Visibility and position of the planets in June of this year. Starry sky in the evening What planets are visible in May

Sun. At the beginning of May, the Sun moves through the constellation Aries, and from the 14th it moves into the constellation Taurus, in which on June 21 the Sun will reach its northernmost declination and the summer solstice will begin. And exactly a month before this event, our daytime star will pass southeast of the open star cluster Pleiades, which can still be observed in the evening sky in early May. As the declination of the sun increases, the length of daylight hours also increases. At the latitude of Moscow it will increase from 15:22 on May 1 to 17:09 on the 31st.

The 24th eleven-year cycle of solar activity continues in May. Moreover, in the second half of April, the intensification of sunspot activity on the Sun began, so it is possible that in the last spring month we will witness the appearance of giant sunspots that can be visible even to the naked eye!

Observing the Sun through a small telescope, you can see dark spots on its surface, as well as light torches that are brighter than the surrounding surface of the solar disk. If you sketch the view of the solar disk from day to day, the observer will be able to make sure that the Sun rotates around its axis, and the appearance of sunspots and their groups is subject to variability: they change shape, composition, and some completely disappear, while others appear. Large spots are clearly visible even in 6x or 7x binoculars. But when observing the Sun, remember that looking at the daylight without special filters is very dangerous for your vision. You should either use special solar filters with all the accompanying precautions, or use the method of observing the Sun on a screen.

On the day of the May new moon (May 10), the disk of the Moon will cover the Sun - a solar eclipse will occur. But it will be ring-shaped, because the visible diameter of the lunar disk will be slightly smaller than the solar one (29.8" and 31.7" respectively) and at the moment of the full phase a dazzlingly bright yellow ring will shine around the black disk of the Moon. Unfortunately, this solar eclipse will not be visible in Russia. Observers in Australia and the Pacific will be able to enjoy the phenomenon. Partial phases will also be visible from Indonesia and the Philippines.

Moon phases in May 2013

In the early evening of May 12, the crescent of the “young” Moon will pass near Jupiter. Both luminaries will be in the western part of the sky against the background of the constellation Taurus, while bright Jupiter will be to the right and slightly above the Moon.

On the evening of May 15, above and to the right of the Moon, find two bright stars - Castor (α Gemini) and Pollux (β Gemini), and below the Moon - bright Procyon (α Canis Minor).

On the night of May 22-23, around midnight, you will find the Moon west of the celestial meridian in the southern sky. To the right of the Moon, notice the bright blue star. This is Spica (α Virgo). And an even brighter yellowish star, which will be to the left of the Moon, is not a star at all, but the planet Saturn.

If you manage to observe the Moon after midnight on May 26, then to the right and below it, very low above the horizon, you will notice a twinkling reddish bright star. This is Antares (α Scorpio).

Planets. At nightfall, Saturn will shine in the southern sky this May, with a brilliance comparable to the brightest stars in the spring sky, such as Arcturus and Spica. By the way, the latter will be to the right of Saturn and at the same height as it. Therefore, looking south around midnight, not high above the horizon, you will notice two bright stars. The one on the right and blue is Spica (α Virgo), and the yellowish one on the left is the planet Saturn. Its brilliance is still bright (0.1m) and brighter than Spica. In a small telescope, as well as in telescopes that provide 20x magnification, the rings of the planet, as well as its largest satellite, Titan, are clearly visible. The moon in the sky will be smaller than Spica and Saturn on the night of May 22-23.

Jupiter is visible in the evenings low in the western part of the sky and quickly descends to the horizon in its northwestern part. The planet is bright (–2.0m), so it is difficult to miss it when viewing the western sky at the beginning of the month around 11 pm. But the planet is located in the constellation Taurus, into which the Sun moves on May 14, so Jupiter’s visibility conditions continue to deteriorate.

