Sky Watch May & June 2009
The Moon and four planets make this time of 2009 an especially interesting period to gaze at the night sky. The Moon is, of course, our closest neighbor in space and the second brightest object in the sky after the Sun. After the Sun sets and the sky begins to grow dark, depending on the date the Moon may be the first object to appear in the night sky. As the sky grows darker, look in the west and the first star-like object to appear will be the planet Saturn. On May 4th, May 31st, and June 27th, you will find the Moon nearby Saturn.
The slowly, the real stars will appear, the brightest ones first. To the west of Saturn will be the bright reddish star Regulus, the heart of Leo, the Lion. To the east of Saturn will be Arcturus and Spica. Arcturus is higher in the sky and Spica more toward the south.
As the Earth continues to turn, the planets and stars will set in the west and new objects will rise in the east. Around 12:30 a.m. the largest of all planets, Jupiter, will rise. Wait an hour or so for Jupiter to climb higher in the sky and you will easily spot this bright planet. Even though Jupiter is the largest of all the planets, it still looks star-like. On May 17th and June 13th you will find that the Moon has joined Jupiter.
About three hours after Jupiter rises, two more planets will rise in the east: first Venus and slightly later Mars. Venus is very easy to spot; it is the third brightest object in the sky after the Sun and the Moon. Mars is less bright, but still brighter than the surrounding stars. Mars is also reddish, so again you can easily identify this planet. Mars will be seen to the north and slightly lower than Venus. On May 20th and June 27th, the Moon will join these two planets.
At night, all the stars you can see are placed in groups called constellations. The first thing you need to do is to forget trying to see the figures suggested by the constellation names. Most of constellations look nothing at all like they should. Perhaps one of the easiest sign posts to find is the Big Dipper. Face north and look for seven fairly bright stars which form a dipper or a cooking pot -- three stars mark the handle and four more the bowl. Some people know that if you draw a line through the two stars at the end of the bowl and extend the line away from the bowl, you come to the North Star. Now, remember, the North Star is NOT the brightest star in the sky. In fact, it really isn't bright at all. It happens to be at a point in the heavens almost directly over the North Pole of the Earth.
Go back to the Big Dipper. Draw the line through the same two stars at the end of the bowl, but in the opposite direction. You will come to the bright star Regulus. Leo is made of a backwards question mark, with Regulus as the dot at the base of the question mark, which form the lion's head and the front part of its body and a small triangle of faint stars which form his hind quarters and tail.
Once more go back to the Big Dipper. This time use the Dipper's handle. Follow the arc of the handle away from the Dipper to the bright star Arcturus and then speed on to Spica. Arcturus is the brightest star in Booetes, the Herdsman. Spica is a grain of wheat being held in the hand of Virgo, the goddess of the Harvest. Once you have found Spice, look even lower near the southern horizon and you may find the Southern Cross. It is rather small, but is it does look like a cross and it is one of the star groups people like to see. From the islands you can see the Southern Cross and the Big Dipper in the sky at the same time.
