Mercury, Venus appear very low in the eastern sky just before sunrise – if seeing Mercury was a challenge last week, it will be even harder this week. The waning crescent Moon joins the two planets until May 3rd.
Saturn, Jupiter and the star Antares appear southern sky early in the morning. In this image, I have the light pollution set to high – this is typically what I can see from a close suburb to Detroit.
Saturn and Jupiter high in the southern sky on Apr. 30th – with light pollution levels are set high. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.This is the same patch of sky seen from a dark sky site.
The southern sky on Apr. 30th – with light pollution levels are set to none. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.Mars and the star Betelgeuse are low on the horizon after sunset; the winter constellations will soon be gone.
Mars and the star Betelgeuse in the constellations Orion low in the western sky after sunset on May 6th. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
M-109 – “Vacuum Cleaner Galaxy”
M-109. Credit: Sloan Digital Sky Survey.Messier 109 (also known as NGC 3992) is a barred spiral galaxy exhibiting a weak inner ring structure around the central bar approximately 83.5 ± 24 million light-years[3]away in the constellation Ursa Major. M109 can be seen southeast of the star Phecda (γ UMa). – Wikipedia
Amateur Image of Messier 109. Credit: Hewholooks / Wikipedia / CC BY-SA 3.0Where did the name “Vacuum Cleaner Galaxy” come from? It’s not official; Stellarium refers to M-109 with that name, so I searched for it – I found it mentioned in an archived comment section on M-109 on Wikipedia.
Location of M-109. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
The Moon is a waning crescent, visible low to the east before sunrise.
The new Moon occurs on May 4th.
After May 4th, the Moon will be a waxing crescent, visible toward the southwest in early evening.
The Moon from Apr. 30-May 6, 2019. Visualizations by Ernie Wright / NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio.Moon History
The Sun has been spot-free for 9 days; AR2738, if it still exists, it is on the other side of the Sun. Coronal holes are open at both poles, and a rather large coronal hole is in the middle of the Sun – just below the equator. SpaceWeather.com says: “A large hole in the sun’s atmosphere is facing Earth and spewing a stream of solar wind in our direction. Estimated time of arrival: May 2nd. Minor geomagnetic storms are possible when the gaseous material arrives.”
The eastern limb of the Sun has been hogging most of the prominences for the last few days.
The solar wind speed is 306.6 km/sec (↓), with a density of 5.9 protons/cm3 (↑).
Animated LASCO C2 Coronograph showing the solar corona above the Sun’s limb (the white circle). Credit: NASA/JPL-CaltechYou can create your own time-lapse movies of the Sun here: AIA/HMI Browse Data.
You can browse all the SDO images of the Sun from 2010 to the present here: Browse SDO archive.
Sun News
Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
| 2019 HM3 |
2019-Apr-30
|
6.3 LD
|
5.2
|
15
|
| 2019 HO3 |
2019-May-01
|
13.8 LD
|
18.6
|
69
|
| 2019 HK |
2019-May-01
|
12.8 LD
|
12.9
|
51
|
| 2019 HW3 |
2019-May-01
|
16 LD
|
8.6
|
37
|
| 2019 HP |
2019-May-03
|
9.3 LD
|
5.7
|
26
|
| 2019 HV3 |
2019-May-04
|
12.4 LD
|
10.9
|
56
|
| 2018 KK1 |
2019-May-05
|
13.9 LD
|
13.9
|
71
|
| 2019 HQ3 |
2019-May-07
|
15.7 LD
|
12.7
|
28
|
| 2017 RC |
2019-May-09
|
14.5 LD
|
10.6
|
9
|
| 2008 HS3 |
2019-May-09
|
14.6 LD
|
5.3
|
162
|
| 2018 VX8 |
2019-May-12
|
6.2 LD
|
15.5
|
118
|
| 2019 GT1 |
2019-May-17
|
6.1 LD
|
3.9
|
36
|
| 2012 KT12 |
2019-May-18
|
3.3 LD
|
3.9
|
20
|
| 2015 KQ18 |
2019-May-25
|
10.7 LD
|
13.1
|
30
|
| 66391 |
2019-May-25
|
13.5 LD
|
21.5
|
1780
|
| 2003 LH |
2019-May-28
|
15.6 LD
|
7.4
|
32
|
| 2011 HP |
2019-May-30
|
12.3 LD
|
8.4
|
135
|
| 2014 MF18 |
2019-Jun-06
|
8.8 LD
|
3
|
22
|
| 441987 |
2019-Jun-24
|
7.7 LD
|
12.6
|
178
|
| 2008 KV2 |
2019-Jun-27
|
17.8 LD
|
11.4
|
195
|
Notes: LD means “Lunar Distance.” 1 LD = 384,401 km, the distance between Earth and the Moon. Table from SpaceWeather.com
Potentially hazardous asteroids: 1967 (last updated Feb. 26, 2019)
Minor Planets discovered: 794,810 (+117)
Asteroid News
https://twitter.com/JimBridenstine/status/1122852893625847813
On Apr. 29, 2019, the NASA All Sky Fireball Network reported 21 fireballs.
(19 sporadics, 2 eta Aquariids)
In this diagram of the inner solar system, all of the fireball orbits intersect at a single point–Earth. The orbits are color-coded by velocity, from slow (red) to fast (blue). From: Spaceweather.comThe Eta-Aquariid Meteor Shower is active
This is the position of the planets and a couple bodies in the solar system:
Read more on: 2018_VG18
Juno – #CitizenScience Collaboration
OSIRIS-REx – Detailed Survey: Equatorial Stations Phase
Mars InSight – Winner of the Webby People’s Voice Award
Climate – NASA Earth Observatory, 20 Years
Data from the NASA Exoplanet Archive
Exoplanet News
Exoplanet Artwork by Bob Trembley
Apps used for this post:
NASA Eyes on the Solar System: an immersive 3D solar system and space mission simulator – free for the PC /MAC.
I maintain the unofficial NASA Eyes Facebook page.
Stellarium: a free open source planetarium app for PC/MAC/Linux. It’s a great tool for planning observing sessions.
Universe Sandbox: a space simulator that merges real-time gravity, climate, collision, and material interactions to reveal the beauty of our universe and the fragility of our planet. Includes VR support.
Space Engine: a free 3D Universe Simulator for the PC. VR support coming soon!
Section header image credits:
The Sky – Stellarium/ Bob Trembley
Observing Target – Turn Left at Orion / M. Skirvin
The Moon – NASA/JPL-Caltech
The Sun – NASA/JPL-Caltech
Asteroids – NASA/JPL-Caltech
Fireballs – Credited to YouTube
Comets – Comet P/Halley, March 8, 1986, W. Liller
The Solar System – NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley
Spacecraft News – NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley
Exoplanets – Space Engine / Bob Trembley
The Universe – Universe Today
2018 is NASA’s 60th Anniversary!
July 20, 2019 is the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon.
