Sky Report

May, 2022

This is the Griffith Observatory Sky Report for the period between May 1 and May 31, 2022. Here are the events happening in the sky of southern California.

Mercury sets at 9:19 p.m., PDT, and the sun sets at 7:37 p.m., PDT, on the 1^st. The planet is 51-percent illuminated and 8.4 arcseconds wide. By the 15^th, Mercury will be close to the sun and unobservable. On the 31^st Mercury is in the morning sky and rises at 5:08 a.m., PDT, with sunrise at 5:43 a.m., PDT. Do not observe any planet when it appears close to the sun, for the danger to the eyes is great.

Venus rises at 4:13 a.m., PDT, and the sun rises at 6:04 a.m., PDT, on the 1^st. The planet is 68-percent illuminated and 17 arcseconds in width. On the 31^st, Venus rises at 4:56 a.m., PDT, and the sun rises at 5:43 a.m., PDT; its disk is 78-percent illuminated and 14 arcseconds in width.  The disk of Venus slowly shrinks in size and becomes more fully illuminated as it moves to the far side of its orbit. On the 1^st, Venus is about a degree east of Jupiter and moves slowly away from Jupiter each night.

Mars rises in Aquarius at 3:32 a.m., PDT, on the 1^st. On the 31^st, Mars rises at 2:33 a.m., PDT. The disk of Mars is only 5.7 arcseconds wide and will not show any surface features through a telescope. On the 17^th, Mars is half a degree south of Neptune.  On the 28^th and 29^th, Mars is three-quarters of a degree south of Jupiter.

Jupiter rises in Pisces at 4:11 a.m., PDT, on the 1^st and rises at 2:28 a.m., PDT, on the 31^st. A telescope capable of magnification 50x will show the Red Spot, and the four bright Galilean moons may be seen moving back and forth, roughly in a line centered on Jupiter.

Saturn rises in Capricornus at 2:39 a.m., PDT, on the 1^st and at 12:44 a.m., PDT, on the 31^st. The rings and Saturn’s largest moon Titan may be seen with a telescope capable of magnification 50x.

Uranus starts May close to the sun and is unobservable for most of the month. On the 31^st, Uranus rises in Aries at 4:23 a.m., PDT, and the sun rises at 5:43 a.m., PDT. On the 15^th, Uranus is at Right Ascension 2^h 50^m 58^s with a declination of +16° 1ʹ 56ʺ. Uranus is only 3.4 arcseconds wide, and so a telescope with a magnification of 150x is needed to show its diminutive disk.

Neptune rises in Aquarius at 4:02 a.m., PDT, on the 1^st and at 2:06 a.m., PDT, on the 31^st. On the 15^th, Neptune is at Right Ascension 23^h 42^m 6^s, declination -3° 3ʹ 52ʺ.

First quarter occurs on the 8^th, full moon on the 15^th, last quarter on the 22^nd, and new moon on the 30^th.

SPECIAL EVENTS

A total lunar eclipse occurs on the evening of May 15. This will be a very deep eclipse. The moon rises at 7:41 p.m., PDT, after it already enters the penumbra at 6:22 p.m. PDT, and the umbra at 7:28 p.m., PDT. It will, then, be in the earth’s shadow before it rises. The moon will be fully eclipsed by 8:29 p.m., PDT, and will start to leave the umbra at 9:54 p.m., PDT.  The moon will completely leave the umbra at 10:55 p.m., PDT, and will leave the penumbra at 11:51 p.m., PDT. Any location with a clear view of the moon can see this eclipse, and binoculars will show the changing appearance of the moon.

The eta Aquariid meteor shower will peak from the evening of the 4^th through the morning of the 5^th. The moon will set at 11:37 p.m., PDT. The meteors come from comet Halley. They are named for the star in Aquarius the Water Bearer from which they appear to originate. From the northern hemisphere the eta Aquariids usually produce ten to 30 meteors per hour just before dawn. The meteors are swift with persistent trains but few fireballs.

Comet C/2021 O3 (PanSTARRS) might be bright enough to be seen with binoculars. Its brightness will depend on many factors.  The coordinates for it are
May 1               3^h 33^m 13^s         +23° 46ʹ 55ʺ      9°    above the western horizon at sunset
May 15             4^h 32^m 31^s         +63° 36ʹ 07ʺ      29° above the western horizon at sunset

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