Astronomy News for the Month of May 2005

• Moon
• Planets
  • Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto
• Astronomical Events
  • Meteor Showers, Occultations, Comets, Eclipses, Asteroids
• Other Items of Interest
• Planetary/Lunar Exploration Missions
• Mars Missions
• Links and Other Space News
• Astronomical Lexicon
• Universe Today
• Acknowledgments and References
• Subscription Information
• Newsletter Archives
• Items of Special Interest to Ham Radio Operators
• IAAS News
• Web Sites of Interest

Background screen credits: NGC 5775 - Imaged March 21/22, 2001 using the 16" Kitt Peak Visitors Center telescope as part of the Advanced Observing Program.

Moon

Phases

• New Moon on the 8th.
• 1st Quarter Moon on the 16th.
• Full moon on the 23rd.
• Last Quarter Moon on the 1st and 30th.

Apogee/Perigee

• Apogee on the 14th, 251,407 mi. from Earth.
• Perigee on the 26th, 226,329 mi. from Earth.

Moon/Planet Pairs

• The Moon passes 5° south of Neptune on the 1st.
• The Moon passes 3° south of Mars on the 2nd.
• The Moon passes 3° south of Uranus on the 3rd.
• The Moon passes 3° north of Mercury on the 6th.
• The Moon passes 5° north of Saturn on the 13th.
• Mars passes 1.2° south of Uranus on the 14th.
• The Moon passes 0.4° south of Jupiter on the 19th.
• The Moon passes 0.8° north of Antares on the 24th.
• The Moon passes 5° south of Neptune on the 28th.
• The Moon passes 3° south of Uranus on the 30th.
• The Moon passes 0.5° south of Mars on the 31st.

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Planets

Planetary Reports generated by "TheSky" software. These reports provide predicted data for the planets for the first of each month for the current year. The rise and set times for the Sun and the Moon for each day of the month are also included in the reports.

(All times are local unless otherwise noted.)

• Mercury - "Northern Hemisphere observers might glimpse Mercury during the first 2 weeks of May. Your best bet comes the morning of the 6th, when a waning crescent Moon lies near the planet. Mercury stands 3° to the lower right of the slender crescent as they rise shortly after 5 A.M. local daylight time, just an hour before sunrise. Mercury shines at magnitude 0.0, but you'll need an eastern horizon clear of obstructions to spot it." (From p. 59, Astronomy, May 2005)

• Venus - Is visible in the evening sky once again. Look to the west soon after sunset to spot Venus in the constellation of Taurus. Venus sets at 8:34 pm on the 1st and 9:40 pm by month's end. Venus shines at magnitude -3.7.

• Earth - N/A.

• Mars - Appears briefly in the early morning sky this month. Mars rises about 3:14 am on the 1st and about 2:09 am by month's end. Mars is in the constellation of Aquarius this month. On the 15th, Mars and Uranus can be spotted in the same binocular field of view. Mars shines at magnitude 0.5.

• Jupiter - Rises at 5:08 pm on the 1st and 2:57 pm by month's end. Jupiter is in the constellation of Virgo. Jupiter shines at magnitude -2.3.

• Saturn - Can be found in the southwest in the early evening. Sun sets in the evening this month. Saturn sets around 1:18 am on the 1st and about 11:22 pm by month's end. Saturn is in the constellation of Gemini. Saturn shines at a magnitude of 0.2.

• Uranus - Rises at 3:35 am on the 1st and about 1:35 am by month's end. Uranus is in the constellation of Aquarius and shines at a magnitude of 5.9.

• Neptune - Rises at 2:33 am on the 1st and about 12:27 am by month's end. Neptune is in the constellation of Capricornus and shines at a magnitude of 7.9.

• Pluto - Rises about 10:43 pm on the 1st and about 8:38 pm by month's end. Pluto is in the constellation of Ophiuchus. Pluto shines at magnitude 13.8. As always, good luck at spotting this one.

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Astronomical Events

Meteor Showers

• The Eta Aquarid Meteor Showers - This shower is visible during the period of April 21 to May 12. It reaches maximum on May 5. During the period of greatest activity hourly rates usually reach 20 for observers in the northern hemisphere and 50 for observers in the southern hemisphere.

Occultations

• For observers in South America, the Moon occults Jupiter on the evening of the 19th.

• The Moon occults Antares on the evening of the 23 (early morning on the 24th) for most of North America. See the following table for cities and times of disappearances and reappearances.

