astronomy
The Night Sky OUR SKIES MAY BE A LITTLE LIGHTER NOW IN THE EVENINGS, BUT THERE IS STILL SO MUCH TO SEE!
H
ere we are in spring and the days are warmer and getting longer and the nights - sadly for we astronomers - are getting a little shorter as the season proceeds. With so much technology available to us at the tips of our fingers these days, I thought that it would be handy for you to be able to research the details of this month's events and objects using a free application. You can download 'Stellarium' to your mobile phone or computer. 'Skysafari' provides the same details and views of
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objects you are interested in searching for and, if your mobile phone has an inbuilt compass, will provide live / simulated views as you point your phone at different areas of the sky. I have these apps on my devices and refer to them frequently to search for objects during an imaging session. They are full of great information and free!
evening objects. What is known to astronomers as 'Galaxy Season' is with us now, so with a small telescope you may be able to spot the brightest of these in the area of Virgo. A meteor shower associated with Comet 1P/Halley will peak on the 6th of the month. Later in the month we are also treated to the beautiful sight of a Supermoon!
This month, amongst other things, we can look forward to the planets Saturn and Jupiter returning to our morning skies while Venus and Mercury will be
The Moon and Planets in May Early in the morning (5.30am) of the 3rd of the month it will be well worth the early start to catch the planet
