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Contact
615-355-4983
vghart2@cs.com
615-355-4983
vghart2@cs.com
CURRENT MOON
Starry, Starry, Night....
Stargazing Information May 21 - 27, 2012
The central event of the month, and one of the skywatching highlights of the year, takes place during the daytime: an annular
eclipse of the Sun, which carves a narrow path across the western United States. An annular solar eclipse will dim the skies along
a narrow path in the western United States on May 20, with a partial eclipse visible across most of the rest of the country. After
dark, some of the signature star patterns of summer begin their climb to prominence, including the Summer Triangle, which
rises in late evening, and sinuous Scorpius, the scorpion, which is in full view at midnight by month's end.
In addition to our May eclipse coverage, we have information on the second half of a twice-in-a-lifetime event: the June 5 transit
of Venus across the Sun.
May 21, 2012
The crescent Moon and the planet Venus stage a beautiful display the next few evenings. Tonight, the Moon is quite low at
sunset, with brilliant Venus well above it. The Moon sets by the time the sky gets fully dark, so you need to look quickly to see it.
May 22, 2012
One of the most famous characters in the night sky takes a prominent position at this time of year. The relatively faint
constellation Hercules is in view by the time it gets dark, and arcs high overhead during the night.
May 23, 2012
A “city” of hundreds of thousands of stars passes high overhead on spring and summer evenings — the globular cluster known as
M13. It looks like a faint, fuzzy point of light in the constellation Hercules.
May 24, 2012
Vulpecula, the fox, scampers across the late-night sky this month. But the constellation is quite faint; its brightest star, a red
giant more than 200 light-years from Earth, is visible to the unaided eye only from a dark location, far from city lights.
May 25, 2012
The four stars at the center of Hercules form a sort of lopsided square called the Keystone, which is well up in the east at
nightfall. Its brightest star, at the upper right, is Zeta Herculis. Moving clockwise, the other three are Epsilon, Pi, and Eta
Herculis.
May 26, 2012
This is a good time to look for the constellation Centaurus, the mythological half-man, half-horse. His head and shoulders are
visible from most of the Lower 48 states, with most of his body also visible from Hawaii. They stand low in the south a couple of
hours after sunset and set in the wee hours of the morning.
May 27, 2012
The Big Dipper is high in the north as darkness falls, with the bowl hanging down from the handle. Its stars represent the torso
and tail of Ursa Major, the big bear, but his legs and much of his body extend well below and to the left of the dipper.
.
.
.
The central event of the month, and one of the skywatching highlights of the year, takes place during the daytime: an annular
eclipse of the Sun, which carves a narrow path across the western United States. An annular solar eclipse will dim the skies along
a narrow path in the western United States on May 20, with a partial eclipse visible across most of the rest of the country. After
dark, some of the signature star patterns of summer begin their climb to prominence, including the Summer Triangle, which
rises in late evening, and sinuous Scorpius, the scorpion, which is in full view at midnight by month's end.
In addition to our May eclipse coverage, we have information on the second half of a twice-in-a-lifetime event: the June 5 transit
of Venus across the Sun.
May 21, 2012
The crescent Moon and the planet Venus stage a beautiful display the next few evenings. Tonight, the Moon is quite low at
sunset, with brilliant Venus well above it. The Moon sets by the time the sky gets fully dark, so you need to look quickly to see it.
May 22, 2012
One of the most famous characters in the night sky takes a prominent position at this time of year. The relatively faint
constellation Hercules is in view by the time it gets dark, and arcs high overhead during the night.
May 23, 2012
A “city” of hundreds of thousands of stars passes high overhead on spring and summer evenings — the globular cluster known as
M13. It looks like a faint, fuzzy point of light in the constellation Hercules.
May 24, 2012
Vulpecula, the fox, scampers across the late-night sky this month. But the constellation is quite faint; its brightest star, a red
giant more than 200 light-years from Earth, is visible to the unaided eye only from a dark location, far from city lights.
May 25, 2012
The four stars at the center of Hercules form a sort of lopsided square called the Keystone, which is well up in the east at
nightfall. Its brightest star, at the upper right, is Zeta Herculis. Moving clockwise, the other three are Epsilon, Pi, and Eta
Herculis.
May 26, 2012
This is a good time to look for the constellation Centaurus, the mythological half-man, half-horse. His head and shoulders are
visible from most of the Lower 48 states, with most of his body also visible from Hawaii. They stand low in the south a couple of
hours after sunset and set in the wee hours of the morning.
May 27, 2012
The Big Dipper is high in the north as darkness falls, with the bowl hanging down from the handle. Its stars represent the torso
and tail of Ursa Major, the big bear, but his legs and much of his body extend well below and to the left of the dipper.
.
.
.
"I know nothing with any certainty, but the
sight of the stars makes me dream."
- Vincent Van Gogh
sight of the stars makes me dream."
- Vincent Van Gogh
