May Stargazing: Top Celestial Highlights

UKSN
May 1
2 min read

May offers warmer nights and later sunsets, creating beautiful opportunities to explore the night sky. This month features a spectacular meteor shower, impressive planetary alignments, and the chance to enjoy the rich star fields of spring. Find a cozy spot, let your eyes adjust, and take in the wonders of stargazing!

May Stargazing: Top Celestial Highlights Feature Image

The Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower

The Eta Aquarids, one of the year's best meteor showers, will peak on the nights of May 5–6. Originating from the dust left behind by Halley's Comet, this shower can produce up to 30 meteors per hour under dark skies, especially in the early pre-dawn hours.

To view the Eta Aquarids:

Look towards the eastern horizon in the early morning hours, near the constellation Aquarius.
Aim for a location with minimal light pollution for the best experience.
Lie back, relax, and give your eyes time to adapt—meteors often come in bursts.

The Flower Moon

May’s full moon, known as the Flower Moon, will reach its peak on May 23. This name celebrates the abundance of blooms that appear in late spring. It’s a beautiful time to enjoy moonlit landscapes and practice night photography, especially when the moon is low on the horizon just after sunset.

Planets on Display

Several planets continue to put on a show throughout May:

Mars shines brightly in the morning sky, rising a few hours before sunrise in the east.
Saturn is now a steady presence before dawn, climbing higher each morning.
Jupiter and Venus are harder to spot this month, with Venus disappearing into the sun's glare, but keen observers might catch Jupiter low on the horizon shortly after sunset early in the month.

Spring and Early Summer Constellations

As the season shifts, the night sky welcomes new constellations:

Leo remains prominent high in the southwest, with its bright star Regulus.
Virgo dominates the southern sky, marked by Spica.
Boötes and Arcturus shine brightly overhead.

The Milky Way Awakens

By late May, the Milky Way becomes more visible in the early morning hours. Look south before dawn to see the dense star fields near the constellations Sagittarius and Scorpius starting to rise—an early taste of the summer skies to come.

May Stargazing Challenge: Spot the Great Hercules Cluster!

This month’s challenge is to find and observe the Great Hercules Cluster (M13), one of the brightest and best globular clusters in the northern sky.

How to Find It:

After dark, look high in the eastern sky for the constellation Hercules.
Find the “Keystone” — a distinctive four-star pattern that forms Hercules’s torso.
M13 lies along the western side of the Keystone, between the stars Eta and Zeta Herculis.

Top Tips:

Use binoculars or a small telescope for the best view — it will appear as a dense, fuzzy ball of stars.
In very dark skies, you might even spot it with the naked eye as a faint smudge!