Backyard Stargazer for May 2018
By Francis Parnell
With both Jupiter and Saturn becoming evening objects in May, if you own a small telescope, it’s time to get it out and do some planet watching. And if you’ve never seen Saturn with its ring system in a telescope, you will never forget that first-time amazing view!
Looking south one hour before sunrise on the 4th, and above the Teapot of SAGITTARIUS, look for Saturn 6-degrees lower left of the waning gibbous Moon.
Rising at sunset on the 8th and visible all night long, bright yellow Jupiter is at opposition, 409,005,550 miles (37 light-minutes) from Earth. Jupiter is a great telescopic object too with its cloud belts, Great Red Spot, and its four largest moons.
In twilight on the 17th, you can’t miss sparkling Venus about 5-degrees to the right of the waxing crescent Moon.
At dusk on the 20th, dazzling Venus is less than 1-degree right of the beautiful open star cluster M35 in GEMINI, the Twins. At 2,800 light-years away, M35 is a neat sight in binoculars or at low power in a small telescope.
Look for Regulus, the brightest star in LEO, less than 1-degree south of the first-quarter Moon on the 21st.
The almost full Moon is just over 5-degrees left of bright Jupiter on the evening of the 27th.
Just before midnight on the 31st, look southeast to spot Saturn about 3-degrees to the right of the waxing gibbous Moon.
In March I was shocked to learn that theoretical physicist Professor Stephen Hawking had passed away. The world will surely miss his brilliant intellect and insight concerning all things cosmological. He had one of the best quotes I’ve ever read, “Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet.” Great advice for all; that’s why I’ve always closed with….”Keep looking up!”
Francis Parnell of Darlington has been an amateur astronomer for over 46 years, and was on the staff and helped out at the Francis Marion University Observatory from 1982 until 2006 by showing visitors “what’s out there.” With the help of a friend, Mr. Ernest Lowry, he built his own telescope in 1986. And, because of light pollution, for the last 31 years he has been advocating for the advantages of using fully-shielded lighting at night.
