May Calendar by Dave Mitsky

All times are UT (subtract 4 hours and when appropriate 1 calendar day for EDT)

5/1 May Day (Beltane), a cross-quarter day; Venus
achieves its greatest illuminated extent
(301 square arcseconds); the Sun is at the
same longitude (41.3 degrees) as the
ascending node of the Moon, thus marking
the midpoint of the eclipse season, at 08:00
5/2 Venus achieves greatest brilliancy (magnitude
-4.5) at 08:00
5/3 The Moon is 3.6 degrees north-northeast of the
first magnitude star Spica at 11:00
5/4 Mercury is at aphelion; the Moon is at the
descending node (221.2 degrees) at 14:49;
the Eta Aquarid meteor shower (20/hour)
peaks at 17:00; Full Moon, known as the
Planting or Milk Moon, occurs at 20:33; a
total lunar eclipse takes place in Europe,
northwest Africa, and most of Asia from
19:52 to 21:08
5/5 Venus is at an extreme northern declination of
27 degrees 49 minutes today, the farthest
north the planet has been since 1996;
Jupiter is stationary in right ascension at
13:00 - direct or prograde (eastward)
motion resumes; Neptune is at western
quadrature at 13:00; minimum lunar
libration of 2.4 degrees occurs at 14:00
5/6 The Moon is at perigee, subtending 33'13" from a
distance of 359,810 km, at 05:00; the Moon
is 2.0 degrees north-northeast of the first
magnitude star Antares at 13:00
5/7 Comet C/2001 Q4 (NEAT) passes closest to the
Earth (0.32 AU) today; Mars is at its
greatest northern declination (24.7
degrees) at 18:00
5/9 Titan (magnitude 8.30) is due west of Saturn
tonight
5/10 Neptune is 5 degrees north of the Moon at 22:00
5/11 Mars is approximately 1 degree north of M35
tonight; Last Quarter Moon occurs at 11:04;
maximum lunar libration of 9.4
degrees occurs at 19:00
5/12 Uranus is 4 degrees north of the Moon at 12:00;
asteroid 4 Vesta is 1.1 degrees north of
the Moon at 22:00 - an occultation takes
place in New Zealand and the southeastern
part of the Pacific
5/13 The Sun enters Taurus (53.6 degrees ecliptic
longitude) at 17:00
5/14 Mercury is at greatest western elongation (26.0
degrees) at 21:00
5/15 Comet C/2001 Q4 (NEAT) passes by M44 (the
Beehive) in Cancer tonight; asteroid 3 Juno
(magnitude 10.5) is stationary at 08:00;
comet C/2001 Q4 (NEAT) is at perihelion
(0.96 AU) at 22:00
5/16 Mercury is 3 degrees south of the Moon at 23:00
5/17 Mercury achieves its greatest illuminated extent
(21 square arcseconds) today; Titan is due
east of Saturn tonight; Neptune is
stationary in right ascension at 11:00 -
retrograde (westward) motion commences; the
Moon is at the ascending node (41.3
degrees) at 18:19
5/18 Venus is stationary in right ascension at 0:00 -
retrograde (westward) motion commences
5/19 Comet C/2001 Q4 (NEAT) passes 2 degrees to the
east of the 9.8 magnitude spiral galaxy NGC
2683 in Lynx tonight; minimum lunar
libration of 2.8 degrees occurs at 02:00;
New Moon (lunation 1007) occurs at 04:52;
the Moon is 2.3 degrees south-southeast of
M45 (the Pleiades) at 08:00; comet C/2002
T7 (LINEAR) passes closest to the Earth
(0.27 AU) at 08:00
5/21 The Moon is at apogee, subtending 29'25" from a
distance of 406,264 km, at 12:00
5/22 Mars is 3 degrees south of the Moon at 16:00;
Saturn is 5 degrees south of the Moon at
18:00
5/23 The Moon is 1.7 degrees south of the first
magnitude star Pollux at 20:00
5/24 Mercury is at its greatest latitude south of the
plane of the ecliptic (-7.0 degrees) at
12:00
5/25 Titan is due west of Saturn tonight; the Moon is
3.7 degrees north-northeast of M44 (the
Beehive) at 00:00; Mars (magnitude 1.7) is
1.6 degrees north of Saturn (magnitude 0.2)
at 05:00
5/26 The Moon is 4.5 degrees north-northeast of the
first magnitude star Regulus at 20:00
5/27 Maximum lunar libration of 9.5 degrees occurs at
02:00; First Quarter Moon occurs at 07:57;
Jupiter is 4 degrees south of the Moon at
12:00; Uranus is at western quadrature at
17:00
5/30 The Moon is 3.6 degrees north-northeast of the
first magnitude star Spica at 22:00
5/31 Jupiter is at eastern quadrature at 00:00

Times and dates for the lunar light rays predicted to occur this month are available at http://www.lunar-occultations.com/rlo/rays/rays.htm

Mercury is visible low in the eastern sky about 45 minutes prior to sunrise at the middle of the month. This maximum elongation of the planet is not very favorable for northern hemisphere observers. The best time for spotting Mercury is on May 16th as it shines at 0.5 magnitude to the lower left of a thin crescent Moon.

