Monthly Night Sky information provided by Chris Vaughan (@Astrogeoguy) at Starry Night Education (@StarryNightEdu).
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The moon will reach its new phase on Sunday, April 27 at 3:31 p.m. EDT or 12:31 p.m. PDT or 19:31 GMT. At that time our natural satellite will be located in Aries and 3.25 degrees north of the sun. While new, the moon is travelling between Earth and the sun. Since sunlight can only […] |
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In the eastern sky before dawn in late April, the orbital motion of the brilliant planet Venus will be carrying it past 240 times fainter Saturn. On the mornings before Monday, April 28, Saturn will be positioned several finger widths below (or 3.6 degrees to the celestial south of) Venus, allowing the two planets to […] |
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In the western sky after dusk on Tuesday, April 29, the waxing crescent moon will shine prettily a fist’s diameter to the lower right (or 11 degrees to the celestial northwest) of Jupiter. On the following evening, April 30, the moon will climb to shine a palm’s width to Venus’ upper right. The moon’s nightly […] |
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The large and bright constellation of Ursa Major, the Great Bear is at the zenith after dusk in late April. Everyone is familiar with the Big Dipper asterism portion of that constellation. Another easily seen, but lesser-known pattern is the Three Leaps of the Gazelle, composed of three pairs of medium-bright stars strung in a […] |
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From time to time, the largest asteroids in our solar system become bright enough to be seen without special equipment by skywatchers. On Thursday, May 1, Earth’s orbital motion will carry us between the minor planet Vesta and the sun. On the nights around that date, Vesta will be visible all night long and shine […] |
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In the early days of May, the brilliant planet Venus will be gleaming in the pre-dawn eastern sky near two other planets. Medium-bright Saturn will be readily visible a few finger widths to the Venus’ lower right (or celestial south), while far fainter Neptune will be located below Venus and a few finger widths to […] |
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In the western sky after dusk on Saturday, May 3, the reddish dot of Mars will be positioned just below the nearly half-illuminated moon. Binoculars (orange circle) will also reveal the scattered stars of the large open star cluster named the Beehive to Mars’ left (or celestial SSE). Other names for the cluster include Praesepe, […] |
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When the moon completes the first quarter of its orbit around Earth at 11:52 a.m. EDT, 8:52 a.m. PDT, or 13:52 GMT on Sunday, May 4, the 90 degree angle formed by the Earth, sun, and moon will cause us to see our natural satellite half-illuminated on its eastern, sunward side. While at first quarter, […]
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During the first week of May, the eastward orbital motion of the planet Mars will carry it through the northern edge of the large, bright open star cluster in Cancer known as the Beehive and Messier 44. After dusk, you can locate the medium-bright, reddish dot of Mars shining about halfway up the western sky. […] |
2 events,As the sky is darkening on Monday evening, May 5, Leo’s brightest star Regulus will appear just to the right of the waxing gibbous moon. That hot, white, B-class star, which is located only 79 light-years from our sun, marks the heart of Leo, the Lion. For skywatchers viewing the duo later at night, or […] The annual Eta-Aquariids Meteor Shower is produced when Earth’s orbit carries us through a cloud of particles left behind by repeated trips of Halley’s Comet along its own orbit around the sun. The shower, which runs from April 19 to May 28, will peak in intensity from Monday evening to Tuesday morning, May 6 in […] |
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1 event,When the sky darkens on Friday evening, May 9 in the Americas, Spica, the brightest star in Virgo, will appear a short distance to the moon’s lower left – close enough for them to share the view in binoculars (orange circle). As the pair crosses the sky during the night, the moon’s orbital motion will […] |
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1 event,The moon will reach its full phase on Monday, May 12 at 12:56 p.m. EDT, 9:56 a.m. PDT, or 16:56 GMT. In the Americas, the moon will appear to be full on both Sunday and Monday night, but closer inspection will reveal a strip of shadow curving along the moon’s left and right limb, respectively, […] |
1 event,When the still very full moon rises over the southeastern horizon in mid-evening on Tuesday, May 13, it will be positioned very close to the very bright, reddish star Antares, which marks the heart of Scorpius. As the duo crosses the sky all night long, the rotation of the sky will shift the moon to […] |
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1 event,Stars shine with a color that is controlled by their surface (or photospheric) temperature, and this is captured in their spectral classification. In mid-May every year, the three bright stars of the Summer Triangle asterism are climbing the eastern sky after dusk. Deneb, Vega, and Altair are A-class stars that appear blue-white to the eye […] |
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The moon will reach its third quarter phase on Tuesday, May 20 at 7:59 a.m. EDT, 4:59 a.m. PDT, and 11:59 GMT. Third quarter moons always rise around midnight in your local time zone and then linger into the southern sky after sunrise. At third, or last, quarter, the moon’s western half is illuminated by […] |
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1 event,On Thursday morning, May 22, the pretty, waning crescent moon will begin its monthly cruise past the planets gathered above the eastern horizon. The moon will rise in the east during the wee hours of the morning. About 20 minutes later, the prominent, yellowish dot of Saturn will become visible several finger widths to the […] |
1 event,After another 24 hours of easterly orbital motion, the old crescent moon will shine between Saturn and much brighter Venus on Friday morning, May 23. Their assemblage above the eastern horizon will offer a nice photo opportunity when composed with some interesting foreground scenery. Venus, the last of the trio to rise, will clear the […] |
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The moon will officially reach its new moon phase on Monday, May 26 at 11:02 p.m. EDT or 8:02 p.m. PDT, which converts to Tuesday, May 27 at 03:02 GMT. While new, our natural satellite will be located in Taurus, and 4 degrees north of the sun. While at its new phase, the moon is […] |
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