May 6th (am): The peak of the Eta Aquarids meteor shower occurs on this morning, but viewing conditions are not optimal. This shower, created by debris from Halley's Comet, is best viewed by observers in the Southern Hemisphere, and the waning gibbous moon will create bright skies. 

 

May 13th (am): The crescent Moon will appear near Saturn in the early pre-dawn sky. Look for the pair near the eastern horizon around 5:30AM.

 

May 18th: Catch the razor thin crescent moon to the right of Venus near the western horizon around 9PM.

 

May 20th: The Moon next meets up with Jupiter, visible after sunset until the pair sets a few hours later.

 

May 31st: This month features a second full moon, known as a "Blue Moon". While the Moon's color doesn't change, this rare occurrence results from how our calendar system and the Moon's natural cycle sync up every 2-3 years. This full moon also occurs when the Moon is near apogee, making it farther from the Earth and therefore slightly smaller in size and dimmer in brightness.

 

 

May 12th: SpaceX will launch a Dragon resupply capsule to the International Space Station.

 

May 19th: The European Space Agency and the Chinese Academy of Sciences will launch the Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) spacecraft. This mission will image Earth's magnetic field to study how it interacts with the solar wind.

 

Late May: SpaceX plans to test launch its Starship prototype with new changes based on previous tests. This will be the 12th test flight for the vehicle that will likely take astronauts to the lunar surface as early as 2028.

 

May 5th, 1961 - The first American in space, Alan Shepard makes his journey aboard Mercury-Redstone 3.

 

May 1st - Full (Flower Moon)

May 9th - 3rd Quarter

May 16th - New

May 23rd - 1st Quarter

May 31st - Full (Blue Moon)

 

 

Mercury - Lost to the Sun most of the month, visible shortly after sunset very low on the western horizon toward month's end.

 

Venus - Shines brightly as the "evening star" in the western sky after sunset throughout the month, gradually nearing Jupiter in the sky.

 

Mars - Visible very low in the Sun's glow in the eastern sky before sunrise.

 

Jupiter - Visible and bright throughout the month, setting around 2AM early in the month and midnight late in the month.

 

Saturn - Visible pre-dawn, very low on the eastern horizon early in the month, becoming higher in the sky and more easily visible toward the end of the month.