The month of May will bring warmer nights, which are more comfortable for stargazing. It will also bring a planetary opposition, a decent meteor shower, as well as all the planets being visible sometime during the night and early morning hours. Be sure take advantage of the warmer evenings to view your favorite object!
Mercury
Mercury will again be hard to spot this month. It can still be found in the eastern sky before Sun-up, but will quickly get lost in the Sun's glare. With this being the case, it will likely be easier to spot this planet with a pair of binoculars. The best chances of viewing will be earlier in the month when Mercury is further from the Sun from our perspective. Its altitude will drop as the month of May wears on.
Venus
Venus will shine brightly in the west after Sun-down all month. It will appear earlier each night as it moves further from the Sun from our Earthbound view. During the opening days, this bright planet can be found in the constellation of Taurus. It lies within 5° above the Hyades star cluster and 10° to the East of the Pleiades. Looking to the south, you should be able to spot Orion, which will be chasing Venus all month. As the month progresses, Venus will continue to move further east and into the constellation of Gemini where it will remain for the rest of May. By the 17th, the thin crescent Moon will join Venus, only 6° to the left. Don't forget to get out your binoculars to view these two, as well as the Pleiades. You won't be disappointed!
Mars
Mars continues to rise earlier with each passing night as it moves closer to opposition in July. It also moves closer to Earth in its orbit which helps enhance the surface details that can be seen. This July will be the closest approach Mars has made to the Earth in 15 years. During May, Mars will appear to double in brightness as well as its size increasing by about a third. Starting the month off, Mars will rise around 1:30 AM and just after midnight by the close of May. On the first night, Mars can be found in the constellation of Sagittarius but quickly moves into Capricornus by the 15th. It will remain in this constellation until the end of August. The best time to view Mars during May will be just before sunrise when the planet lies high in the sky.
Jupiter
After viewing Venus in the western sky, turn 180° and look at the eastern sky to see Jupiter. The largest planet in our solar system will reach opposition on the 8th, which means it will rise in the east as the Sun sets in the west. Coincidentally, this will also be the time when Jupiter lies closest to Earth in its orbit, making it a great target for binoculars and telescopes. A pair of binoculars will easily reveal the four Galilean moons while a telescope will also reveal the cloud bands and even the Great Red Spot. I'm planning on taking Hercules out while Jupiter is close to opposition to see if I can spot the Great Red Spot. Since Jupiter does one full rotation in under 10 hours, if I don't see it one night, I should be able to see it the next evening. If you have a smaller telescope, you should still be able to make out the two major cloud bands on Jupiter, so give it a try! Since Jupiter will rise so early, you won't have to stay out as late to view the details like you would have to with Mars. You might even get lucky and see the shadow of one of the Galilean moons on the surface of Jupiter.
Saturn
Saturn will rise after midnight in early May and 2 hours earlier by the close of the month. This planet will also be found in the constellation of Sagittarius all month. Saturn will also reach opposition this year, but not until next month. As such, it will brighten throughout the month and make a great telescope target. It is best to view any night sky object when it lies high in the sky, which will occur just before twilight for the ringed world.
Uranus and Neptune
Uranus will be visible at the end of the month when it rises just before the Sun. You will need, at minimum, a pair of binoculars to view this distant planet since it does not shine very brightly. It will lie in the constellation of Aries all month. Our most distant planet, Neptune, will rise just before dawn during the opening of the month and by 2 AM by months end where it can be found in the constellation of Aquarius. You will also need a pair of binoculars or larger instrument to spot this planet.
The Moon
As always, the Moon is a great unaided eye, binocular, and telescopic target. As you know, the details that you can see change nightly, so be sure to give it your attention. Many astronomers get their start or interest in astronomy from the Moon. Perhaps you will be one of them! This month, the last quarter Moon will occur on the 7th with the New Moon following 8 days later on the 15th. Now is the time to search for those deep sky objects! The first quarter Moon will occur on the 21st followed by the monthly opposition (aka Full Moon) on the 29th. The Moon will also make several close passes to multiple planets this month. Check out the Monthly Breakdown for details.
Meteor Shower
The Eta Aquariids meteor shower will peak on the 6th this month. This meteor shower is one of two that we see throughout the year due to the Earth passing through the debris left by Comet Halley. The Eta Aquariids is usually a decent meteor shower, under a Moon-free sky. Unfortunately, this year the Moon will interfere during the peak date which will drop the visible meteors down from about 50 per hour to only 10 per hour. The best chance to spot these meteors will be to get to a dark sky and look east to the constellation Aquarius around 4 AM.
Monthly Breakdown
May 04: Moon and Saturn pass within 2°
May 06: Moon and Mars pass within 3°; Eta Aquariids Meteor Shower peaks
May 07: Last quarter Moon
May 08: Jupiter at opposition
May 10: Moon and Neptune pass within 2°
May 12: Possible stargazing party - if interested let me know!