  City	Disappearance	Reappearance
  Boston	4:23 am EDT	not visible
  Chicago	3:02 am CDT	4:00 am CDT
  Denver	1:27 am MDT	2:34 am MDT
  Los Angeles	11:56 pm PDT	1:16 am PDT
  Miami	4:23 am EDT	5:37 am EDT
  New Orleans	3:01 am CDT	4:17 am CDT
  San Francisco	11:50 pm PDT	1:06 am PDT
  Seattle	11:57 pm PDT	1:02 am PDT
  Tucson	12:11 am MST	1:33 am MST

• More information on occultations can be found by clicking the IOTA logo.

Comets

• Comet C/2004 Q2 (Machholz) crosses the handle of the Big Dipper into Canes Venatici this month. Comet Machholz has dimmed to 9th magnitude making it a bit more difficult to spot with binoculars; however, a small telescope should be able to pick out Comet Machholz on a dark night.

• For information, orbital elements and ephemerides on observable comets, visit the Observable Comets page from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

Eclipses

• No eclipse activity this month.

Asteroids

(From west to east)

• Pallas is between the constellation of Leo and Coma Berenices.
• Ceres is at opposition on the 9th. Ceres is in the constellation of Libra.
• Irene is at opposition on the 17/18th. Irene is in the constellation of Libra.
• Iris is in the constellation of Ophiuchus.
• Melpomene is in the constellation of Ophiuchus.
• Vesta is in conjunction with the Sun on the 10th.

• Information about the Minor Planets can be found at the Minor Planet Observer web site.

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Other Items of Interest

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Planetary/Lunar Exploration Missions

(Excerpts from recent JPL mission updates)

• Cassini - April 27, 2005 - Cassini Captures Swiss-Cheese Look of Saturn Moon
  (Source: Jet Propulsion Laboratory)

  "An image of Saturn's small moon, Epimetheus (epp-ee-MEE-thee-uss), was captured by the Cassini spacecraft in the closest view ever taken of the pockmarked body.

  Epimetheus is irregularly shaped and dotted with soft-edged craters. The many large, softened craters on Epimetheus indicate a surface that is several billion years old. The moon shares an orbit with another of Saturn's small moons, Janus. The two dance in a planetary tango as they move in almost identical orbits, exchanging orbits every four years, instead of colliding. Both play a role in creating intricate waves in Saturn's rings; both have densities significantly lower than that of solid ice, suggesting they may be "rubble piles" held together by gravity. At 116 kilometers (72 miles) across, Epimetheus is slightly smaller than Janus at 181 kilometers (113 miles) across. Spectra of Epimetheus from the Cassini visual infrared mapping spectrometer indicate that the moon is mostly water ice.

  Cassini Imaging Team

  For the latest mission status reports, visit Cassini Mission Status web page. The speed and location of the spacecraft along its flightpath can be viewed on the "Where is Cassini Now?" web page.

• Deep Impact - April 27, 2005 - Deep Impact Spots Quarry

  "Sixty-nine days before it gets up-close-and-personal with a comet, NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft successfully photographed its quarry, comet Tempel 1, at a distance of 39.7 million miles. The image, taken on April 25, 2005, is the first of many comet portraits Deep Impact will take leading up to its historic comet encounter on July 4."

  For the latest mission status reports, visit http://www.nasa.gov/deepimpact and http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/.

• Genesis - April 20, 2005 - NASA ANNOUNCES KEY GENESIS SCIENCE COLLECTORS IN EXCELLENT SHAPE

  "Scientists have closely examined four Genesis spacecraft collectors, vital to the mission's top science objective, and found them in excellent shape, despite the spacecraft's hard landing last year.

  Scientists at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston removed the four solar-wind collectors from an instrument called the concentrator. The concentrator targets collected solar-oxygen ions during the Genesis mission. Scientists will analyze them to measure solar-oxygen isotopic composition, the highest-priority measurement objective for Genesis. The data may hold clues to increase understanding about how the solar system formed."

  The latest status reports can be read at the Genesis Mission web site. Find out more about the Genesis mission at the Genesis Mission and Genesis Mission at JPL web sites. Visit Where Is Genesis Now?

• Stardust - April 06, 2005 - NASA Teams Receive National Recognition -
  "NASA accomplishments in aviation and aerospace were honored at Aviation Week and Space Technology's 48th Annual Aerospace Laurels Awards. Laurel honorees were nominated by the editors of the aerospace magazine for "extraordinary individual and team accomplishments in the global aviation, aerospace and defense industries."

