StarGazers: What to Look for In May

Most newspapers have an astronomy section - a small one - where an astronomer-columnist will tell people where to look in the sky to view various astronomical items - a planet, a comet, etc.

Below is an example of one from Douglas County, Oregon. Your own city probably has an atronomy club somewhere...that needs your support!

Star Gazer: Saturn tightens its rings

Twilight brings dazzling Venus. Look toward the west to spot Venus, the very bright evening star. Venus will appear to hover at the same point above the horizon while the stars of Taurus and Gemini trek past. A slender crescent moon will pay a visit on May 15. As twilight fades, look to the lower right of Venus to spot the tiny crescent moon.

Find Mars and Saturn among a trail of bright stars stretching more than halfway across the sky. Mars is rapidly dimming by half this month, while Saturn dims slightly as its rings close. Both now appear about as bright as the stars in Virgo, Leo, and Gemini. Mars moves rapidly from Cancer into Leo, headed for a rendezvous with Regulus next month. Saturn pokes along in Virgo. Telescope observers will notice the rings are only a fat line divided by about 1.7 degrees. This is the minimum ring opening for the year and many years to come. This is an excellent time to search for the many moons of Saturn.

As Saturn sets tonight, Jupiter will rise in the southeastern twilight. By month's end, Jupiter will rise nearly two hours ahead of the sun. Watch as Jupiter makes a beeline toward Uranus in Pisces.

Meteor Shower and A Community Star Party

The Eta Aquarids Meteor shower will peak on Thursday morning. This dusty debris from Comet Halley will be mostly overwhelmed by a bright third-quarter moon. Normal peak meteor counts of 15 to 20 per hour will drop by half.

Umpqua Amateur Astronomers, Roseburg City Parks, and The Douglas County Museum will host a community star party May 21 at Fir Grove Park. Telescopes will be set up on the soccer field across the street from Fir Grove Elementary School from dark (about 9 p.m.) until about 11 p.m. Local astronomers will share views of the moon, Saturn, Venus and Mars.

NASA's Night Sky Network Outreach

Umpqua Amateur Astronomers is a member of NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory's national Night Sky Network. Each network club is committed to public outreach for schools and other community groups. If you want to know about upcoming public events, or to request a star party or a talk from a local astronomer, go to http://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov. Look in the “find clubs and events” section on the website's left section for the ZIP code box and enter “97470.” A blue balloon with a red dot will mark Roseburg. Click on that balloon to see about Umpqua Amateur Astronomer events and how to contact the club for a request.

Umpqua Amateur Astronomers will meet at 7 p.m. May 11 at the Douglas Forest Protection Association conference room at 1758 N.E. Airport Road. The agenda includes club events, astronomy news, what's up in May and Ted Benice discussing light, mirrors and lenses. Newcomers to astronomy are invited to a special pre-meeting at 6:30 p.m. to ask questions and learn about basic telescope use. Anyone interested in learning about astronomy is welcome. Information: 541-673-1081.