In May, Venus will also appear in the evening sky, but despite its bright shine (–3.9m), it barely stands out against the background of the bright glow of the evening dawn low in the western - northwestern part of the sky. It will be possible to observe the planet from mid-latitudes from the beginning of the second ten days of the month. On May 10, Venus will pass southeast of the Pleiades, and on May 11, the thinnest crescent Moon will pass in the sky between Jupiter and Venus. But to observe this phenomenon you will have to use binoculars, since the twilight sky will be too light.

In the second half of May, another planet will appear in the evening sky - Mercury. And in the middle of the third ten days of the month, low in the northwestern part of the sky, it will be possible to observe a parade of planets, when Mercury, Venus and Jupiter will appear next to each other in the eastern part of the constellation Taurus! This parade of planets will last until the beginning of June.

Mercury, Venus and Jupiter in the evening sky on May 25 and 31, 2013

Starry sky. In May, white nights begin in mid-latitudes and last until August. This means that after sunset the sky remains bright for a long time, making it unsuitable for exploring the constellations. And the evening dawn, having passed across the northern part of the sky, begins earlier and earlier to turn into the morning dawn, in the rays of which the stars quickly melt. And if at the beginning of the month, acquaintance with the stars can begin around 23:00, then by the end of the month the sky darkens closer to midnight.

Looking at the evening sky from mid-latitudes at about 11 p.m. local time in early May, you will notice that the Big Dipper's bucket is located high above your head - at the zenith. Now turn your face to the western part of the sky, where the rays of the evening dawn are still burning, and pay attention to a bright star that looks like a yellow star. This is the planet Jupiter. And even below Jupiter, halfway to the horizon, against the background of the evening dawn, you can still find a bright orange star, but significantly inferior to Jupiter in brilliance - Aldebaran (α Tauri). By the middle of the month, this star will disappear in the rays of the evening dawn. And to the right of Aldebaran, find a compact group of 6 stars in the open star cluster Pleiades, similar to a tiny bucket. If you look at it through binoculars, even against the background of the evening dawn you will be able to see dozens of fainter stars here.

High in the southeastern part of the sky, orange Arcturus (α Bootes) flickers. And low in the northeast it competes with a bright white star - Vega (α Lyrae). With the onset of dusk, these are the first stars that light up in the sky on these May evenings. And to the left of Vega, find another, but less bright star Deneb (α Cygni). Vega and Deneb form the base of the so-called summer-autumn triangle, the apex of which - the star Altair (α Aquila) - in May rises in the eastern part of the sky after 23 o'clock. Then the summer-autumn triangle is visible in all its glory and will become our guide in the evening starry sky throughout the summer, as well as autumn.

Slightly below the constellation Bootes with bright orange Arcturus, find a semicircle of stars. This is the constellation Corona Borealis.

At about 11 p.m., the characteristic W-shaped figure of the constellation Cassiopeia is visible above the point of the north, and above the point of the south, the stars of the constellation Virgo with the bright blue star Spica (α Virgo) cross the celestial meridian. To the left of Spica the bright yellowish planet Saturn is visible.

At the end of the month, after 23:00, look to the southeast - south, where another bright, but iridescent star is visible low above the horizon. This is Antares (α Scorpio). Much to the right of Antares and higher above the horizon, let us pay attention to two luminaries already well known to us - yellowish Saturn and blue Spica. Between Satrun and Antares is the inconspicuous constellation Libra.

Now look at the vast region of sky contained between Altair, Antares, Vega and Arcturus. In the northern part of this area is the constellation Hercules, and below it is the huge constellation Ophiuchus, as well as the constellation Serpens, divided by Ophiuchus into two parts - the head (the part that is closer to Arcturus) and the tail (closer to Altair).

For those who can't sleep and can't wait to get acquainted with the constellations of the morning May sky, look to the east at dawn - around 4 a.m., where you can find the stars of the constellations Pegasus and Andromeda stretching along the horizon from east to northeast.

