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

By mid-month, the kite-shaped constellation Bootes (The Herdsman) will be just east of the meridian shortly after dusk. A challenge to constellation watchers this month will be to locate the "celebrated diamond of Virgo, where four separate springtime constellations meet. This figure is a giant asterism (an unofficially recognized star pattern). At the bottom of the diamond is the bright blue star Spica (Alpha Virginis) in Virgo (The Virgin) , which is 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 defining the lefthand point of the diamond. At the northern point of the diamond is Alpha Canum Venaticorum (The Hunting Dogs), a star that Sir Edmund Halley named Cor Caroli (The Heart of Charles) in honor of England's King Charles II. Denebola, the tail of Leo the Lion is the western point of the diamond.

A spectacular planetary massing, the finest of the naked eye planets in nearly 20 years, will thrill viewers for the entire month. The planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter will perform an intricate dance, with one climax coming on May 1 as Mercury leaps to within 6 degrees of Venus as it rises to its greatest elongation. The most spectacular bunching of the planets continue throughout the first two weeks of May, with a highlight being the bunching of Venus, Mars, and Saturn within a circle about 6 times the diameter of the full moon. On May 15th, all five planets, the sun, and the moon will all be within a 48 degree span!

Several meteor showers will be active for the pleasure of shooting star watchers during May. The Eta Aquarids and the Omicron Cetids will peak early on the mornings of May 6th 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.

Friday night telescope viewing begins at 8:00 p.m. Please call 612/626-0034 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 on-line 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 Apr 30 12:56:22 2002