Mercury will start its visibility at dusk, but will never get very obvious. It remains close to the Sun.
Venus is the evening star during dusk. It passes Beta Virginis on the 13th at only 7 arc minutes in distance, similar to the distance between Jupiter and Saturn during the last winter solstice. But the faintness of the star will probably require binoculars to see it.
Saturn comes to opposition on August 2nd, when it rises at sunset. Around that time, its rings are very bright as compared to the planet.
Jupiter also comes to opposition this month on August 22nd. The evening before, the Full Moon will be right next to Jupiter.
On the evening of August 18th, the Moon occults Nunki, the second brightest star of the teapot asterism in Sagittarius. In Nogales, it will last from 7:47 to 8:01 pm, but in Tucson the Moon will not quite make it, although it will get very close to the star. In between there is a grazing occupation which is rare for such a bright star to get so close to us.
August is meteor month. The Perseids will peak on the night of August 11-12 when the Moon is next to Venus which sets early. It cannot be much better than that!! Look toward the east late evening or early morning toward the constellation Perseus.
Venus is the “Evening Star” during dusk. Seven degrees ahead in the ecliptic is Mars, but 6 magnitudes fainter than Venus. On the 12th, Venus passes Mars only .5 degrees north. On the 20th, Venus passes Regulus at 1 degree distance. Mars follows behind Venus and passes Regulus on the 29th at only .6 degrees distance. Since they set at 8:30 pm, one has to watch this when it is still bright outside. Regulus should be visible. Mars is half magnitude fainter and will come into view then too.
Mars is close to Venus this month.
Saturn rises once it is dark and it stays up all night. Its opposition will be August 1st.
20 degrees east of Mars is Jupiter. Both planets form a large triangle with Fomalhaut well below them. This is best viewed in the morning when they are higher. The shape of this triangle will change as the distance between Jupiter and Saturn decreases over the summer. The right angle at Jupiter will become a larger angle.
Uranus and Neptune are morning planets.
Mercury has a short showing until July 22. It rises at 4 am below Castor and Pollux and does not come up high before twilight gets bright.
The Moon shortly after New Moon might be barely visible on the 10th. The next day, it will be beautifully paired with Venus to its left and Mars very close to Venus. Even on the 12th, the view will be worthwhile.
April has a lot of interesting astronomy events and they are all visible with just your eyes.
April 2 morning. Mars and Saturn are very close in the morning sky (1.5 degrees) with Jupiter another 6 degrees to the upper right. View around 5 or 5:30 am.
April 3 evening. To the west, Venus (brightest object in the night sky in that area) will have a conjunction (get very close) to the Pleiades or 7 Sisters Cluster. In fact, Venus will be in the cluster. View around 7 or 7:30 pm.
Throughout April in the morning around 5 or 5:30 am. Mars (red), Saturn, and Jupiter form a nice line of planets with Mars closest to the horizon and Jupiter furthest with Saturn in the middle. The Moon joins the group April 14 – 16.
April 21-22. The evening or April 21 or even better the morning of April 22 will be the Lyrid Meteor Shower. Toward the east after 10 pm or early in the morning around 5 am look straight up. The shower radiant will be near the star Vega in the constellation Lyra and in the constellation Hercules right next door. Might see up to about 20 meteors per hour.
Sorry, no TAAA Public star parties in April and May. After the Monsoon, we will start them up again. Check our TAAA Website calendar for more info (tucsonastronomy.org) or follow a particular event here on our Facebook Page.
Clear skies and stay safe.
The nebulosity associated with M45 (Pleiades) is not the progenitor of the cluster. Instead, it is a nebula through which M45 is passing. NASA Image, Robert Gendler
Mercury will be visible until December 19th, rising just after Mars (15 degrees below) before dawn.
Venus is in the evening sky, getting higher and more obvious.
New Moon will be at Christmas, last visible in the morning of the 24th and coming back in the evening sky on the 27th below Venus and the 28th right next to Venus, a beautiful pair.
Mars rises before dawn in Libra, followed by Mercury 15 degrees below.
Saturn is to the upper left of Venus in the evening sky until December 10 & 11, when Venus passes two degrees south of Saturn. At that time, Pluto is right next to both planets, but 15 million times fainter than Venus and not an easy target. After Christmas, Saturn will be too close to the Sun to be visible.
Uranus is well placed in the evening for observers with binoculars or a telescope.
Neptune is well placed in the evening for observers with binoculars or a telescope.
Pluto is next to Venus & Saturn December 10 & 11 but is 15 million times fianter and not an easy target. The brightest minor planet, Vesta, is not too far from Uranus and only slightly fainter.
Mercury is visible all June until July 3 in the evening to the WNW just after sunset. In mid-June, it is the most obvious object in the western sky. August 3 -24 it is visible during dawn in the east.
Venus is a difficult dawn object until July 18. It will reappear September 18 low at dusk.
The Moon is New on June 3, July 2, July 31, August 30, and September 28. First Quarter Moon is June 10, July 9, August 7, September 5. Full Moon is June 17, July 16, August 15, and September 13. There is a partial Lunar Eclipse on July 16, visible in South America and further east.
Mars is above Mercury in early June. On June 18, Mercury passes close to Mars. Then, Mars slowly gets lower during dusk until it disappears in the glow of the Sun at the end of June for the rest of the summer.
Jupiter comes in opposition to the Sun on June 10 and is a great evening object all summer. It is moving toward Antares.
Saturn is just 30 degrees east of Jupiter. It is in opposition July 9 and will be a great evening object most of the summer as well. The brightest parts of the Milky Way are between Jupiter and Saturn in the night sky.
The distant, faint planets come in opposition September 8 (Neptune) and October 28 (Uranus).
There are two eclipses in July. A Total Solar Eclipse July 2, visible in South America, and a Partial Lunar Eclipse on July 16, visible in South America and further east.
Mercury starts its best evening apparition of 2019 on May 30.
Venus rises during dawn and remains very low before sunrise.
The Moon is New on the 4th, barely visible on the 5th before 8 pm, near Aldebaran on the 6th, and near Mars on the 7th. The next first sighting of the crescent after New Moon will occur on June 4, when it will be easier to spot than on May 5th, but still be very thin.
Mars is visible during the early evening near Elnathm, passing MN35 in Gemini on the 19th.
Jupiter rises at 10 pm, when Mars sets, but by 8 pm at the end of May.
Saturn is 28 degrees east of Jupiter and a good morning object.
Dwarf planet Ceres is observable in binoculars. It is magnitude 7, moving from Ophiuchus into Scorpius.
A rather rare event will be happening on Monday May 9 — Mercury will appear to move across the face of the Sun. For us in Tucson, the transit will already be underway when the Sun rises at 5:32 am. The Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association (TAAA) will have several Solar Telescopes set up at Brandi Fenton Memorial Park starting about 7:30 am. We’ll be there until at least 10 am, but will hang around as long as there are people interested in viewing the Transit. The Mercury Transit will end at 11:39 am Tucson time.
Mercury Transits are fairly rare, with only 13 or 14 per Century. The last Mercury Transit was November 8, 2006 and the next one will be November 11, 2019. After that, we’ll have to wait until 2032 for the next one. Mercury Transits only happen within a few days of May 8 or November 10 of any given year. The reason they don’t happen every year is because Mercury’s orbit is inclined 7 degrees to Earth’s Orbit, so most of the time, Mercury transits just above or below the Sun from our perspective.
Join TAAA at Brandi Fenton Memorial Park on Monday May 9th to view this rare event.