Details Oleg Nekhaev

Zvezdnoye the sky that you see on this map (below) reflects the real position of the planets, bright stars and constellations at the moment. It is enough to make adjustments to the program settings and you will see everything on the screen based on your location. How to set up the “starry sky”? How to see the most interesting things in space?

At the top left of the map there are two lines: date and time, below - coordinates. The first line automatically displays the time you opened this page. Want to see what the sky will look like later? Enter the year, month, date and time to see how the stars are positioned in the sky at the desired period. Depending on the geographical point there will be different positions of the luminaries and planets. To set the desired coordinates, click on the second line. Enter your latitude and longitude if you know them, or use the navigator to find them below. Write the name of the city (preferably in Latin), click Search. If he is successful. Close the panel. If the “select” window appears, click on this column and select what you are looking for from the options. Close the window and check the new values.

To find out the coordinates, you can use the Yandex map search. Enter the name of the area (settlement) and click "search". The coordinates of the location will appear on the right. Write them down. For most locations, Wikipedia can also help. Enter the name of the city into the search and you will see the necessary numbers in the right column. Attention! Enter data without the degree and minute symbols. After the whole number, put a dot and add the remaining numbers without separation. Write down the latitude first. By default, the coordinates of the center of Moscow are configured.

The star map is very convenient not only for preparing views through a telescope, but also for ordinary observations of space objects, without the use of technical means. You will always know what planets are shining in the sky or what the name of the noticeable star you saw today is, and what the name of the constellation that appears in the sky is called. You will be able to watch the passage of low-orbit satellites of the Iridium system. And it is very important to watch them at a certain point. These devices periodically emit surprisingly bright flashes. Reminiscent of the fall of noticeable meteorites. The brightness of this phenomenon is such that it is second only to the Sun and Moon. Or you can predict the flight path of the International Space Station in advance. And you will wait for her to appear in a certain place in the starry sky. Live broadcast from the station is carried out in Siberia. And you can calculate the exact time of the visible passage of the ISS in your location on our page at this LINK .

A few clarifications. The starry sky in the diagram appears before us as if it were above our head. To really perceive it, you need to make a mental revolution of the image. The cardinal directions indicated on the diagram will help you get a correct idea. On the map you see them along the edges of the circle. You need to identify them in reality. Determine where North is at your location using a compass or other means, for example, using GPS-Glonass navigation in programs on a smartphone or tablet. And then mentally place a map of the starry sky based on the identified data, or rotate the configured map using the cursor.

Notation. Lilac color The names of the constellations are marked on the map. White- names of the brightest stars. Turquoise The outline shows the boundaries of the Milky Way. Arc Red displays the ecliptic - the trajectory (projection) of the movement of the Sun. The planets of our star system follow the same path. They are displayed orange color. Light green radiant points of meteor showers are shown. During periods of their activity, on some days, you can see “star rain” emanating from this area. May you be lucky.

Do not forget that in the northern hemisphere, where the vast majority of visitors to our site are located, the most significant coordinate star is Polaris. It’s easy to find in the sky if you take the famous constellation to help Ursa Major(Ursa Major), or rather its Big Bucket. Its second star in the handle is highlighted on the map - Mizar. So, if you draw a line up through the last two stars of the bucket, then after five of the same distances as between these stars, you will find Polaris. She is the only one who is in one place, and everyone else seems to revolve around her. She also points to the North. That's why she was always called a guide.
Other visible bright stars are not difficult to figure out. Some of the most notable ones...

Deneb is one of the largest and is the most powerful star of all the 25 brightest stars in the sky known to science. In one day, Deneb emits more light than our Sun does in 140 years. A very distant star.

Sirius– according to perception, it is the brightest star for us. Because it is located much closer to us than other luminaries, with the exception, of course, of the Sun. In fact, it is double. Moreover, it has significant mobility. In about 11 thousand years, Sirius will no longer be visible to those living in Europe.

Arcturus. Orange giant. One of the brightest stars. It can be seen all year round from Russia. Arcturus became the first star that could be seen through a telescope during the day. This happened more than three hundred years ago.

