Monday 19th to Sunday 25th May 2025
If you are an early riser, look towards the east around
Using a telescope to observe Venus will reveal it to be a beautiful crescent shape at this point in its orbit around the Sun, relative to us. It will look almost like a last quarter Moon.
If an object is located between us and the Sun, you can observe different phases, but if a planet is further away from the Sun than Earth, then you will only ever see it as a fully-illuminated disc.
If you have brought your telescope out, then you could also have a go at observing the dust rings around Saturn, although they are currently sideways-on to us, so not in the greatest position. Some of Saturn's many moons should be obvious though.
By
Something for the evening observers - May sees the start of the noctilucent cloud season, where sunlight is scattered by ice crystals in the upper atmosphere at twilight. There were some great occurrences of this phenomenon in 2024, so keep your fingers crossed!
www.starsoversomerset.com
Noctilucent cloud image courtesy of Wikipedia
Screenshots courtesy of Stellarium
Copyright Adrian Dening and Radio Ninesprings 2025
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