MAY 2025 (Northern Hemisphere)

1 – Asteroid 4 Vesta at opposition at 12h UT. Mag. 5.7.

1 – Moon near M35 Cluster at 12h UT (51° from Sun, evening sky).

4 – Moon, Mars and Beehive Cluster (M44) within circle 2.6° diameter at 1h UT (evening sky). Mag. 1.0.

4 – First Quarter Moon at 13:52 UT.

5 – Mars 0.6° NNE of Beehive Cluster (M44) at 14h UT (evening sky). Mag. 1.0.

5 – Moon near Regulus at 21h UT (evening sky).

5 – Eta Aquariid meteor shower peaks. Most active for 7 days around this date. Associated with Comet Halley. Very fast, bright meteors, up to 50 per hour. Best seen from the tropics and southern hemisphere a few hours before dawn. Viewing conditions are ideal in 2025 for this major meteor shower.

10 – Moon near Spica at 6h UT (evening sky). Occultation visible from southern Pacific Ocean.

11 – Moon at apogee (farthest from Earth) at 1h UT (distance 406,244km; angular size 29.4′).

12 – Full Moon at 16:57 UT.

14 -Moon near Antares at 2h UT (morning sky). Occultation visible from Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and the Falkland Islands.

14 – Asteroid 3 Juno at opposition at 6h UT. Mag. 10.1.

20 – Last Quarter Moon at 11:59 UT.

22 – Moon near Saturn at 16h UT (morning sky). Mag. 1.1.

23 – Moon near Venus at 19h UT (morning sky). Mag. –4.4.

26 – Moon at perigee (closest to Earth) at 1:32 UT (distance 359,022km; angular size 33.3′).

27 – New Moon at 3:03 UT. Start of lunation 1267.

28 – Moon near Jupiter at 14h UT (20° from Sun, evening sky). Mag. –1.9.

28 – Moon near M35 Cluster at 22h UT (25° from Sun, evening sky).

30 – Mercury at superior conjunction with the Sun at 4h UT (not visible). The innermost planet passes into the evening sky.

31 – Moon near Beehive Cluster (M44) at 11h UT (evening sky).

More sky events and links at http://Skymaps.com/skycalendar/

All times in Universal Time (UT). (USA Eastern Standard Time = UT – 5 hours.)

More sky events and links at http://Skymaps.com/skycalendar/

Visit my YouTube Page for captures of many of the Night Sky events for each month.

MOON PHASES

New Moon: 27th
First Quarter: 4th
Full Moon: 12th
Last Quarter: 20th

EASILY SEEN BY THE NAKED EYE

Capella Aur The 6th brightest star. Appears yellowish in color. Spectroscopic binary. Dist=42 ly.

Arcturus Boo Orange, giant K star. Name means “bear watcher”. Dist=36.7 ly.

Sirius CMa The brightest star in the sky. Also known as the “Dog Star”. Dist=8.6 ly.

Procyon CMi Greek name meaning “before the dog” – rises before Sirius (northern latitudes). Dist=11.4 ly.

Castor Gem Multiple star system with 6 components. 3 stars visible in telescope. Dist=52 ly.

Pollux Gem With Castor, the twin sons of Leda in classical mythology. Dist=34 ly.

Regulus Leo Brightest star in Leo. A blue-white star with at least 1 companion. Dist=77 ly.

Vega Lyr The 5th brightest star in the sky. A blue-white star. Dist=25.0 ly.

Betelgeuse Ori One of the largest red supergiant stars known. Diameter=300 times that of Sun. Dist=430 ly.

Algol Per Famous eclipsing binary star. Magnitude varies between 2.1 & 3.4 over 2.867 days.

Aldebaran Tau Brightest star in Taurus. It is not associated with the Hyades star cluster. Dist=66.7 ly.

Polaris UMi The North Pole Star. A telescope reveals an unrelated mag 8 companion star. Dist = 433 ly.

Spica Vir Latin name means “ear of wheat” and shown held in Virgo’s left hand. Dist=250 ly.

SEEN BY TELESCOPE

ε Boötis Boo Red giant star (mag 2.5) with a blue-green mag 4.9 companion. Sep=2.8″. Difficult to split.

M67 Cnc Contains 500+ stars mag 10 & fainter. One of the oldest clusters. Dist=2,350 ly.

M94 CVn Compact nearly face-on spiral galaxy. Dist=15 million ly.

M51 CVn Whirlpool Galaxy. First recognised to have spiral structure. Dist=25 million ly.

M64 Com Black-Eye Galaxy. Discovered by J.E. Bode in 1775 – “a small, nebulous star”.

Albireo Cyg Beautiful double star. Contrasting colours of orange and blue-green. Sep=34.4″.

61 Cygni Cyg Attractive double star. Mags 5.2 & 6.1 orange dwarfs. Dist=11.4 ly. Sep=28.4″.

3242 Hya Ghost of Jupiter. Bright blue disk. Mag 11 central star. Dist=2,600 ly.

M83 Hya Classic face-on spiral. Discovered in 1752 by Lacaille. In attractive star field.

γ Leonis Leo Superb pair of golden-yellow giant stars. Mags 2.2 & 3.5. Orbit=600 years. Sep=4.4″.

β Lyrae Lyr Eclipsing binary. Mag varies between 3.3 & 4.3 over 12.940 days. Fainter mag 7.2 blue star.

M57 Lyr Ring Nebula. Magnificent object. Smoke-ring shape. Dist=4,100 ly.

M81 UMa Beautiful spiral galaxy visible with binoculars. Easy to see in a telescope.

M82 UMa Close to M81 but much fainter and smaller.

M104 Vir Sombrero Galaxy. Almost edge-on spiral galaxy. Protruding central core.

M87 Vir Supergiant galaxy with supermassive black hole at its core. Dist=53.5 million ly.

γ Virginis Vir Superb pair of mag 3.5 yellow-white stars. Orbit=169 years. At their closest in 2005.

M27 Vul Dumbbell Nebula. Large, twin-lobed shape. Most spectacular planetary. Dist=975 ly.