Saturday: In 1979, the group Foreigner recorded the song “Head Games”. They could have been singing about the constellations Hercules and Ophiuchus when they said “head games, it’s just you and me baby, head games, I can’t take it anymore” because the heads of these two constellations have been right next to each other in the nighttime sky for all of human history. And just to make it easy for you, a star that bears an Arabic name that means “the head” represents each head. In Hercules, it's Ras Algethi (head of the kneeler); in Ophiuchus, Ras Alhague (head of the serpent charmer). At 11:00 p.m., Ras Alhague, the brighter of the two, is about three fists held upright and at arm’s length above the east-southeastern horizon. Ras Algethi is about a half a fist to the upper right of Ras Alhague.
Sunday: The Globe at Night May campaign starts today. Globe
at night is a citizen science project to quantify the impact of light pollution
on our view of the night sky. Go to https://globeatnight.org/campaigns/
to learn more and participate. This is a fun way to observe the night sky and
contribute to science at the same time.
Monday: Are you thirsty? I'll wait while you get some water.
I will NOT wait while Corvus the crow gets you some water. The Greco-Roman god
Apollo made this mistake. He sent Corvus the crow to get some water in the cup
known as Crater. Some figs distracted Corvus, and he waited for them to ripen
so he could eat them. When Corvus got back late, Apollo put Corvus and Crater
in the sky with the gently tipping cup just out of the reach of the perpetually
thirsty crow. Corvus is a trapezoid-shaped constellation about two fists above
due south at 9:30 p.m. Crater is just to the right of Corvus.
Tuesday: At 9:30 p.m., Jupiter is one fist above the
west-northwestern horizon and Mars is four fists above the west-southwestern
horizon.
Wednesday: Are you thirsty when you get up in the morning? I
know you are not waiting for Corvus. That’s okay because the Big Dipper is
positioned to hold water in the morning sky. Look three fists above the
northwest horizon at 4:30 a.m. You’ll see three stars that make a bent handle
and four stars that make a cup. This is the Big Dipper.
Thursday: Saturn is about half a fist to the lower left of
the moon, low in the east-southeastern sky at 4:30 a.m. Is that too early for
you? Saturn will remain to the lower left of the moon throughout the day until
it sets at about 3:00 p.m., making it a tempting target to be seen during the
day. “WHAT?!” you say. “Can I really see a planet during the day?” The
brightest planets, including Saturn, can be seen during the day with
binoculars. The key is knowing where to look. Since you can easily find the
moon during the day when it is above the horizon and not by the Sun, use it to
find Saturn. First find the moon using your binoculars. Then look about half
the binocular field of view to the lower left of the moon so find Saturn. Check
in the morning because the Sun will not be illuminating the sky as much.
Friday: Venus is a little less than a fist to the lower left
of the moon, low in the east-southeastern sky at 4:30 a.m. Is that still too
early for you? Venus will remain to the lower left of the moon throughout the
day until it sets at about 4:00 p.m., making it a tempting target to be seen
during the day. Since Venus is brighter than Saturn, it will be even easier to
see. First find the moon using your binoculars. Then look about half the
binocular field of view to the lower left of the moon so find Venus. Since
Venus is so bright, you may be able to still see Venus with the naked eye after
you move the binoculars away.
The positional information in this column about stars and
planets is typically accurate for the entire week. For up-to-date information
about the night sky, go to https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/planner.cfm.
All times are Pacific Time unless noted.
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