  Stardust LPSC 2004 Abstracts
  "Abstracts of the Stardust science results from the Comet Wild 2 encounter are now available here (Adobe Acrobat reader required): ftp://www.lpi.usra.edu/pub/outgoing/lpsc2004/full07.pdf"

  For more information on the Stardust mission - the first ever comet sample return mission - please visit the Stardust home page.

• Galaxy Evolution Explorer - (GALEX) -
  The GALEX Image Gallery is available at http://www.galex.caltech.edu/imagegallery.html.

  For more information on the GALEX mission - What's New!

• Past, Present, Future and Proposed JPL Missions - http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions

• Visit JPL's mission pages for current status.

Mars Missions

• Mars Global Surveyor - No new news since March 24, 2005 -
  PDS MAP-A-PLANET MARS MOLA data available. Create your own customized map of Mars.

  Mars Global Surveyor Images - April 21-27, 2005
  "The following new images taken by the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) on the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft are now available:

  • Hills and Flows (Released 21 April 2005)
    
  • Valley near Ceraunius (Released 22 April 2005)
    
  • Groovy Dunes (Released 23 April 2005)
    
  • Collapse Pits (Released 24 April 2005)
    
  • Cratered Isidis Plain (Released 25 April 2005)
    
  • Mars at Ls 193 Degrees (Released 26 April 2005)
    
  • Meridiani Complexity (Released 27 April 2005)
    
  • All of the Mars Global Surveyor images are archived here.

  Every six months, a new suite of MGS MOC data are archived with the NASA Planetary Data System (PDS).

  Information about how to submit requests is online at the new Mars Orbiter Camera Target Request Site, at http://www.msss.com/plan/intro"

  Newly-released MOC images can be seen in the MOC Gallery, a web site maintained by Malin Space Science Systems, the company that built and operates MOC for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and NASA.

  Mars Global Surveyor has begun its eighth year orbiting the red planet. MGS reached Mars on 12 September 1997. The first MOC images were obtained on 15 September 1997.

  Visit the MGS pages at http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mgs/index.html. There are over 134,000 images of Mars from the MGS, check out the newest MGS images of the surface of Mars.

• Mars Odyssey Orbiter - April 07, 2004 - Happy Anniversary Odyssey! -
  "Four years ago on April 7, 2001, the mechanics, scientists, secretaries, and family members of the Odyssey orbiter team said a final farewell to their creation and hello to Mars. Don't miss the video, "An Odyssey of Exploration," for the ground-breaking accomplishments since launch."

  Mars Odyssey Themis Images April 25-29, 2005

  • Southern Kasei Vallis (Released 25 April 2005)
    
  • Alluvial Fans in Kasei Vallis (Released 26 April 2005)
    
  • Islands in Kasei Vallis (Released 27 April 2005)
    
  • Rejoining Flows (Released 28 April 2005)
    
  • Water Flow Evidence in Kasei Vallis (Released 29 April 2005)
    
  • All of the THEMIS images are archived here.

  The Odyssey data are available through a new online access system established by the Planetary Data System at: http://starbrite.jpl.nasa.gov/pds/"

  Visit the Mars Odyssey Mission page.

• Mars Exploration Rover Mission (Spirit and Opportunity) - April 29, 2005 -
  Spirit Status: Spirit Drives to 'Methuselah' - sol 456-462, April 21, 2005

  "Spirit has had a great week. The rover has completed some soil studies, taken lots of images, done a little driving, and captured a dust devil image with its panoramic camera. Late in the week, Spirit drove over to a piece of outcrop called "Methuselah." Spirit is healthy and doing fine!"

  Opportunity Status: Subhead - sol 443-446, April 29, 2005

  "Opportunity used the spectrometers on its arm to examine the soil where the rover stayed for six sols, then resumed driving on sol 446. However, the drive ended after 40 meters when Opportunity was crossing a dune and dug into it. Engineers are using a test rover to evaluate options for getting off the dune."

  Landing sites

  Visit the Mars Exploration Rover page.

• Mars Missions Status - New Mars missions are being planned to include several new rover and sample collection missions. Check out the Mars Missions web page and the Mars Exploration page.

Links and Other Space News

(If you have a link you would like to recommend to our readers, please feel free to submit it.)