What to See in the Night Sky for May 2023

For astronomy enthusiasts, May 2023 promises to be an exciting month with plenty of noteworthy celestial happenings.

By Ground report 02 May 2023

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What to See in the Night Sky for May 2023

For astronomy enthusiasts, May 2023 promises to be an exciting month with plenty of noteworthy celestial happenings. These include lunar eclipses, Moon-planet conjunctions, and meteor showers. For those who want to keep up with the latest astronomical happenings, the Sky Tonight app is a must.

In this month, there will be many amazing celestial events to watch, such as the Flower Moon, an eclipse of Jupiter, and a unique meteor shower. Let's take a closer look at these exceptional astronomical events happening this month.

Astronomical events in May 2023

May 1: Venus passes 2°57' from Elnath.
May 4: Spica passes within 2°07' of the Moon in the morning.
May 5: Full Flower Moon and penumbral lunar eclipse.
May 6: Peak of the Eta-Aquariid meteor shower.
May 7: Antares passes 6° from the Moon in the morning.
May 9: Mars passes at 5° Pollux.
May 10: Peak of the Eta-Lyrid meteor shower.
May 12: Saturn passes within 3°17' of the Moon.
May 17 - Jupiter's morning visibility begins; Jupiter passes 47' from the Moon; Jupiter's lunar occultation visible from parts of the Americas and Europe.
May 18: Mercury passes within 3°35' of the Moon.
May 19: New Moon.
May 21: Elnath passes within 3°25' of the Moon in the afternoon.
May 23: Venus passes within 2°12' of the Moon; Pollux passes within 3°48' of the Moon at night.
May 24: Mars passes within 3°39' of the Moon.
May 26: Regulus passes within 5° of the Moon in the afternoon.
May 29: Great alignment of Uranus, Mercury, Jupiter, Neptune and Saturn in the morning; Mercury at its greatest western elongation; Venus passes at 3°58' from Pollux.
May 31: Spica passes within 4°51' of the Moon at night.

How to navigate the night sky?

To explore the night sky, using an astronomy app is the best option. It can help you identify celestial objects, tell you the best time to view them, and more. The Star Walk 2 app is perfect for casual observers interested in finding stars, planets, and constellations. Its beautiful graphics and soothing music can make stargazing a more immersive experience.

For those who need a more advanced tool to explore the night sky, the Sky Tonight app is a great option. It has one of the largest free databases of space objects among stargazing apps. Without purchasing additional content, you can discover galaxies, comets, asteroids, nebulae, and other celestial objects.

Sky Tonight also offers features like setting reminders, scheduling observations, viewing visibility charts and more.