Planets
Mercury will also be visible, NB: Make sure to look up the however finding it takes practice time of sunset for your and must be done with great location when looking for care as it is always so close to the Mercury. Never attempt to Sun in the sky – looking at the look for Mercury before the sun can seriously damage your Sun has gone below the eyes. horizon, as it can be The best chance to see Mercury dangerous and cause damage May 2021 is the 17th May, the second date to eyes and equipment. this year when Mercury and the Mars can be seen as a bright, Sun are separated by the orange coloured object when greatest distance in the sky. looking West after sunset. Mercury will set a couple of Saturn and Jupiter will be hours after the Sun, so look West visible just before sunrise, North West in a flat area, where though by the end of the the horizon is visible to have the month, this will be quite early best chance of seeing it in the in the morning! twilight.
New Moon Full Moon 11 May 26 May
This month’s new Moon falls on Moon 11th and the full Moon will fall on 26th May. The full Moon will be the second supermoon of the year! This is when the Moon is at its closest distance to the Earth and so may look slightly larger than usual. Don’t forget to keep track of the Moon phases throughout the rest of the month and add them to the Moon chart above! Stars Arcturus is the brightest star in the northern half of the sky. Shining a beautiful orange colour, it is part of the kite-shaped constellation Böötes the Herdsman. “Arcturus” means “bear-keeper”; Böötes is imagined to be herding the two bears (Ursa Major and Ursa Minor) around The bright white star Spica is not far from Arcturus but in a different the sky as the Earth spins. The bright white star Spica is not constellation, Virgo the maiden. far from Arcturus but in a Virgo’s Y-shaped pattern is hard to different constellation, Virgo the spot but Spica stands out easily. If maiden. Virgo’s Y-shaped pattern you remember how to find the is hard to spot but Spica stands Plough from last month’s night out easily. If you remember how sky, you can use it to help you find to find the Plough from last Arcturus and Spica by following month’s night sky, you can use it the curve of the “handle” - we say to help you find Arcturus and that you “arc to Arcturus and Spica by following the curve of the speed on to Spica”. This month “handle” - we say that you “arc to This month, also take a look for could also be a good opportunity Arcturus and speed on to Spica”. Vega, in the constellation of Lyra, to try and spot M13, the Great the Lyre. Vega is one of the Globular Cluster. While possible to brightest stars in the sky. From see with the naked eye in excellent the UK, Vega never sets and so viewing conditions, binoculars or should be visible on any clear a small telescope will improve night of the year. Its brightness your chances. It appears near the means that it is possible to see centre of the constellation of even with significant light Hercules, the Roman hero pollution. (Heracles in the Greek), famed for his 12 labours. As the Earth orbits around the
Sun, it wobbles or “precesses” slightly. This wobble means that 14,000 years ago, it was Lyra, not Polaris, that was directly over the North Pole. In around 14,000AD, it will once again be our pole star.
Spacecraft It is due to arrive back on Earth in But this month, September 2023, bringing with it another rover This month, OSIRIS-REx will be some samples of rock that can be will attempt to departing asteroid Bennu and used to help us understand more land on Mars, returning to Earth with the sample about the formation of our Solar joining it has collected. OSIRIS-REx left System.Mars has been the topic of Perseverance Earth in September 2016, and after much discussion for the last couple and Curiosity. spending a few months analysing of months, since the landing of Tianwen-1 reached Mars in the surface of the Bennu (officially NASA’s Perseverance Rover. February and has been orbiting 101955 Bennu) it landed in It has sent back since, and is scheduled to land a September 2020. photos, sound rover, named Zhurong, on the 10th recordings and of May. If all goes well, this will even tested its make China the only country other helicopter, than the USA to successfully land a Ingenuity. rover on Mars.