Starwatch Newsletter Minnesota Starwatch is a tape-recorded message describing the night sky in the Midwest, which can be called by telelphone number (612) 624-2001 It is updated montly, and is produced by the Department of Astronomy, University of Minnesota 116 Church Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455

Hello, this is Minnesota Starwatch for May, 2001.

By mid-month, the kite-shaped constellation Bootes (The Herdsman) will be just east of the meridian shortly after dusk, and the bright blue star Spica (Alpha Virginis) will be below Bootes south of the celestial equator. Compare the blue color of Spica, a hot blue dwarf star, with the rich orange color emitted by the bright cool giant star Arcturus (Alpha Bootes), which is the bright star at the southern tip of the kite of Bootes. Jupiter, Saturn, and Mercury will be lying a few degrees above the western horizon, and you will have to be on a height of land, a building, or a large flat land or water expanse to see them. From the 7th to the 16th, Saturn and then Jupiter will be passed by Mercury, which is vaulting rapidly up into the evening sky. Venus, now almost 100 times brighter than the brightest stars will be a spectacular morning star, rising about two hours ahead of the sun. Mars, which is making its closest approach to the earth since 1990, will brighten by a factor of three during the month. It will be visible from late evening onward.

Several meteor showers, the Eta Aquarids and the Omicron Cetids will peak early on the mornings of May 5th and 20th respectively. The Eta Aquarids are caused by debris swept up by the earth as it crosses the orbit of the famous periodic comet P/Halley. Unfortunately, the moon will be 2 days before full phase so that the sky will be fairly bright when the shower peaks just after midnight with 10 to 40 events per hour.

The last night for Friday night telescope viewing will be May 4th at 9pm. They will resume sometime in September. Please call 626-0034 for more information.

The Minneapolis Planetarium offers a wide variety of programs for all ages. For more information, call (612) 630-6150.

For those interested in the Minnesota Astronomical Society, call (651) 649-4861 for information on their upcoming events.

Minnesota Starwatch is available online at http://www.astro.umn.edu/Outreach/pub_out.html.

This has been Minnesota Starwatch, produced by the University of Minnesota Astronomy Department in cooperation with WCCO Weather Center.

Last Updated: Tue May 15 14:06:23 2001