N Whats Up E Highlighting the Near and

N What’s Up E Highlighting the Near and Deep Sky May 1 - 31, 2020 S W

General Information May 2020 • Sunset Range: 8: 10 p. m. (May 1 st) to 8: 34 p. m. (May 31 st). • End of Astronomical Twilight: 9: 48 p. m. (May 1 st) to 10: 25 p. m. (May 31 st). • Moon Phases: • Thurs. , 7 th – Full Moon • Thurs. , 14 th – Last Quarter • Fri. , 22 nd – New Moon • Fri. , 29 th – First Quarter

Celestial Events May 2020 • Several comets in the sky, among which are: • C/2020 F 8 SWAN – disc. 3/25/20; perigee 5/12/20, mag. 2. 8 (!) possibly; heading from Cetus to Perseus, low to E horizon an hour before sunrise. • C/2017 T 2 Pan. STARRS – disc. 10/2/17; perigee was 12/29/19; may remain visible in binoculars moving from Camelopardalis Ursa Major • C/2019 Y 4 ATLAS – disc. 12/28/19; perigee 5/23/20; fragmented and expected to fade; sinking toward W horizon from Camelopardalis to Perseus. • Tues. /Wed, 5 th/6 th – Eta Aquarid meteors peak (ZHR 50); radiant rises 2: 50 a. m. on 6 th; moon is 2 days from full; parent body Halley’s Comet. • BTW, the Lyrid meteors peak tomorrow night; best before dawn on 22 nd; medium rates of 10 - 30 per hour; moon is near new; forecast is for clear skies! • Fri. , 15 th to 31 st – View Mercury gaining altitude in the WNW 30 min. after sunset; 1. 2° from Venus on the 21 st; 15° high on 31 st, but has dimmed from mag. -1. 1 on 15 th down to mag. 0. 4. Nice grouping with the Moon on 23 rd.

N May 16 th, 9: 30 p. m. (~30 min. before full darkness) For tonight, April 20 th, 9: 00 p. m. is ~30 min. before full darkness. Mercury E W S

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