What's in the Sky: What to look for in May’s evening skies

The bright, naked-eye visible planets continue to fade in May’s evening skies. Giant Jupiter is still easy to pick out, low in the western evening sky. It will outshine nearby stars. Look for the planet due west, below the twin stars of Gemini. By month’s end, Jupiter will be very low in the west at sunset.

Mars, while growing fainter as it moves away from us, presents a very cool sight in early May. The red planet will pass in front of the star cluster “beehive” from May 2-5. The beehive, also known as M44 or the Praesepe (Latin for “manger” or “crib”) is a bright, open star cluster in the dim constellation Cancer. A pair of binoculars, especially those with 50mm objectives, will show a dense cluster of stars, making it easy to see why it got its “beehive” name. Reddish Mars makes it easy to find too. Check it out if skies are clear in early May.

A fun thing to do is to follow our Moon during its monthly journey around Earth. At the start of May, our moon will be a waxing crescent, located in the constellation Gemini, just below the twins Castor and Pollux. It will be mid-way between the twins and Jupiter, which will be low in the west. On May 3, the growing crescent moon will be just above Mars and the beehive cluster. On the 9th, the almost full moon will lie just to the right of the bright star Spica in the constellation Virgo. On the morning of the 16th, the waning gibbous moon will lie in the middle of the “teapot” in Sagittarius, low in the southern sky. On May 22, early risers might see the waning crescent moon just above Saturn, low in the east. On the 29th, the now waxing crescent moon will again be in Gemini, and will again be near Mars at the end of the month, on the 31st.

Venus is the dazzling “morning star” in the morning eastern sky. If you are up early in the morning in early May, you’ll find Saturn just to the right of Venus. As the month progresses, you’ll find Saturn farther to the right of Venus and higher in the sky.

The Eta Aquarids peak in early May. They are best seen in early morning hours. These meteors are dust and particles shed by comet Halley, the famous comet discovered by Edmund Halley in 1705. Halley predicted that the comet would return in 1758, and it did, confirming that comets orbited the sun. As many of you may remember, Halley last visited us in 1986. With its orbit of 75-76 years, it should return in 2061. But even though the comet is not nearby, we get the annual meteor shower when Earth passes through the comet’s orbital path.

Enjoy the night skies of May!