Astronomy

Night Sky this Week

In the night sky this week, Mars is hanging out in Leo, sinking below the horizon around midnight. The red planet is getting dimmer as the Earth pulls away from the red planet. On Sunday, the moon passes to the north of the planet.

Jupiter is low in the west right after sunset, if you can glimpse it before it sets.

In the morning, the bright object you see around a couple of hours before sunrise in the east is Venus in the constellation of Pisces. It is gaining in brightness as it closes in on Earth’s orbit. On Saturday morning, the waning crescent moon lies to the left of the planet.

Saturn is to the upper right of the bright Venus. This is a good time to look at the ringed planet through binoculars or a small telescope because, to the planet’s northeast, you can find Neptune. It will look like a small blue-green star.

Vega shines in the northeast as summer’s brightest star. It is twice the size of our sun and only 25 light years from us. Vega has been our North Star in the past and again in the distant future. This star leads the Summer Triangle up to the skies.

So, grab a blanket, maybe a telescope or binoculars, and enjoy the cosmic spectacle this week has to offer this week through June 6th. The night sky is putting on quite a show this week—let’s take a look at what’s up there!

Garden almanac

This Week in the Garden (May 20th)

This week in the garden, there is a hard lesson to learn when buying transplants: to remove the flowers or any fruit from the plant. This puts energy into the root and leaf growth for a stronger plant down the road. Also, depending on the plant, pinch it back to encourage a healthier plant.

Pennycress

The weed of the week is pennycress or skunkweed. I left one growing on the south side of my house. I counted 8 seeds in one pod, and 50 pods made around 400 seeds. This weed is called a winter annual, meaning it starts growing in the fall and then finishes with flowers and seeds the following spring. Being an annual, it is easy to pull out; just do not let it go to seed.

In planting new apple trees, look for trees that are resistant to scab, rust, and powdery mildew or a combination of these diseases. It will state this on the label. Remember to plant two varieties for a good apple crop.

Dead top in birches

There are some dead tops in maples and birches this year, caused by drought, winter kill. If you can remove them safely, do it.

I had a question about a male Silver Maple having seeds. On checking this, sometimes Silver Maples will change sex depending on environmental factors. Plants are amazing.

Astronomy

Night Sky this Week

In the night sky this week, Mars is hanging out in Leo, sinking below the horizon around midnight. The red planet is getting dimmer as the Earth pulls away from the red planet.

On Wednesday, the very thin crescent moon passes north of Jupiter. They both set after dark.

In the morning, the bright object you see around an hour before sunrise in the east, is Venus. It is gaining in brightness as it closes in on Earth’s orbit. On Saturday morning the waning crescent moon lays to the left of the planet.

Saturn is to the upper right of the bright Venus. This is a good time to look at the ringed planet through binoculars or a small telescope because to the planet’s northeast, you can find Neptune. It will look like a small blue-green star.

Vega shines in the northeast as summer’s brightest star. It is twice the size of our sun and only 25 light years from us. Vega has been our North Star in the past and again in the distant future.

So, grab a blanket, maybe a telescope or binoculars, and enjoy the cosmic spectacle this week has to offer this week through May 30th. The night sky is putting on quite a show this week—let’s take a look at what’s up there!