pm in the North North East at an altitude of 74° in the constellation Draco.
The Moon is close to the bright star called Rho Leo at 10.15 pm. They are about 4 lunar diameters separated. The Moon altitude is 40° and the Moon phase is 62%.
Another Iridium flare appears at 10.39 pm in the North East at an altitude of 38° in the constellation Cygnus. And at 11.22 pm a flare is visible in the West at 32° above the horizon in the constellation Leo.
After midnight the Jupiter Moon Callisto disappears for an occultation behind Jupiter at 1.03 am. The Great Red Spot is in transit over the planet at 1.37 am.
Yesterday the Moon appeared close to the star Regulus but it has since moved on and now lies between that bright star and Jupiter. You should be able to catch all three in the early evening twilight after sunset but the view will improve as the sky darkens and the other stars become more apparent. The Moon is closest to Jupiter at 2.35 am. They are less than 9 lunar diameters separated. It is low on the horizon at altitude of 6°. The Moon phase is 63%. Tomorrow the Moon continues its passage through the constellations and will appear closer to the South Eastern horizon.
ISS appears at 3.39 am in the South at and 13° above the horizon. Culmination is at 3.41 am in the South South East and at 20° altitude. ISS disappears at 3.46 am in the Eastern horizon.
Sunday 15 May
Today in 1836 Francis Baily observed “Baily's Beads” at Inch Bonney in Roxburghshire, during an annular solar eclipse. His description of the striking optical effect aroused new interest in the study of solar eclipses. Baily's Beads are an arc of bright spots is briefly seen during an eclipse of the Sun immediately before and after totality. It is due to the light shining through the Moon's irregular surface features. The last bead is the brightest, resembling a diamond on a brilliant ring.
The Moon is at ascending node at 9.39 pm.
An Iridium flare appears at 11.16 pm in the West at an altitude of 32° in the constellation Leo.
After midnight, at 0.49 am the Jupiter Moon Io begins its transit. At 2.01 am the Jupiter Moon Io begins it shadow transit.
A very bright Iridium flare appears at 2.18 am in the North West and 24° above the horizon in the constellation Lynx.
ISS appears at 2.48 am in the South South East and 13° above the horizon. Culmination is at 2.48 am in the South East at 14° altitude. ISS disappears at 2.53 am in the Eastern horizon. One orbit of ISS around the Earth takes about 90 minutes. ISS appears again at 4.21 am in the South West. Culmination is at 4.24 am in the South South East at an altitude of 42°. ISS disappears 4.30 am in the East.
Monday 16 May
The Jupiter Moon Ganymede ends its eclipse at 10.02 pm. At 10.07 pm the Jupiter Moon Io disappears for an occultations behind the giant planet.
The Moon is close to the bright star called Zavijah at 10.20 pm. They are about 9 lunar diameters apart. The altitude is 37° and the Moon phase is 79%.
A very bright Iridium flare appears at 10.28 pm in the North East at an altitude of 41° in the constellation Draco.
The Jupiter Moon Io ends its eclipse at 1.36 am.
The Moon is now close to the star called Zaniah at 3 am. They are less than 3 lunar diameters separated. The Moon is now lower on the horizon, so look for a clear and open spot. The Golden Handle is visible on the Moon. The Sun rises on the Jura mountains, while Sinus Iridum is still in the shadow. Use a binocular to spot!
ISS appears at 3.30 am in the South South West and 17° above the horizon. Culmination is at 3.32 am in the South South East at an altitude of 31°. ISS disappears at 3.37 am in the Eastern horizon. After an orbit ISS appears again in twilight at 5.03 am in the West. Culmination is at 5.08 am in the South and 67° above the horizon. ISS disappears at 5.13 am in the East.
Tuesday 17 May
Today 180 years and Sir Joseph Norman Lockyer was born on 17 May 1836. He died on 16 August 1920 at the age of 84. He was an English astronomer who in 1868 discovered and named the element helium that he found in the Sun's atmosphere before it had been detected on Earth. He also applied the name chromosphere for the Sun's outer layer. Lockyer discovered, together with Pierre Janssen, the prominences or red flames that surround the solar disk.
The Moon is close to the stars Porrima and g29 Virginis at 10.15 pm. They are both approximately 7 lunar diameters separated. The Moon's altitude is 35° and the Moon phase is 86%.
The Jupiter Moon Io ends its shadow transit at 10.45 pm. At 11.08 pm the Great Red Spot is in transit on the Jupiter disc. The Jupiter Moon Europa begins its transit at 11.49 pm and begins its shadow transit at 2.19 am.
ISS appears at 2.39 am in the South South East at an altitude of 22°. Culmination is at the same time and ISS disappears shortly after at 2.44 am in the Eastern horizon. ISS appears once more at 4.11 am in the West South West. Culmination is at 4.15 am in the South South East at an altitude of 58°. ISS disappears at 4.21 am in the East.
Wednesday 18 May
Today in 1991 the first Briton was in space. British astronaut Helen Sharman was launched with two cosmonauts in a Soyuz spacecraft. This comes along with the scheduled return of our Brit Tim Peake who has been in the International Space Station (ISS). Spot ISS in the morning!
The Moon is in apogee at 10.55 pm. The distance of the Moon to the Earth is 405954 km or 253721 miles.
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. An Iridium flare appears at 11.07 pm in the West and at 30° altitude in the constellation Cancer.
The International Spaces Station (called ISS) is visible as a satellite and can be seen with the naked eye as a bright star moving between all other stars. ISS appears after midnight at 1.48 am in the East South East and 14° above the horizon. ISS disappears already after a few minutes in the Eastern horizon. An orbit around the Earth takes about 90 minutes. ISS appears again at 3.20 am in the South West and 17° altitude. Highest point in the sky or culmination is at 3.23 am in the South South East at an altitude of 46°. ISS disappears at 3.28 am in the Eastern horizon. And if you do not have enough of ISS ... ISS appears again at 4.54 am in the West. Culmination is at 4.59 in the South at 69° altitude and ISS disappears at 5.04 am in the East.
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