BETHLEHEM, Pa. — WLVR’s Brad Klein reviews the week’s astronomical highlights with Bethlehem’s ‘Backyard Astronomy Guy,’ Marty McGuire.
This week, a special chance to view the star Antares.
On May 23, the orange-red star will appear to be very close to the full moon as it rises in the southeast, McGuire said. Seen from the Lehigh Valley, after the Sun sets (in the West, of course), Antares will appear very close to the rising Moon.
In some parts of the world, Antares will be completely hidden behind the moon. But here in the Lehigh Valley, look for it just above the Moon’s north pole at any time during the night.
While these celestial objects may look close, there is no risk of collision. Although Antares is within our own Milky Way galaxy, it is hundreds of light years from Earth. The moon is ‘just’ a couple of hundred thousand miles away as it orbits our planet.
If skies are clear on Thursday, the moon will guide you to Antares, the 16th brightest star in the night sky, and a giant some 500 times the diameter of our own sun, according to McGuire.
