Welcome to The Warren Report, the Mayborn Planetarium’s informal, yet in depth look at tracking the constellations, planets and all things galactic. The report is written each month by our resident astronomer, Warren Hart. A former U.S. Air Force navigator, an astronomical guide on cruise ships and for the Texas Parks and Wildlife, Hart has an extensive background in astronomy. Follow his report for each day’s occurrences or click on a specific day on the calendar link to the right.

May

Thursday 1

At midnight, Mars (in constellation Gemini) has already risen and transited. It will set at 1:46 a.m. It is 152.1-plus million miles from Earth. Saturn, in constellation Leo, has also risen and transited. It will set at 3:44 a.m. Jupiter, in constellation Sagittarius, rises at 1:22 a.m., transits at 6:28 a.m. and sets at11:35 a.m. The moon, in constellation Aquarius, is 237,301 miles from Earth. It rises at 4:06 a.m., transits at 10:09 a.m. and sets at 4:14 p.m. In its waning crescent phase (position 8 of the Phase of the Moon chart, it is considered to be 24-plus days old. The so-called ‘age’ of the moon is determined by how many days it has been since the last new moon (April 5). It is north of the plane of the ecliptic as of April 29. Venus, in constellation Aries, rises at 6:21 a.m., transits at 12:50 p.m. and sets at 7:20 p.m. The sun, in constellation Aries, is 93.7 million miles from Earth. It rises at 6:46 a.m., transits at 1:28 p.m. and sets at 8:11 p.m. Mercury, in constellation Taurus, rises at 7:34 a.m., transits at 2:33 p.m. and sets at 9:33 p.m.


Monday, 5

Eta-aquarid meteors occur. By projecting the meteor paths backward in straight, imaginary lines, they seem to converge at a point in the sky called the “Shower Radiant.” The meteor shower is named after the nearest constellation of the shower. In this case the meteor shower is in the constellation Aquarius and is named the Aquarids. The projected maximum number of meteors per hour one could observe is about 60. This is a perfect time to observe the meteor shower because the moon will not be visible. At 3:10 a.m. the “Shower Radiant” point rises on the eastern horizon at 090° [East]. This is one of two meteor showers associated with Comet 1P/Halley which last came by the Earth in 1986. The other shower will be in October. One should have approximately three-plus hours of viewing time until the morning twilight will get too bright to see the meteors. At 6:43 a.m. the sun rises on the eastern horizon.

The moon, in constellation Aries, rises at 6:27 a.m., transits at 1:38 p.m. and sets at 8:56 p.m. At 7:20 a.m. there is a new moon (position 1) as it changes from a waning crescent moon (position 8) to a waxing crescent moon (position 2). This is when the center points of the sun, moon and the Earth are in line with each other. They are also in that order with the moon in between the sun and Earth. This is the beginning of Lunation 1056. Since the moon’s ecliptic latitude is +04° 13’ when it passes in line with the sun and Earth, its shadow will be above Earth and will not come in contact with Earth’s surface. Thus there will not be a solar eclipse at this time. The next solar eclipse will be August 1. At 10 p.m., the moon is in perigee. Of the 13 moon perigees this year this is the third closest the moon will be from Earth during the year. The closest the moon will be to Earth will be December 12. The moon’s orbit around Earth is elliptical which means its distance from Earth varies. When it is closest to the Earth it is called perigee. When it is farthest from the Earth, it is called apogee.


Sunday, 11

The moon, in constellation Leo, rises at 12:47 p.m., transits at 7:40 p.m. and sets at 12:27 a.m. At 7:59 p.m. it enters the descending node where the tilt of the moon’s orbit causes it to cross the plane of the ecliptic and go below the plane. At 10:48 p.m., the moon enters first quarter (position 3) and changes from a waxing crescent moon (position 2) to a waxing gibbous moon (position 4).


Tuesday, 13

The sun rises at 6:59 a.m., transits at 1:31 p.m. and sets at 8:02 p.m. At 12 p.m. the sun will ‘leave’ the eastern boundary of the constellation Aries and enter the western boundary of the constellation Taurus. Of the 13 constellations the sun passes through in its annual travel along the ecliptic path in the sky, it will be in Taurus for 41 days (until June 21). This is the second longest amount of time the sun will be in any of the 13 constellations. From 8:02 p.m. – 10:06 p.m., Mercury is the farthest angular distance in the sky from the sun this year (21.8° east) and will set almost two hours later than the sun at 10:06 p.m. Mercury is the most difficult of the five visible planets to observe but this is an ideal time to look for Mercury. First, note where the sun sets on the western horizon. After the sun sets, begin looking for Mercury approximately 20° (two vertical fists) above the point where the sun went down. As time goes on, Mercury will eventually set within 10° of the same point the sun set on the western horizon.


