Astronomy In the Month of May

May kicks off with the Eta Aquarids meteor shower on May 5.

The cosmic light show occurs because Earth is entering into its annual intersection with the orbit of Halley's comet, which is populated with small bits of debris that burn up as they pelt Earth's atmosphere.

For the next few months, many of the planets that are visible to the naked eye can be seen clustering to the east just before sunrise. They are distinguishable by their consistently bright glow which contrasts the arrhythmic twinkle characterized by stars.

Among these planets are Saturn, Jupiter, Mars and Venus. Venus is noticeably brighter than the rest of the planets and mars can be picked out by its red hue.

Saturn's rings and Jupiter's moons can both be seen through a relatively cheap pair of binoculars. Neptune can also be spotted among these planets but a more powerful telescope is required in order to view it.

The full moon on May 16 is special because it marks a total lunar eclipse. At 12:11 A.M. EST the moon will be completely engulfed in darkness as it enters Earth’s shadow. This can often make the moon appear deep red giving it the moniker “blood moon.”

May is also a big month for innovations in CubeSat satellites and lunar sustainability. CubeSats are small satellites that are designed to reap as many scientific measurements as possible while also being affordable to taxpayers.

At the end of May NASA will launch several CubeSats to make lunar measurements instrumental to the upcoming Artemis mission set to put human feet back on the moon within the coming years.

The month of May closes out with a new moon on the 30th, meaning the moon cannot be visible to anyone since it's located in the same direction as the sun's overbearing light.