May 14
The Dragon's Neck
Sun Position
The Sun is in Taurus at roughly +19.0° declination. Northern days are long and the Sun tracks high across the sky. In the Southern Hemisphere, May is a month of deepening autumn, with noticeably short afternoons.
Sky Highlight
The spring Milky Way is barely visible in the north, but the center of the galaxy lies in Sagittarius, which won't rise well until summer. May evenings are dominated instead by the galaxy-rich Virgo-Coma region, making this one of the year's best months for extragalactic observing from the Northern Hemisphere.
Deep Sky Object
M84 and M86 (NGC 4374 and NGC 4406), a pair of elliptical galaxies in Virgo's core, both roughly 55–60 million light-years away, visible in the same low-power field as part of Markarian's Chain. The chain of galaxies arcing across this field of view is one of the most visually impressive galaxy groupings observable with modest equipment. Best from northern and equatorial latitudes.
Featured Star
Kang (κ Virginis) is a white subgiant 202 light-years away, spectral class A1IV. Its name comes directly from the second of the 28 Chinese lunar mansions, where it marks the 'neck of the azure dragon', one of the Four Symbols of Chinese astronomy. It is a relatively rare example of a star whose modern IAU name is taken directly from the Chinese astronomical tradition.
Around This Date
- May 14, 1973NASA launched the Skylab space station aboard the last Saturn V rocket ever flown; a micrometeorite shield was torn off during ascent, requiring a dramatic repair mission by the first crew.
- May 15, 1958The Soviet Union launched Sputnik 3, a large scientific satellite that carried instruments to study Earth's ionosphere and magnetic field.
The dragon's neck runs through Virgo, two traditions, one stretch of sky.