Adrian Dening's Stars Over Somerset

Wednesday, 26 April 2023 17:00

Monday 1st to Sunday 7th May 2023

The coming week is not ideal for trying to observe faint deep sky objects because we are near a Full Moon which produces too much light pollution for serious observing. Instead I'm going to concentrate on a few brighter targets.

If you go outside around 10pm on Friday 5th and look to the west, it is still possible to see Venus shining brightly as it begins to set below the horizon. Viewed through a telescope, Venus shows phases just like our Moon and you should see it as what appears be a quarter phase. Above and to the left of Venus will be the red planet Mars.

Still looking to the west, try to spot four of the brightest stars in the night sky, forming a large parallelogram shape. The red giant Betelgeuse will be close to the horizon, due west. Capella will be above and to the right of Venus. Pollux will be a little above Mars. Finally, Procyon will be down and to the left of Mars. If all that sounds a little confusing, I have provided a star chart to help you.

When you've had enough of identifying geometric shapes, turn your gaze towards the south east and a Full Moon will have just risen above the horizon.

Early morning on Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th is the peak of the Eta Aquariid meteor shower, but as that is only a couple of days past the Full Moon, the viewing of any shooting stars will not be great. If you are up around 4am, the constellation of Aquarius briefly pops up above the horizon towards the east south east. Even if the radiant point of the shower has dipped below the horizon again, it should still be able to see the meteors streaking across the sky before dawn.