Strong Solar Activity Predicted This Month

By Matthew Johnson

Auroras were viewed over Norfolk on April 16. That night, a uniform layer of thin clouds embraced much of Norfolk, causing the aurora to glow a brilliant yellow, gold and white. This strong solar activity is predicted to continue into May as the sun’s activity approaches its peak in the 11-year solar cycle. 

April saw increased solar activity throughout the month. There were powerful solar bursts of energy and particles that reached Earth, creating interruptions to area power and cellular grids.

In April, the auroras reached as far as the higher 30 degrees of latitude in the U.S. As Norfolk’s town center is situated at 41.9 degrees latitude, it was well within their reach. On April 16 the power at my residence, sited at an altitude of approximately 1,640 feet, was interrupted four times by auroras, beginning around 11 a.m. The first three power losses were very brief, lasting from under two minutes to just under five minutes. The fourth interruption, however, which occurred sometime after 8 p.m., lasted more than two hours. Our cell phones also lost the ability to make calls, although e-mail and text were unimpaired. Cellular issues came and went for four days. 

Auroras have been viewed quite far south in the U.S. In fact, they were viewed in 1862 during two of the Civil War’s most terrible southern battles. While fighting at the Battle of Shiloh, which took place in southwest Tennessee on April 6-7, and at the Battle of Fredericksburg, in Virginia, from December 11-15, combatants described viewing an aurora. Anyone viewing an aurora today can report their observations online at https://aurorasaurus.org.

Planets:

Mercury is not visible this May.

Venus is the primary planet for observing without optical aid in May. Look to the east before sunrise. Venus is traveling to its farthest point in its orbit from the sun, and on May 31 it will reach its greatest elongation. Additionally, leading up to May 31, Venus continues rising increasingly higher in the sky. Because Mercury and Venus are between the sun and the earth in their orbits, if viewed with a small telescope they will display phases similar to our moon. Galileo was the first to observe Venus going through phases. 

Mars will be visible all month. Look to the east after sunset for the reddish-colored small planet. 

Jupiter is also visible in May. It can be seen without aid, glowing a bright yellowish. Look to the southwest after sunset to view it. With the aid of binoculars or a small scope, four of Jupiter’s moons, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, can be easily discerned. Due to their rapid orbits around the giant planet, one can discern that they are in different places from night to night. It is possible to watch a moon disappear from view as its orbit carries it behind Jupiter—or view a moon that suddenly appears as it comes into view as its orbit brings it around from the back of Jupiter into the view of the observer. 

Saturn can also be viewed all month to the east before sunrise. 

Uranus is not visible this May, but if one has a moderately powered telescope the planet Neptune can be located in the east, glowing as a tiny dot of blue/green just before sunrise.

Moon Phases:
May 4: First quarter (right half of the moon illuminated)
May 12: Full moon
May 20: Last quarter (left half of the moon illuminated)
May 26: New Moon (no visible moon). This is the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as distant galaxies and star clusters.

May’s full moon is known by Native American tribes as the Flower Moon, owing to the abundance of flowers in most regions. It was also referred to as the Corn Planting Moon and the Milk Moon.

Meteor Showers:

The Eta Aquarid meteor shower may yield from 10 to 15 meteors per hour as far north as Connecticut. Interestingly, this shower is caused by the earth’s orbit intersecting the orbital path of particles left behind by the many passages of Halley’s Comet around the sun. There is some debate as to whether the shower will peak on the night of May 5 or May 6. Since the waxing gibbous moon will block out some of the fainter meteors this year, the best viewing will be after midnight on both of these dates, looking in the direction of the radiant in the constellation Aquarius, the Water Bearer, nearest to the star Eta Aquarius. To report a fireball, a large, brilliant meteor, contact the American Meteor Society at https://fireball.amsmeteors.org/members/imo/report_intro/.