Astronomy

PATHOF THE

PLANETS

The planets

in the sky

These illustrations show the size, phase, and orientation of each planet and the two brightest dwarf planets at 0h UT

for the dates in the data table at bottom. South is at the top to match the view through a telescope.

The planets in May 2018

AND

TRI

ARI PSC

CAS

PEG

SGE

EQU

LAC

AQR

PsA CAP

SCT

AQL SER

CYG LY R

VUL

PER

OPH

HER

DRA

BOÖ

CrB

SER

VIR

LIB

PSC

CET

SCL

TAU

FOR

ERI

GRU MIC

SGR CrA

SCO LUP

Objects visible before dawn

Celestial equator

Moon phases Dawn Midnight

Sun

Amphitrite

Vesta

Uranus

Pluto Saturn

Neptune

Mars

Path^ of^ the

Moon^

Mercu

ry

Jupiter appears at its best

for the year in May

16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

31 30 29 28 27 26

Venus

Mars

Mercury

Ceres

Uranus

Saturn

Neptune

Pluto

10"

S

WE

N

Jupiter

40 ASTRONOMY • MAY 2018

Planets MERCURY VENUS MARS CERES JUPITER SATURN URANUS NEPTUNE PLUTO

Date May 1 May 15 May 15 May 15 May 15 May 15 May 15 May 15 May 15

Magnitude 0.3 –3.9 –0.7 8.5 –2.5 0.3 5.9 7.9 14.2

Angular size 7. 8 " 12 .1" 12. 8 " 0. 5" 4 4. 8 " 17. 8 " 3.4" 2. 3" 0.1"

Illumination 46% 85% 89% 96% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

Distance (AU) from Earth 0.859 1.375 0.734 2.526 4.403 9.319 20.806 30.307 33.001

Distance (AU) from Sun 0.459 0.718 1.476 2.559 5.408 10.066 19.888 29.942 33.562

Right ascension (2000.0) 0h54.1m 5h34.9m 20h07.4m 9h19.6m 15h01.0m 18h36.0m 1h51.3m 23h09.6m 19 h30.3m

Declination (2000.0) 2°41' 24°44' –22°12' 26°36' –15°48' –22°18' 10°53' –6°25' –21°33'