Vega. A young, rapidly rotating star. The best studied (if you do not take into account the Sun). The first one that we managed to photograph well. Apart from Antarctica, it can be seen from almost any other point in the world. Vega is one of the favorite “heroines” of science fiction writers.

Altair- a star quite close to us. It is located only 159 trillion kilometers away. Compare: the mentioned Deneb is almost a hundred times further from us.

Rigel- a blue-white supergiant. More than seventy times larger than the Sun. Located so far away from us that the light we now see was emitted by a star 860 light years ago. Compare: light from the Moon reaches us in one second at a distance of about 400 thousand kilometers. Rigel is a star of incredible power in its luminosity and monstrously distant. And there, someone or something perceives it as the sun. But from there it is impossible even with the most powerful telescope to see our Sun, not to mention the Earth on which we live...

Please pay attention! 1. Read the instructions for displaying the star map carefully. Many people ask questions about the location of stars and planets, to which they can get answers themselves by entering the appropriate data in the map settings. 2. There are visible “parades of planets” and invisible ones (without the use of binoculars and telescopes). The latter happens quite often. The nearest visible parade of five planets from Russian territory will occur only in 2022. Don't believe the frequent reports about the "end of the world" and that planetary positions can affect the Earth's rotation.

Clear skies and successful observations to you!

Not only astronomers and romantics love to look at the sky. We all look up to the stars from time to time and admire their eternal beauty. That is why each of us is at least sometimes interested in which star in the sky is the brightest.

The Greek scientist Hipparchus first asked this question, and he proposed his classification 22 centuries ago! He divided the stars into six groups, where the first magnitude stars were the brightest he could observe, and the sixth magnitude were those barely visible to the naked eye.

Needless to say that we are talking about relative brightness, and not about the actual ability to glow? Indeed, in addition to the amount of light produced, the brightness of a star observed from Earth is affected by the distance from this star to the observation site. It seems to us that the brightest star in the sky is the Sun, because it is closest to us. In fact, it is not at all a bright and very small star.

Nowadays, approximately the same system for distinguishing stars by brightness is used, only improved. Vega was taken as the reference point, and the brightness of the remaining stars is measured from its indicator. The brightest stars have a negative index.

So, we will consider exactly those stars that are recognized as the brightest according to the improved Hipparchus scale

10 Betelgeuse (α Orionis)

The red giant, with 17 times the mass of our Sun, rounds out the top 10 brightest night stars.

This is one of the most mysterious stars in the Universe, because it is capable of changing its size, while its density remains unchanged. The color and brightness of the giant varies at different points.

Scientists expect Betelgeuse to explode in the future, but given that the star is located at a huge distance from the Earth (according to some scientists - 500, according to others - 640 light years), this should not affect us. However, for several months the star can be seen in the sky even during the day.

9 Achernar (α Eridani)

A favorite of science fiction writers, a blue star with a mass 8 times greater than that of the Sun looks very impressive and unusual. The star Achernar is flattened so that it resembles a rugby ball or a tasty torpedo melon, and the reason for this is a fantastic rotation speed of more than 300 km per second, approaching the so-called separation speed, at which the centrifugal force becomes identical to the force of gravity.

8 Procyon (α Canis Minor)

One of the two “dog stars” is similar to Sirius in that it is the brightest star in the constellation Canis Minor (and Sirius is the brightest star in Canis Major), and in that it is also double.

Procyon A is a pale yellow star about the size of the Sun. It is gradually expanding, and in 10 million years it will become an orange or red giant. According to scientists, the process is already underway, as evidenced by the unprecedented brightness of the star - it is more than 7 times brighter than the sun, although similar in size and spectrum.

Procyon B, its companion, a dim white dwarf, is about the same distance from Procyon A as Uranus is from the Sun.

