What’s Up in the May Sky
May’s Evening Planets:
Spot the Summer Triangle of Vega in Lyra the Harp, Deneb in Cygnus the Swan, and Altair in Aquila the Eagle as of 11 PM and rising earlier every night. Find bright Venus until around 9 PM, moving between Taurus the Bull and Gemini the Twins. Jupiter will be in Libra the Scale all night. Saturn will be in Sagittarius the Archer after midnight and rising earlier every night until 10PM by the end of May
May’s Evening Stars:
Spot Spica in Virgo the Virgin, Arcturus in Boötes the Herdsman, Vega in Lyra the Harp, Capella in Auriga the Charioteer, and Castor and Pollux in Gemini the Twins. Also find the stars of constellations Cassiopeia, Virgo, Leo, Hercules, Draco, Ophiuchus, Libra, Cepheus, Hydra, and Ursa Major and Ursa Minor (the Big and Little Dippers).
May’s Morning Planets:
Red Mars will be moving between Sagittarius the Archer and Capricornus the Sea-Goat during May, as of 2 AM and rising earlier every year. Jupiter will be in Libra the Scale until sunrise. Saturn will be in Sagittarius the Archer until the morning.
Neptune is in Aquarius the Water bearer as of 4 AM and rising earlier every night. Uranus will be in Pisces the Fish around 5 AM in the second half of May. Pluto is in Sagittarius the Archer as of midnight and rising earlier every night.
May ’s Morning Stars:
The Summer Triangle of Vega in Lyra the Harp, Deneb in Cygnus the Swan, and Altair in Aquila the Eagle will be up until sunrise. This month, look for reddish Antares in Scorpius and Arcturus in Boötes, along with the stars of constellations Hercules, Libra, Scorpius, Sagittarius, Pegasus, Perseus, Andromeda, Capricornus, Cepheus , Ophiuchus, Cassiopeia, Draco, Ursa Major, and Ursa Minor (the Big and Little Dippers).
May Skylights
May 5 Moon at apogee (251,300 miles away)
May 6 Moon is 3° north of Mars
May 6 Eat Aquariid meteor shower peaks-dawn
May 7 Last quarter Moon at 10:10 PM
May 8 Jupiter is at opposition, 9 PM
May 15 New Moon at 7:48 AM
May 16 Moon is 1° north of Aldebaran
May 17 Moon at perigee (226,000 miles away)
May 21 First Quarter Moon at 11:50 PM
May 29 Full Moon at 10:20 AM
May 31 Moon is 1.5° north of Saturn, 9 PM
Times given in EDT.
