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International Astronomy Week: Here's what we can see

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Scott Sutherland

Meteorologist/Science Writer

Wednesday, May 11, 2016, 7:39 PM - What's that bright light in the night sky? Are there any planets visible tonight? What are the brightest stars in the sky right now? Here's a guide to what we can see this week, leading up to Saturday's International Astronomy Day.

The Mother's Day solar storm. The transit of Mercury. Kepler more than doubling the number of alien worlds we know about. It's been a great start to International Astronomy Week, and here's what else you can see in the night sky.

In the East



The view to the east at local midnight. Credit: Stellarium/S. Sutherland

The most notable objects in the eastern sky, currently, are Saturn, towards the southeast, and the bright stars Deneb, Altair and Vega.

Under particularly dark skies, far from city lights, more stars will be noticeable, and one can even pick out the swath of the Milky Way stretching across the sky.

To the North



The view north at local midnight. Credit: Stellarium/S. Sutherland

The bright stars Capella, Deneb and Polaris (the North Star), are the main attractions in the northern sky, and with little light pollution, the rest of the Milky Way can be seen. Look up and to the left of Ursa Minor (the Little Dipper), and Ursa Major (the Big Dipper) will feature very prominently.

In the West



The view west at local midnight. Credit: Stellarium/S. Sutherland

Off to the west, a waxing crescent Moon will be on its way towards the horizon by this time of night. The giant planet Jupiter will likely be the next most noticeable object in the sky, as well as the bright stars Regulus, in the constellation Leo, and Pollux and Castor, in the constellation Gemini.

Towards the South



The view to south at local midnight. Credit: Stellarium/S. Sutherland

In the southeast, Saturn is joined by Mars, and the bright star Antares. Also visible from that part of the sky are meteors belonging to the alpha Scorpid meteor shower. Although there are only about five meteors per hour, maximum, from this minor shower, it is known for some of the very bright meteors it can produce. Almost directly south, the star Spica denotes the location of the constellation Virgo.

Be sure to check your local forecast for sky conditions, as layers of cloud will most certainly spoil the view for any nighttime skywatching, and be mindful of any Earthly sources of light in your area.

Our polluted sky

Light pollution and city lights are mentioned a few times here.

To get an idea of what kind of difference it makes for what we can see at night, compare the southerly view of the sky, above, to the same view with light pollution simulated, below:



The view to south at local midnight, from near a large urban centre. Credit: Stellarium/S. Sutherland

Most of the stars vanish in the wash of urban lights.

This depiction is being somewhat generous, as well. In the heart of a large city, such as Toronto, only the planet Mars might be visible, and it would be substantially dimmer than what is seen in the above image. It's important, when skywatching, to get as far away from sources of light pollution as possible.

To find such a place, there are mapping sites that plot light pollution, such as Dark Site Finder, and you can check out the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada's list of Dark Sky Preserves.

Once in a location far from city lights, just allow your eyes about 20-30 minutes to adjust to the dark, and enjoy.

A few special guests

These natural objects aren't the only things we can see at night. Stare at the sky long enough and you'll see satellites whizzing by overhead, and even the International Space Station makes the occasional flyover.

This week, the Space Station is making a series of early morning passes over Canada. Sign up for alerts at NASA's Spot the Station website, use a tracker site such as AstroViewer, or you can download apps such as ISS Detector for Android or for iPhone, something like ISS Spotter or ISS Finder will work.



A modified composite of screenshots from ISS Detector, for the Friday, May 13, 4:58 a.m. EDT pass over southern Ontario.

Some passes that are particularly good this week are:

• Starting at 5:17 a.m. ADT/5:47 a.m. NDT on Thursday, over Atlantic Canada,

• At 4:58 a.m. EDT on Friday over Ontario and Quebec,

• At 4:46 a.m. CDT/3:46 a.m. CST on Saturday over the Prairie provinces, and

• At 5:13 a.m. PDT/4:13 a.m. MDT on Saturday over Alberta and British Columbia.

These particular flyovers will be quite bright, and should be visible even from the core of large urban centers, as long as the skies remain reasonably clear.

If you capture any particularly nice pictures of the night sky this week, please consider sharing them with us.