Spring brings new constellations to the night sky. Gone are all the bright blue stars in Orion and Canis Major. The view we have of the night is away from any arm of the Milky Way. The constellations seen towards the southern sky are dim yet hold new views for those searching for new constellations.
The largest constellation in the night sky is Hydra, which lies along the southern horizon. Its size covers three-quarters of the sky, from Cancer to Libra, over 100 degrees in the sky. On top of Hydra are the small constellations of Corvus and Crater. In mythology, the Hydra was the serpent that Hercules killed in one of his twelve labors. The Greeks borrowed the mythology from the Babylonians, making it one of the oldest constellations.
Hydra has only one bright star, named Alphard, which means the “individual," since there are no other bright stars near it. It was also known as the "backbone of the Serpent." Alphard is around 177 light-years away. Its radius is 57 times the radius of our Sun. Its mass is ten times that of our Sun.
Hydra also contains a bright, open cluster, Messier 48, that can be seen in clear, dark skies. It is about 2,500 light-years away, and the star cluster contains several stars visible with binoculars.
Two other constellations can be seen above Hydra. Corvus is a square, trapezoid figure with four bright stars that are close together. In mythology, it represented a white raven that told a lie to Apollo. For the lie, the bird was given black feathers and changed into a crow.
Crater is another small constellation that is above Hydra. It lies to the right of Corvus and is positioned above Hydra. It represents a cup that Corvus used to carry water to Apollo.
Find a dark night away from city lights, trace Hydra through the southern horizon, and locate Corvus and Crater on top of the largest constellation.
May also has two full moons. On the 1st and 31st, the Moon will be full. The second full moon of the month is generally called a ‘blue moon.’
The Eta Aquariids meteor shower peaked during the first week of May. The shower is visible from April 19 to May 28 each year. There is no single night to watch the meteor shower, but it will be the most concentrated during the first week. The meteor shower is associated with Comet Halley.
Here are the planets and the Moon this month: The Moon will be to the north of Saturn on the 13th. On the 14th, the thin crescent Moon will be above Mars. The Moon will be above Venus on the evening of the 18th. On the evening of the 19th, the Moon will be between Jupiter and Venus. In the evening of the 20th, Jupiter will be to the right of the Moon.
