Adrian Dening's Stars Over Somerset

Wednesday, 12 May 2021 19:13

Monday 17th - Sunday 23rd May 2021

If you look towards the northwest about half an hour after sunset on Monday 17th, it will be possible to see the planets Venus and Mercury close to the horizon. At the same time, further to the west and higher in the sky will be the red planet Mars. Even further left and higher will be a bright Crescent Moon.

If you look in the same direction after dark on Wednesday 19th, the Crescent Moon will be just above the bright star Regulus in the constellation of Leo. Although Regulus looks like a single star, it is actually a quadruple star system about 79 light-years away from us.

Talking of bright things, next week provides several opportunities to observe the International Space Station. If you are out looking for Venus and Mercury on Monday 17th, wait until 10.40 pm and you should see the ISS appear in the West. Alternatively, if you are Regulus-spotting on Wednesday 19th, the space station will appear in the west at 10.41 pm. In both cases, it will spend about 7 minutes passing overhead before disappearing to the east.

There may soon be another space station to look out for. At the end of April, the Chinese launched the first module of their new permanent space station. This core module called "Tianhe" contains the living quarters. Science lab modules are to follow and the Chinese hope that the station will become operational by 2022. You won't be able to spot it yet as the solar panels which are responsible for reflecting the sunlight haven't been installed.