On May 1st Venus is at its peak brightness and altitude above the horizon, -4.5 magnitude and 37 degrees respectively. The planet will decrease in brilliance, altitude, and illumination but will grow in apparent size to almost 50" as the month progresses and as Venus grows closer to a historic transit of the Sun in June.

Mars enters Gemini in early May. On May 9th the planet is midway between Saturn and Venus. Starting on May 15th Mars is within a five degree radius of Saturn for a period of three weeks. The two form a close pair on the evening of May 24th.

Jupiter, in Leo, ends its retrograde motion approximately 9 degrees southeast of the first magnitude star Regulus on May 5th. The planet dims to -2.0 magnitude by month's end.

Located in Gemini Saturn sets a bit after midnight on May 1st. By the end of the month the 0.1 magnitude object is visible only at evening twilight.

Uranus, in Aquarius, and Neptune, in Capricornus, are fairly well placed in the southeastern sky as dawn approaches.

Situated in Ophiuchus Pluto is favorably positioned as it nears opposition in June.

Comet C/2001 Q4 (NEAT) should be visible low in the west from most of the United States by May 6th. It may have developed a gas tail that extends 10 to 15 degrees. Its dust tail, assuming there is one, will not be as prominent as that of C/2002 T7 (LINEAR) since Q4 does not pass as close to the Sun. Comet NEAT Q4 could shine at second magnitude or greater as it passes by the open cluster M44 on the evenings of May 14th and 15th. May 22nd is the last chance for a good naked-eye view of what hopefully will be a "neat" comet.

Comet C/2002 T7 (LINEAR) is visible low in eastern sky before dawn for a few days in early May. This comet may boast a brighter and lengthier tail than Comet NEAT Q4, perhaps as long as 20 degrees by late May. T7 reappears, albeit at a diminished magnitude, very low in the southwest after May 27th.

Even if C/2001 Q4 and C/2002 T7 do not brighten as much as early predictions indicated their peak magnitudes should be at least 3.0 and 2.0 respectively.

Thirty binary and multiple stars for May: 1 Bootis (Bootes); 2 Canum Venaticorum, 7 Canum Venaticorum, Alpha Canum Venaticorum (Cor Caroli), h2639, 17 Canum Venaticorum, 25 Canum Venaticorum, Struve 1769 (Canes Venatici); 2 Comae Berenices, Struve 1615, Struve 1633, 12 Comae Berenices, 24 Comae Berenices, 35 Comae Berenices, Burnham 800 (Coma Berenices); Delta Corvi, Burnham 28, Struve 1669 (Corvus); H N 69 (Hydra); Struve 1695, Zeta Ursae Majoris (Mizar), Struve 1770, Struve 1795 (Ursa Major); Struve 1627, 17 Virginis, Struve 1689, Theta Virginis, 54 Virginis, 84 Virginis, Struve 1788 (Virgo)

Challenge binary star for May: Gamma Virginis (Porrima) (Virgo)

Eighty deep-sky objects for May: NGC 5248 (Bootes); M3, M51, M63, M94, M106, NGC 4111, NGC 4214, NGC 4244, NGC 4449, NGC 4490, NGC 4618, NGC 4631, NGC 4656, NGC 5005, NGC 5033, NGC 5353 (Canes Venatici); M53, M64, M85, M88, M91, M98, M99, M100, NGC 4274, NGC 4293, NGC 4298, NGC 4350, NGC 4414, NGC 4419, NGC 4450, NGC 4494, NGC 4559, NGC 4565, NGC 4725, NGC 4874 (Coma Berenices); NGC 4027, NGC 4038-9, NGC 4361 (Corvus); M68, M83 (Hydra); M40, NGC 4036, NGC 4051, NGC 4088, NGC 4096, NGC 4605 (Ursa Major); M49, M58, M59, M60, M61, M84, M86, M87, M89, M90, M104, NGC 4179, NGC 4216, NGC 4388, NGC 4429, NGC 4435, NGC 4438, NGC 4517, NGC 4526, NGC 4535, NGC 4536, NGC 4567-8, NGC 4654, NGC 4666, NGC 4697, NGC 4698, NGC 4699, NGC 4753, NGC 4762, NGC 4866, NGC 5054, NGC 5364 (Virgo)

Challenge deep-sky object for May: 3C273 (Virgo)

__________________
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De gustibus non est disputandum.
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Excellent Dave - thanks

__________________
"The stars are my home"
"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe... Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion... I've watched c-beams glitter in the dark, near the Tanhauser Gate... all those moments will be lost, in time... like tears in the rain..."

Thanks for the whole May calendar it's gonna be very helpful. Can we expect a June Astrocalendar too?

__________________
"Try not to become a man of success, but rather, try to become a man of value." -- Albert Einstein

Thanks as always Dave, this is a great service.

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Publisher
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Hey Dave!!! Thanks for that Astrocalendar for this month!!! I really find a hard time to track some of my favorite celestial bodies every night 'cause i don't know when they would appear vividly... thanks so muchh@!!!

This is soooooooooo useful, thanks for making the effort Dave....are we all going to try and get pictures of the comets and venus?? h34r: