I was fascinated by the movie Hercules, starring bodybuilder Steve Reeves, which I saw one Saturday afternoon at the long-gone Vogue theatre in McAdam sometime in the early 60s. I was nurturing my interest in the sky at that time so the constellation of Hercules has long been a part of my life. These spring evenings it is in the east as twilight fades. 

Look for a keystone asterism one third of the way from the bright star Vega toward equally bright Arcturus; that is the upside-down body of the legendary strongman. Hercules is usually depicted down on his right knee, with his left foot on the head of Draco the Dragon and his head close to that of Ophiuchus. Originally the constellation was called The Kneeler, and the star at his head is called Rasalgethi for “head of the Kneeler.” It is the alpha star of the constellation, although Kornephoros (the club bearer) is brighter. 

With binoculars you can pick out two globular clusters from the Messier catalogue in Hercules. Globular clusters are ancient compact groups of typically tens-to-hundreds of thousands of stars that orbit our galaxy’s core. One third of the way from the top right star of the Keystone to the bottom right star is M13, perhaps the finest globular cluster in the northern hemisphere. A line from the bottom right star through the middle of the top of the Keystone, and extended about an equal distance, will put you in the area of M92, one of the oldest objects in our galaxy.

This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Fredericton is at 6:23 and sunset will occur at 8:26, giving 14 hours, 3 minutes of daylight. Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 6:12 and set at 8:35, giving 14 hours, 23 minutes of daylight.

The Moon skims below Regulus in Leo on Saturday (International Astronomy Day), passes near Spica in Virgo on Wednesday and it is full on Friday. Venus is getting higher each evening, working its way toward a close conjunction with Jupiter in early June. On Monday telescope users might see Jupiter’s moon Ganymede reappear from behind the planet at 11:16 pm with the Red Spot in view near the middle. By the end of the week Saturn will be rising an hour before sunrise followed by Mars ten minutes later. Mercury is moving too close to the Sun for observing.

Tune in to the 300th edition of the Sunday Night Astronomy Show at 8 pm on the YouTube channel and Facebook page of Astronomy by the Bay. The Saint John Astronomy Club meets in the Rockwood Park Interpretation Centre at 7 pm on May 2.

Questions? Contact Curt Nason here.

Keep looking up!