May 5 and 6 | Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower Predicted Peak |
May 11 | Globular Cluster Messier 5 Highest Point |
May 14 through 30 | Lāhaina Noon |
May 22 and 23 | Full Flower Moon |
While we may not have the excitement of a total solar eclipse this month, May offers us a good chance to see some incredibly fast meteors zipping by. Nighttime stargazing should also start to get more comfortable as temperatures warm up in the Northern Hemisphere. Here’s what to look for in the night sky in May.
May 5 and 6–Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower Predicted Peak
The Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower is expected to peak on May 5, where roughly 10 to 30 meteors per hour can be seen. Eta Aquarid meteors are known to be super speedy, with some traveling at about 148,000 mph into our planet’s atmosphere. These fast meteors can also leave behind incandescent bits of debris in their wake called trains.
According to the 2024 Observer’s Handbook from the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, this year’s Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower may put on a particularly good show. The waning crescent moon means less light in the night sky and may help viewing conditions.
[Related: The history of Halley’s Comet—and the fireball show it brings us every spring.]
The Farmer’s Almanac suggests looking towards the southeast between 2 to 4 a.m. local time on May 5 and 6. If it’s cloudy or you miss those days, the shower will likely stay fairly strong until around May 10. This meteor shower is usually active between April 19 and May 28 every year, peaking in early May.
The point in the sky where the meteors appear to come from–or radiant–is in the direction of the constellation Aquarius and the shower is named for the constellation’s brightest star, Eta Aquarii. It is also one of two meteor showers created by the debris from Comet Halley.
May 11–Globular Cluster Messier 5 At Highest Point
A bright globular cluster called Messier 5 (or NGC 5904) will reach its highest point…
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