2019 Week 18: (April 28-May 4)

This week the Spring month of May begins and with it the end of true night for the Summer.  If you can find a clear evening it will be well worth it to sit outside under the stars and enjoy the sights above.

Date	Event
April 30	Saturn Stationary
May 2	Venus 4°N of Moon
May 3	Mercury 3°N of Moon
May 4	New Moon

Saturn will begin retrograde motion in the sky on Tuesday and appear to move westward compared to the background stars.  This has no scientific significance even if astrologers go nuts over this sort of thing.

Saturn

Our Solar System's two innermost planets, Venus and Mercury, will be in conjunction with the slim waning crescent Moon and you might be able to catch them in the early morning before sunrise.  Saturday will herald the New Moon and eliminate a significant portion of the natural nighttime light pollution.  Most observing nights take place around this time.

There are two rockets scheduled to be launched this week.  A Falcon 9 rocket will be lifting a cargo payload up to the International Space Station on Friday.  The following day an Electron rocket will be taking off from New Zealand with a set of three small satellites.

Date	Event
May 3	Falcon 9 - SpaceX CRS17 (01:11)
May 4	Electron - STP-27RD (0:00)

There will be one public event happening this week that you will not want to miss.  The Rothney Astrophysical Observatory will be hosting its annual 'How to Astronomy' evening.  This is an opportunity to bring any binoculars or telescopes you may have and learn how to better use them.  If you don't have optical equipment, come anyway and try out a vast array of telescopes that will be available for public use.  For more details check out the following webpage:

https://www.ucalgary.ca/rao/event/2019-05-04/how-astronomy-2019

Date	Event
May 4	How to Astronomy 2019

No matter what you may find yourself doing this week, always take the opportunity to look up and see the wonders of space!