Thursday, 15

At midnight, Mars (in constellation Cancer) has already risen and transited. It sets at 1:17 a.m. Saturn, in constellation Leo, has also already risen and transited. It sets at 2:49 a.m. The moon, in constellation Virgo, has also risen and transited at midnight. It sets at 3:52 a.m. In its waxing gibbous phase (position 6), the moon is considered to be 10-plus days old. Jupiter, in constellation Sagittarius, rises at 12:27 a.m., transits at 5:34 a.m. and sets at 10:40 a.m. Venus, in constellation Aries, rises at 6:18 a.m., transits at 1:02 p.m. and sets at 7:47 p.m. The sun, in constellation Taurus, rises at 6:35 a.m., transits at 1:28 p.m. and sets at 8:20 p.m. Mercury, in constellation Taurus, rises at 7:49 a.m., transits at 2:58 p.m. and sets at 10:06 p.m.


Monday, 19

The moon, in constellation Libra, rises at 8:27 p.m., transits at 1:30 a.m. and sets at 6:33 a.m. At 9:12 p.m. there is a full moon (position 5). Prior to the moon becoming full, it will change from a waxing gibbous moon (position 4) to a waning gibbous moon (position 6). Since the moon’s ecliptic latitude is -05° 21’ when it passes in line with the sun and Earth, the Earth’s shadow will be above the moon and will not come in contact with the moon’s surface. Thus there will not be a lunar eclipse at this time. The next lunar eclipse will be August 16.


Tuesday, 20

At 10 a.m., the moon (in constellation Scorpius) is at apogee and has already set below the western horizon. Of the 14 moon apogees this year, this is the 12th farthest distance it will be from Earth during the year. The farthest apogee will be on December 26. The moon’s orbit around Earth is elliptical which means the moon’s distance from Earth varies.


Monday, 26

The moon, in constellation Capricornus is 21 days old and in the waning gibbous phase. At 4:44 p.m. it enters its ascending node


Thursday, 27

The moon, in constellation Aquarius, rises at 2:30 a.m., transits at 7:49 a.m. and sets at 1:09 p.m. At 9:56 p.m., it enters the last quarter (position 7) and changes from a waning gibbous moon (position 6) to a waning crescent moon (position 8). This begins the best (darkest) seven-day period of the month for viewing the evening night sky without any light of the moon.


Saturday, 31

At midnight, Mars (in constellation Cancer) has already risen and transited. It sets at 12:43 a.m. Saturn, in constellation Leo, has also risen and transited. It sets at 1:47 a.m. Jupiter, in constellation Sagittarius, has also risen. It transits at 4:28 a.m. and sets at 9:34 a.m. The moon, in constellation Pisces, rises at 3:38 a.m., transits at 10:23 a.m. and sets at 5:15 p.m. In its waxing crescent phase (position 8), the moon is considered to be 25-plus days old. It is north of the plane of the ecliptic as of May 26. Venus, in constellation Taurus, rises at 6:22 a.m., transits at 1:20 p.m. and sets at 8:18 p.m. The sun, in constellation Taurus, rises at 6:28 a.m., transits at 1:29 p.m. and sets at 8:30 p.m. Mercury, in constellation Taurus, rises at 7:13 a.m., transits at 2:12 p.m. and sets at 9:10 p.m.


What's Happening


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{click on the dates to view the activities descriptions}

Constellation’s Best Viewing Date

Related Links

NOVA
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The information in this newsletter is compiled from many resources including the following: Astronomical Calendar 2007 by Guy Ottewell © Universal Workshop [ISBN 0-934546-52-5]; The Facts on File Dictionary of Astronomy © Checkmark Books [ISBN 0-8160-4284-5]; Observer’s Handbook 2007 © The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada [ISBN 0-9738109-3-9]; Skywatch 2007 © New Track Media [ISSN 1089-4888]

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