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‘Earth & Sky’ Archives

Earthsky Tonight—May 13, 2010: M13, the Great

Earthsky Tonight—May 13, 2010: M13, the Great Cluster in Hercules

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Hercules above the star Vega. Today’s closer view can help you identify the most famous deep-sky object within this constellation. It is a globular star cluster known as M13. Today’s chart shows the location of M13. It is about a third of the distance along a line between the stars Eta and Zeta Hercules. We are not showing you what the cluster looks like on this chart – and in the sky, you’ll see it differently, ... Full Story

Earthsky Tonight—May, 17, Moon near Venus, Castor

Earthsky Tonight—May, 17, Moon near Venus, Castor and Pollux

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org This evening after dark look in the west to find a lovely waxing crescent moon in front of the constellation Gemini, also known as the Twins. The Gemini Twins – Castor and Pollux – stand upright upon the horizon at early evening. As evening deepens into late night, Gemini slowly but surely sinks beneath the horizon, to disappear from the sky by around 1:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. Can you identify the stars Castor and Pollux ... Full Story

Earthsky Tonight—May 12, 2010 The constellation

Earthsky Tonight—May 12, 2010 The constellation Hercules and The Keystone

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Hercules the Hero is not the easiest constellation to identify. You will need a dark sky to see this mighty star figure. However, if you can see Vega – a prominent blue-white star in the northeast in the evening now – you might spot Hercules nearby. Still can’t see it? Look back at this chart to see Hercules with respect to both Vega and another star, Arcturus. The most noticeable part of Hercules is an “asterism” or ... Full Story

Earthsky Tonight—May 9, By morning, moon moving away

Earthsky Tonight—May 9, By morning, moon moving away from Jupiter

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Here are two bright morning objects again, Jupiter and the moon. If you contrast today’s chart with yesterday’s chart, you will see that the moon appears to the left of Jupiter on Monday morning (May 10), yet above Jupiter on Sunday morning (May 9). How could it be otherwise? The moon is constantly moving in orbit around Earth, and this ceaseless motion translates to an eastward (leftward) motion across our sky from one day to ... Full Story

Earthsky Tonight—May 8: Jupiter and moon close

Earthsky Tonight—May 8: Jupiter and moon close together before dawn

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Tomorrow, on Sunday morning, May 9, the dazzling planet Jupiter sits beneath the waning crescent moon at dawn. Both the moon and Jupiter light up the constellation Pisces the Fishes. One day later, on Monday, the lunar crescent and Jupiter line up side by side, for another spectacular display at morning dawn. Jupiter has more known moons than any other solar system planet. At the last count, there are 63 moons, though only four of ... Full Story

Earthsky Tonight—May 7, See the legendary green

Earthsky Tonight—May 7, See the legendary green flash

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Our image today was taken by Mike Baird. It is a classic image of a detached green flash, seen at sunset. Used with permission. You can see green flashes with the eye, sometimes, if you are looking toward a very clear horizon. You must be looking just at sunset, at the last moment before the sun disappears below the horizon. In addition, you have to be careful not to look too soon. Wait until just the thinnest rim of the sun ... Full Story

Earthsky Tonight—May 06, Milky Way encircles the

Earthsky Tonight—May 06, Milky Way encircles the horizon on May evenings

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Where is the Milky Way these days? That faint luminous band of stars crossing the dome of sky is nowhere to be seen on May evenings. Why? The disk of our Milky Way is shaped like a pancake. On May evenings, the plane of the pancake-shaped galactic disk coincides with the plane of the horizon. Because the Milky Way disk sits along the horizon in every direction, the Milky Way doesn’t appear in the sky on May evenings. The ... Full Story

Earthsky Tonight—Moon, Jupiter, Eta Aquarid meteors

Earthsky Tonight—Moon, Jupiter, Eta Aquarid meteors before dawn

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org The best viewing time for the Eta Aquarid meteor shower will probably be tomorrow (Thursday) morning, from about 3:00 a.m. until dawn. Our sky chart shows the sky scene just before the onset of morning twilight. The Y-shaped “Water Jar” peeks out in between the last quarter moon and the blazing planet Jupiter. Incidentally, this distinctive Y-shaped pattern of stars closely aligns with the radiant point of the Eta Aquarid ... Full Story

Earthsky Tonight — May 4, Moon drowns Eta Aquarid

Earthsky Tonight — May 4, Moon drowns Eta Aquarid meteors before dawn

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org The Eta Aquarid meteor shower is now taking stage in the dark hours before dawn. It has expected to peak in the predawn sky on Thursday morning – May 6, 2010 – from roughly two hours to one hour before sunrise. Look on our almanac page for your sunrise time. Under ideal conditions, this shower can produce up to 20 to 40 meteors per hour. However, in 2010, the last quarter moon will wash out all but the brighter meteors of ... Full Story

Earthsky Tonight —May 3, Can you see Aldebaran near

Earthsky Tonight —May 3, Can you see Aldebaran near Venus?

Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org You should have no trouble spotting Venus after sunset, even though this dazzling world appears quite low in the west at dusk and early evening. Don't tarry when looking for Venus, for this blazing beauty follows the sun beneath the horizon roughly two hours after sunset. Venus and Aldebaran, the brightest star in the constellation Taurus, are in conjunction today. Generally, two heavenly bodies do not appear in the same exact ... Full Story

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