Event Date: May 4th
Time: 9:00 PM
Brief
The Moon is just short of full, reaching that tomorrow. As we get closer to the summer solstice, this full Moon and the next one in early June will be seen low in the sky. This of course, is about where we see the Sun in the mid and late fall, so it makes sense. That is, a full Moon is opposite that of the Sun on our celestial dome.
As for this evening, Saturn, Spica and the Moon make a near-right triangle: if a line is drawn from Spica to Saturn, it is almost perpendicular to the Moon. The separation of Saturn and Spica is just a little less than 5º. Between now and late June, Saturn will continue to slow in retrograde motion and go stationary the night of June 24-25th. Between now and then, Saturn creeps up on Spica by another few arc-minutes.
Time: 9:00 PM
Brief
The Moon is just short of full, reaching that tomorrow. As we get closer to the summer solstice, this full Moon and the next one in early June will be seen low in the sky. This of course, is about where we see the Sun in the mid and late fall, so it makes sense. That is, a full Moon is opposite that of the Sun on our celestial dome.
As for this evening, Saturn, Spica and the Moon make a near-right triangle: if a line is drawn from Spica to Saturn, it is almost perpendicular to the Moon. The separation of Saturn and Spica is just a little less than 5º. Between now and late June, Saturn will continue to slow in retrograde motion and go stationary the night of June 24-25th. Between now and then, Saturn creeps up on Spica by another few arc-minutes.
Detailed
By showing Saturn become gradually closer with Spica, it is worth showing a zoom-in of its celestial path. Right now, its retrograde motion is just past its maximum rate, from east to west against the stars. Between now and the stationary date mentioned in the brief, Saturn will slow down. In binoculars, the view of it and Spica is attractive. Although looking close together, Spica is 263 light years away, while Saturn is just a little over a light-hour away: light travels approximately 670 million miles an hour, and Saturn is about 900 million miles away. Also, while the conditions surrounding Saturn are very cold, being far from the Sun, Spica is one of the hotter stars in our galaxy, at over 20,000º(!)
This second image shows a 15º view of the Moon with Saturn and Spica.
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| click on images to enlarge: courtesy of Starry Night Pro Plus, version 6.4.3, by Simulation Curriculum Corp. |
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