And there were some mysteries here. Ten years ago, a long-term study of the star was undertaken using an orbiting telescope. Astronomers were eager to get confirmation of their hypotheses. However, the hypotheses were not confirmed, and now scientists are trying to explain what is happening on Procyon in some other way.

Continuing the “dog” theme – the name of the star means “in front of the dog”; this means that Procyon appears in the sky before Sirius.

7 Rigel (β Orionis)

In seventh place in terms of relative (observed by us) brightness is one of the most powerful stars in the Universe with an absolute magnitude of -7, that is, the brightest of the stars located more or less nearby.

It is located 870 light years away, so less bright but closer stars appear brighter to us. Meanwhile, Rigel is 130 thousand times brighter than the Sun and 74 times larger in diameter!

The temperature on Rigel is so high that if something were to be at the same distance from it as the Earth is relative to the Sun, this object would immediately turn into a stellar wind!

Rigel has two companion stars, almost invisible in the bright glow of the blue-white supergiant.

6 Chapel (α Auriga)

Capella ranks third among the brightest stars in the Northern Hemisphere. Of the stars of the first magnitude (the famous Polaris is only of the second magnitude), Capella is located closest to the North Pole.

This is also a double star, and the weaker of the pair is already becoming red, and the brighter is still white, although the hydrogen in its body has obviously already turned into helium, but has not yet ignited.

The name of the star means Goat, because the Greeks identified it with the goat Amalthea, who suckled Zeus.

5 Vega (α Lyrae)

The brightest of the Sun's neighbors can be observed throughout the entire Northern Hemisphere and almost the entire Southern Hemisphere, except Antarctica.

Vega is beloved by astronomers for being the second most studied star after the Sun. Although there is still a lot of mystery in this “most studied” star. What can we do, the stars are in no hurry to reveal their secrets to us!

Vega's rotation speed is very high (it rotates 137 times faster than the Sun, almost as fast as Achernar), so the star's temperature (and therefore its color) differs at the equator and at the poles. Now we see Vega from the pole, so it appears pale blue to us.

Around Vega there is a large cloud of dust, the origin of which is controversial among scientists. The question of whether Vega has a planetary system is also debatable.

4 The brightest star in the Northern Hemisphere is Arcturus (α Bootes)

In fourth place is the brightest star of the Northern Hemisphere - Arcturus, which in Russia can be observed anywhere throughout the year. However, it is also visible in the Southern Hemisphere.

Arcturus is many times brighter than the Sun: if we take into account only the range perceived by the human eye, then more than a hundred times, but if we take the intensity of the glow as a whole, then 180 times! This is an orange giant with an atypical spectrum. Someday our Sun will reach the same stage that Arcturus is at now.

According to one version, Arcturus and its neighboring stars (the so-called Arcturus Stream) were once captured by the Milky Way. That is, all these stars are of extragalactic origin.

3 Toliman (α Centauri)

This is a double, or rather, even a triple star, but we see two of them as one, and the third, dimmer one, which is called Proxima, as if separately. However, in fact, all these stars are not very bright, but are located not far from us.

Since Toliman is somewhat similar to the Sun, astronomers have long and persistently been looking for a planet near it, similar to Earth and located at a distance that makes life on it possible. In addition, this system, as already mentioned, is located relatively close, so the first interstellar flight will probably be there.

Therefore, the love of science fiction writers for Alpha Centauri is understandable. Stanislav Lem (creator of the famous Solaris), Asimov, Heinlein devoted pages of their books to this system; The action of the acclaimed film “Avatar” also takes place in the Alpha Centauri system.

2 Canopus (α Carinae) is the brightest star in the Southern Hemisphere

In absolute terms of luminosity, Canopus is much brighter than Sirius, which, in turn, is much closer to Earth, so that objectively it is the brightest night star, but from a distance (it is located at a distance of 310 light years) it seems dimmer to us than Sirius.

Canopus is a yellowish supergiant whose mass is 9 times the mass of the Sun, and it glows 14 thousand times more intensely!

