Skywatch Line for Monday and Tuesday May 6th and 7th, written by Joe Slomka
This is the Dudley Observatory’s Skywatch Line for Monday and Tuesday May 6th and 7th, written by Joe Slomka.
The Sun sets at 8:02 PM; night falls at 9:57. Dawn begins at 3:47 AM and ends with Sunrise at 5:41.
The Moon lies in Aries on both nights. Monday’s Moon rises at 4:44 AM, and only 2% lit and sets at 6:34 PM. Tuesday’s New Moon rises at 5:09 AM and sets at 7:55 PM. For all practical purposes, the Moon is not visible, being hidden by the Sun.
The same can be said for evening planets. Venus and Uranus are too close to the Sun and Jupiter is lost in twilight. Saturn is the first visible Dawn planet, rising at 3:36 AM in southeastern Aquarius, shining with 1st magnitude, appears 16 arc-seconds in size and 15° high at 5 AM. Eastern Pisces hosts Neptune, Mars and Mercury. Neptune is found 12° from Saturn, rises at 4 AM, 8th magnitude, 2 arc-seconds and 11° high. Mars is next, 6° behind Neptune, rises at 4:12 AM, also 1st magnitude, 4 arc-seconds and 9° high. Finally, 16° behind Mars, Mercury rises at 4:56 AM, glowing with minus zero magnitude, 8 arc-seconds and 1° high. Mercury is never far from the horizon, binoculars are recommended. All these planets set during daytime. Note, that on Wednesday morning, Saturn, Mars and Mercury appear as a straight line.
The main event of the week is the annual Eta Aquariid meteor shower. This is the first of two related showers, both being debris of Comet Halley; the October Orionids are the second. The Eta Aquariid lasts 5 days, with the peak being on May 5th. They rise at 2:23 AM and set at 2:17 PM. The Moon on the 5th is 10%lit and on the 6th it is only 4%. Tuesday, Dawn sees the radiant close to Saturn. For the Capital Region, forecasts are between 15 and 20 meteors per hour. Early risers may witness ‘Earthgrazers”, meteors that skim along the horizon. Even when the sky has stars of 3rd magnitude or fainter, the observer can see short streaks that appear aimed at the you.
Clear Skies Joe Slomka