May 13: Moon and Uranus pass within 5°
May 15: New Moon
May 17: Moon and Venus pass within 5°
May 21: First quarter Moon
May 27: Moon and Jupiter pass within 4°
May 29: Full Moon
May 31: Moon and Saturn pass within 2°
News in Astronomy
This month, instead of news in astronomy, I thought I would tell you about some of my favorite astronomy apps that I use. I have an Android phone but most, if not all, of these apps should be available for an iPhone as well. I am in no way affiliated with any of these and do not receive an compensation for stating my opinion either.
To start things off, I have to recommend the NASA app. This app will tell you the latest news from NASA, specially selected videos, and information about all of the current and past missions. You can also watch NASA TV and listen to a radio station called Third Rock Radio. I have been listening to this station for quite a few years and absolutely love it! You can also listen online of course, as well as using your Google Home or Amazon Echo. Just say, "Alexa," or "Hey Google, play Third Rock Radio!" The NASA app also has a picture of the day, but I prefer the next app I'm suggesting for that.
The next app is the Astronomy Picture of the Day or APOD. Every day this app will display a new image or video with a paragraph or two explaining it. There is a setting in this app to set the image of the day as your phone background, which updates every day there is an image. I have my phone set up this way which I really enjoy. If the image of the day is a video, it will just keep the previous day image as your background. Every now and then, the picture of the day doesn't look very good on the phone.
Up next is the ISS Tracker app. This app will let you know when the ISS is visible in your area and will give you a time, elevation, and how bright it will be in the sky. This app also has a setting to alert you 5 minutes before the ISS is to fly over your location as well as a widget you can put on one of your home screens. Recently, I also installed an app called Heavens Above which shows the same thing as well as any satellite that is flying over your location. This one does not have a notification setting that I have been able to find or a widget.
For those that are having trouble finding a dark sky site, I recommend using Astronomer's Friend or Dark Sky Map. They are both made by the same company and are very similar. Astronomer's Friend has a few more options such as an ISS tracker and a nightly event calendar. I will eventually downsize and just use one of these two, but I'm still trying to decide which to keep.
My final suggestion is an app call Daff Moon. I installed this app mainly to see what phase the Moon would be in on certain days so I could plan my stargazing trips accordingly. It also has a few different widgets such as the Sun and Moon rise and set times, as well as a widget to show you what is visible in the sky at your location at the current time. This is my most recent addition to my astronomy apps.
You may have noticed that I did not mention a sky map app. I currently have 4 installed but have had trouble will all of them showing the right area in the sky. For example, if I'm looking right at the constellation of Orion and hold my phone up, it shows Orion, then moves off of it. I have tried recalibrating my phone but had no luck.
If you have a favorite astronomy app that I did not mention, I would appreciate if you let me know in the comments below. I would like to know the name of the app and what you like about it.
To start things off, I have to recommend the NASA app. This app will tell you the latest news from NASA, specially selected videos, and information about all of the current and past missions. You can also watch NASA TV and listen to a radio station called Third Rock Radio. I have been listening to this station for quite a few years and absolutely love it! You can also listen online of course, as well as using your Google Home or Amazon Echo. Just say, "Alexa," or "Hey Google, play Third Rock Radio!" The NASA app also has a picture of the day, but I prefer the next app I'm suggesting for that.
The next app is the Astronomy Picture of the Day or APOD. Every day this app will display a new image or video with a paragraph or two explaining it. There is a setting in this app to set the image of the day as your phone background, which updates every day there is an image. I have my phone set up this way which I really enjoy. If the image of the day is a video, it will just keep the previous day image as your background. Every now and then, the picture of the day doesn't look very good on the phone.
Up next is the ISS Tracker app. This app will let you know when the ISS is visible in your area and will give you a time, elevation, and how bright it will be in the sky. This app also has a setting to alert you 5 minutes before the ISS is to fly over your location as well as a widget you can put on one of your home screens. Recently, I also installed an app called Heavens Above which shows the same thing as well as any satellite that is flying over your location. This one does not have a notification setting that I have been able to find or a widget.
For those that are having trouble finding a dark sky site, I recommend using Astronomer's Friend or Dark Sky Map. They are both made by the same company and are very similar. Astronomer's Friend has a few more options such as an ISS tracker and a nightly event calendar. I will eventually downsize and just use one of these two, but I'm still trying to decide which to keep.
My final suggestion is an app call Daff Moon. I installed this app mainly to see what phase the Moon would be in on certain days so I could plan my stargazing trips accordingly. It also has a few different widgets such as the Sun and Moon rise and set times, as well as a widget to show you what is visible in the sky at your location at the current time. This is my most recent addition to my astronomy apps.
You may have noticed that I did not mention a sky map app. I currently have 4 installed but have had trouble will all of them showing the right area in the sky. For example, if I'm looking right at the constellation of Orion and hold my phone up, it shows Orion, then moves off of it. I have tried recalibrating my phone but had no luck.
If you have a favorite astronomy app that I did not mention, I would appreciate if you let me know in the comments below. I would like to know the name of the app and what you like about it.
Now get outside and look up!
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