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Wednesday, April 30<\/strong> \u2013 A waxing lunar crescent, 14% lit, hovers above Jupiter this evening. Look to the western sky after 8:30 p.m. to see this celestial pairing.<\/p>\n Thursday, May 1<\/strong> \u2013 The month opens with an impressive view of Venus and Saturn low in the eastern sky of dawn. Neptune makes a triangle with the planetary pair, but you will need a telescope to see the outermost planet. Look around 5 a.m.<\/p>\n Saturday, May 3<\/strong> \u2013 The crescent moon lines up nicely with the bright stars of Gemini, Castor and Pollux. The three objects will be low in the sky above the west-northwest horizon around 1 a.m. If you watch occasionally from the previous evening, you will see Luna very slowly align with the stellar pair.<\/p>\n Saturday, May 3<\/strong> (evening)<\/strong> \u2013 The crescent moon, now about 12 hours before First Quarter, hovers above Mars and the \u201cbeehive\u201d star cluster of Cancer the Crab. Use binoculars to see the cluster with the moonglow so close.<\/p>\n Sunday, May 4<\/strong> \u2013 First Quarter moon happens at 9:51 a.m. The moon is then a quarter of the way around the Earth in its monthly orbit.<\/p>\n Monday, May 5<\/strong> \u2013 A 65% illuminated, waxing lunar gibbous is found just east of the star Regulus, the stellar \u201cdot\u201d of the backwards question mark of Leo the Lion. The pair is high in the southwest at 10 p.m.<\/p>\n Monday, May 5 – Tuesday, May 6<\/strong> \u2013 During the night, from a dark location, you might notice slightly more meteors than the background rate.\u00a0 The Eta Aquariid meteor shower is reaching its expected peak this night.\u00a0 However, the geometry of this meteor shower favors the Southern Hemisphere.<\/p>\n Friday, May 9<\/strong> \u2013 Less than three days before full, the moon is above right of Virgo\u2019s brightest star, Spica, found south-southeast at 9 p.m. Then the moon is adjacent to the star at 11 p.m. when it is in the south, and then below right of Spica in the southwest at 2 a.m. the next morning.<\/p>\n Monday, May 12<\/strong> \u2013 Full Moon occurs at 12:55 p.m. when the moon is opposite to the sun in the sky. The Full Moon of May is the Flower Moon.<\/p>\n Tuesday, May 13<\/strong> \u2013 Look to the southeast just before 10 p.m. to see the almost full moon rising in tandem with the Scorpion\u2019s brightest star, Antares.\u00a0 The waning gibbous is to the west (right) of Antares at this time, but by 4:30 a.m. the next morning when the duo is in the south-southwest, the moon will have moved to the east of this star.<\/p>\n Saturday, May 17<\/strong> \u2013Venus continues to blaze in the predawn sky this HVCC Commencement Day, as it will though mid-November. Congratulations, Graduates!<\/p>\n
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