Unfortunately, it is impossible to see this star in Russia: it is not visible north of Athens.

But in the Southern Hemisphere, Canopus was used to determine their location in navigation. In the same capacity, Alpha Carinae is used by our astronauts.

1 The brightest star in our starry sky is Sirius (α Canis Majoris)

The famous “dog star” (it was not for nothing that J. Rowling called her hero, who turned into a dog, that way), the appearance of which in the sky meant the beginning of vacation for ancient schoolchildren (this word means “dog days”) is one of the closest to the solar system and therefore perfectly visible from almost anywhere on Earth, except the Far North.

It is now believed that Sirius is a double star. Sirius A is twice as large as the Sun, and Sirius B is smaller. Although millions of years ago, apparently, it was the other way around.

Many peoples have left various legends associated with this star. The Egyptians considered Sirius to be the star of Isis, the Greeks - the dog of Orion taken to heaven, the Romans called him Canicula (“little dog”), in Old Russian this star was called Psitsa.

The ancients described Sirius as a red star, while we observe a bluish glow. Scientists can only explain this by assuming that all ancient descriptions were compiled by people who saw Sirius low above the horizon, when its color was distorted by water vapor.

Be that as it may, now Sirius is the brightest star in our sky, which can be seen with the naked eye even during the day!

In May 2017, 4 planets, 4 asteroids brighter than +10 magnitude* and three comets will be available for observation.

Moon Today, May 3, enters the first quarter phase, the 11th is the full moon, the 19th is the last quarter, and the 25th is the new moon. On May 8, the Moon will pass close to Jupiter (see image).

Mercury not visible due to its low position above the horizon.

Venus visible in the morning before sunrise as a very bright white star in the east in the constellation Pisces. The planet's visibility period is gradually increasing. The planet's brightness is -4.4.

Mars visible at the beginning of the month low in the northwest for a short time after sunset.

Jupiter can be observed all night as a bright yellow star in the constellation Virgo in the southeast, south, southwest. Already through binoculars, the Galilean satellites are visible near Jupiter: Ganymede, Callisto, Europa and Io. Gloss -2.3. On May 8, the Moon will pass near the planet (see image).

Saturn at the beginning of the month it is visible after midnight, after that - almost all night in the southeast, south as a fairly bright star near the border of the constellations Sagittarius and Ophiuchus. The planet's brightness is +0.2. Through binoculars and a small telescope, the satellite Titan is visible near the planet. On May 14, the Moon will pass near Saturn.

Uranus not visible due to its proximity to the Sun.

Neptune not visible due to its low position in the twilight morning sky. On May 20, the Moon will pass near the planet.

In May, 4 asteroids have a magnitude greater than +10: Vesta(constellation Cancer, +8.0), Ceres(constellation Taurus, +8.8), Hebe(constellation Serpens, +9.7) and Hygeia(constellation Sagittarius, +10). To find all asteroids you need binoculars, often a telescope and a star map. Any asteroid in a telescope looks like an ordinary star, which moves among the stars day by day.

Comets available for observation will be: Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresaka(magnitude +7.7...+11.0; constellations Lyra and Hercules), Johnson(magnitude +7.4...+6.7; constellation Bootes), PANSTARRS(magnitude +11.5...+11.9; constellation Pisces). To find all the mentioned comets you need a telescope and a star map. Comets are visible through a telescope as gray hazy spots of varying brightness and size. The presence of a tail is optional.

Image: Stellarium

* The “magnitude” or “stellar magnitude” of a celestial object is a measure of its brightness. The lower the magnitude, the brighter the celestial object. Accordingly, if we say “brilliance increases,” then its numerical value decreases. Thus, the Sun has a magnitude of -26, the full Moon -12, the stars of the Ursa Major bucket on average +2. A person in urban areas sees stars up to magnitude +4, in rural areas up to +6. The limit of binoculars (in the absence of sky illumination) is +8...+10, of a small telescope (in the absence of sky illumination) +12..+13.