Venus, Saturn and Mars sit for rare group portrait

By DARYL L. SCHRADER
© St. Petersburg Times
published April 27, 2002

May gives us the most spectacular gathering of all the naked-eye planets in over twenty years. All you need to do is turn your attention to the west-northwest after dusk. Each evening is a little different, so try to get out and observe as much as possible.

The first two weeks of the month give us the most interesting display of Venus, Saturn and Mars (in order of brightness) tightly grouped near the horizon. Tiny Mercury is to their lower right and will fade out of the picture as it marches near the horizon by midmonth.

Venus, Saturn and Mars will appear as a perfect equilateral triangle on the 5th.

Brilliant Venus and Mars will be so close together that both can be seen in the same field of view with a pair of binoculars or a telescope on the 9th and 10th. Don't miss this or the view when the crescent moon is extremely close to Venus on the 14th.

Jupiter is the highest planet in the sky, to the upper left of all the others. It moves closer to the horizon, where it joins Venus at month's end and well into June.

Saturn starts the month to the upper left of brilliant Venus and to the direct left of dimmer Mars. It then proceeds to move toward the horizon, passing Venus, and finally is too low to be seen by the 20th.

A very thin crescent moon, low to the horizon, is to the lower right of Saturn and directly to the left of Mercury on the 13th.

You won't be able to see such a conjunction of planets again for almost three-quarters of a century.

At the planetariums

Science Center of Pinellas County

The Science Center (7701 22nd Avenue N, St. Petersburg) will host an observation event with its telescopes on the evening of the 18th from dusk to 11 p.m.

Want to build your own telescope to view the heavens? Then go to the ongoing telescope-building classes in the optical laboratory on Saturdays in the annex building (behind the main building) from noon to 4 p.m.

Call (727) 384-0027 for additional information.

St. Petersburg College

The planetarium at the St. Petersburg campus, Fifth Avenue N and 69th Street N, offers free shows at 7 and 8:15 p.m. every Friday except for the 10th and 17th. The show will highlight the current planets in the night sky and the constellations for May.

If the skies are clear, the telescopes are available for viewing after the shows. Now is an excellent time to view many of the planets. Call (727) 341-4320.

MOSI

The current planetarium shows are "More Than Meets the Eye" and "The Little Star That Could" for junior astronomers. The Challenger Learning Center is presenting "Voyage to Mars." The IMAX Theater continues with Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure (through June 27) and Beauty and the Beast (through May 20).

The astronomy club, MARS, offers free telescope viewing at dusk on May 18, weather permitting. Call (813) 987-6100.

Channelside IMAX Theater

The Channelside Theater is next to the Florida Aquarium in Tampa and is continuing with Ocean Men and Beauty and the Beast. Call (813) 221-0700.

Sky calendar

3rd -- Mercury farthest from the sun (greatest elongation).

4th -- Last quarter moon.

5th -- In order of brightness, Venus, Saturn and Mars form an equilateral triangle low to the west-northwest horizon after dusk. Mercury is to the triangle's lower right.

7th -- Moon is farthest (apogee) at 251,955 miles.

7th-12th -- Mars very close to brilliant Venus in the west-northwest after dusk.

9th-10th -- Mars extremely close to Venus (use binoculars) in the west-northwest when the sky darkens. Saturn is directly below them.

12th -- New moon.

13th -- All the visible planets are minimally spread along the ecliptic by 33 degrees.

14th -- Venus is just to the upper right of a thin crescent moon at dusk.

15th -- Crescent moon is to the lower right of Jupiter after sunset.

18th -- The Science Center of Pinellas County will turn its telescope toward the heavens starting at dusk. The planetarium and laser theater will also be open. The astronomy club at MOSI also has its telescopes turned toward the heavens.

19th -- First quarter moon.

23rd -- Moon is closest (perigee) at 226,790 miles.

26th -- Full moon.

27th -- Mercury is in inferior conjunction, between us and the sun.

31st -- Our two brightest planets, Venus and Jupiter, form a close pair after sunset to the west-northwest well into June. Dimmer Mars is to the lower right of them.

- Daryl L. Schrader is an astronomy and mathematics professor at St. Petersburg College and teaches astronomy at the University of South Florida.

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