Alison Klesman

Writer at Astronomy Magazine

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Articles

The Sky Today on Monday, May 12: May’s Full Moon, Mars, and the Beehive Cluster

3 days ago | astronomy.com | Alison Klesman

Full Moon occurs at 12:56 P.M. EDT this afternoon. May’s Full Moon is also called the Flower Moon and because our satellite is still near apogee, it will appear some 29’ across, slightly smaller than the Full Moon’s average size (about 31’) in the sky. The Full Moon rises roughly opposite the Sun, so Luna will emerge above the southwestern horizon shortly after sunset this evening.
The Sky Today on Sunday, May 11: Callisto grazes Jupiter

4 days ago | astronomy.com | Alison Klesman

The gas giant Jupiter still dominates the constellation Taurus as it sets in the west after sunset. Jupiter now stands just to the right of Alheka (Zeta Tauri), one of the tips of the Bull’s two horns. The magnitude –1.9 planet remains the brightest point of light in the constellation, making it easy to center in your telescope tonight.
The Sky Today on Saturday, May 10: The Moon meets Spica

5 days ago | astronomy.com | Alison Klesman

The Moon passes 0.4° south of Spica at 4 A.M. EDT. The best time for observing this pairing is in the few hours between midnight and 3 A.M. local daylight time, when they are still comfortably high above the horizon. At that time, turn west to see the nearly Full Moon (now 95 percent lit) hanging just below Spica. The pair lies in southern Virgo the Maiden, the sky’s second-largest constellation after Hydra.
The Sky Today on Friday, May 9: Metis reaches opposition

6 days ago | astronomy.com | Alison Klesman

Asteroid 9 Metis reaches opposition at 2 A.M. EDT in the constellation Libra — not far from Vesta, which reached opposition a week ago. Visible from sundown to sunup, the best time to look for Metis is around local midnight, when it is transiting and stands highest in the southern sky. Metis is shining at magnitude 9.7, much fainter than Vesta. Still, binoculars or any small scope should show it some 4.4° east-northeast of Zubenelgenubi, Libra’s stunning double alpha star.
The Sky This Week from May 9 to 16: May’s Full Flower Moon blooms

6 days ago | astronomy.com | Alison Klesman

Sky This Week is brought to you in part by Celestron. Friday, May 9Asteroid 9 Metis reaches at opposition at 2 A.M. EDT in the constellation Libra. The 10th-magnitude main-belt world is visible with binoculars or a telescope all night from sunset to sunrise. It stands highest around local midnight when it appears in the south, just 4.4° east-northeast of Zubenelgenubi, Libra’s alpha star.
The Sky Today on Thursday, May 8: The swimming Swan Nebula

1 week ago | astronomy.com | Alison Klesman

The Swan Nebula (M17) looks through smaller instruments like the eponymous bird, with a long, arched neck. Credit: Juan Manuel Fluxà (Flickr, CC BY 2.0) High in the southern sky around 4 A.M. local daylight time is the stunning Swan Nebula (M17), also known as the Omega Nebula. It glides serenely through northern Sagittarius, far above the spout of the Teapot asterism as it sits right-side up in the sky this morning.
The Sky Today on Wednesday, May 7: View Venus, Saturn, and Neptune

1 week ago | astronomy.com | Alison Klesman

Venus blazes a bright magnitude –4.7 in the morning sky today. To its right, 1st-magnitude Saturn is also readily visible to the naked eye, while elusive Neptune lies between them. You’ll have a brief opportunity to catch the distant magnitude 7.8 ice giant in your sights with binoculars — or, better yet, a telescope — about an hour before sunrise, while the sky is still dark.
The Sky Today on Tuesday, May 6: The Eta Aquariids peak

1 week ago | astronomy.com | Alison Klesman

This morning is the best time to catch the annual Eta Aquariid meteors, born from the debris left by the famous Halley’s Comet. The shower’s radiant lies in Aquarius, just to the lower left of the 3rd-magnitude star Sadalmelik as the constellation rises a few hours after midnight. That’s fine, though, because the best time to watch a meteor shower is in the early morning, as the hemisphere you’re on rotates into the stream of debris as Earth orbits the Sun.
The Sky Today on Monday, May 5: Europa vanishes behind Jupiter

1 week ago | astronomy.com | Alison Klesman

Look west this evening after sunset to catch a glimpse of bright Jupiter, slowly setting between the horns of Taurus the Bull. An hour after sunset, Aldebaran — the Bull’s eye — is getting low, but Jupiter remains some 20° high. With a telescope, center the stately gas giant in your field of view. It’s the brightest point of light in Taurus, easy to identify.
The Sky This Week from May 2 to 9: The Eta Aquariids peak

1 week ago | astronomy.com | Alison Klesman

Eta Aquariid meteors streak across the sky away from the shower’s radiant, as seen above San Pedro de Atacama in Chile. The brightest object in the sky is Venus, with slightly fainter Saturn just above it. Credit: ESO/P. Horalek (Flickr, CC BY 2.0) Sky This Week is brought to you in part by Celestron. Friday, May 2Asteroid 4 Vesta reaches opposition at 2 A.M. EDT this morning.