What’s Up in the Night Sky – May 2026

from In-The-Sky.org

Moon Phases

Full – May 1 – Full Flower Moon

Last Quarter – May 9

New Moon – May 16

First Quarter – May 23

Full – May 31 – Blue Moon

Close Encounters

May 3 – Close approach of the Moon and Antares. The Moon occults Antares for portions of the southern hemisphere.

May 6 – The Eta Aquariid meteor shower reaches its peak rate of meteors. See details below.

May 13 – Conjunction of Saturn and the Moon with the Moon passing over 5.5° north of Saturn. This is an early morning event and the pair will only be 11° above the horizon as sunrise begins.

May 14 – Conjunction of Mars and the Moon with the Moon passing 5° north of Mars. Another early morning event taking place with the pair only 4° above the horizon as sunrise begins.

May 18 – Mark your calendar for this one!  The 3-day old Moon passes 3° north of Venus in a fairly close conjunction in the evening sky. Watch Venus pop into view near the thin crescent Moon as the sky darkens.

May 20 – Conjunction of Jupiter and the crescent Moon. The Moon passes 3° north of Jupiter.

May 21 – The thick crescent Moon passes within 1 degree of M44 (The Beehive Cluster) in Cancer.

May 23 – Close approach of the Moon and Regulus. An occultation takes place for portions of the south Pacific.

May 28 – The globular cluster M4 in Scorpius is well placed for viewing. It passes the zenith near midnight.

May 31 – Early AM the second full Moon (Blue Moon) passes near Antares in Scorpius.

Major Meteor Showers – from https://www.amsmeteors.org/meteor-showers/meteor-shower-calendar/

The eta Aquariids meteor shower is active from April 19 through May 28 with a peak on May 8. The Moon will be waning gibbous (84% illuminated) and will severely affect the 10-30 ZHR.

Planet Watch for May 15, 2026

Mercury Is about to pass behind the Sun and is not visible. It will next be an evening object, reaching its highest altitude on June 10.

Venus becomes visible 22° above the western horizon in the evening as the Sun sets and will remain visible until a little after 10pm with a low western horizon.

Mars rises in the eastern morning sky as the sky begins to brighten and only 4° above the horizon at dawn. Mars’ next opposition is February 19, 2027.

Jupiter is halfway up the western sky at sunset and remains visible until around midnight. At magnitude -2 it continues to outshine nearby Castor and Pollux in Gemini.

Saturn begins its newest apparition. It shines at magnitude 0.7 in the morning sky, reaching an altitude of only 12° before dawn washes it out.

Uranus is at solar conjunction on May 22, ending this current apparition and beginning the new one. Uranus will next be visible in the early morning sky in June.

Neptune shines at a feeble magnitude 7.9 and is lost in the brightening morning sky. It is only 9° above the horizon at dawn.

With the forecast for Monday, April 27 not promising for stargazing we decided to take advantage of clear and temperate skies TONIGHT, Saturday, April 25.  Look for us at Glik’s Northtown shopping center along Rt. 143 in Highland, IL from 7-10pm. We hope to see you!

What’s Up in the Night Sky – April 2026

from In-The-Sky.org

Moon Phases

Full – April 1 – Full Pink Moon

Last Quarter – April 9

New Moon – April 17

First Quarter – April 23

Close Encounters

April 3: Mercury is at greatest western elongation and shows a half-disk in the morning near sunrise.  It will be a difficult view with Mercury only 10° above the horizon at sunrise.

April 4: The sungrazing comet C/2026 A1 MAPS makes its closest approach to the Sun of around 1.8 million miles. If the comet survives its close encounter it MAY be visible April 11 in Cetus for a very brief window at sunset.

April 6: The Moon and Antares have a close encounter in the evening. Parts of the southern hemisphere will see the Moon pass in front of Antares.

April 13: Mars and Neptune have a very close conjunction in the early morning, predawn sky. Mars passes 20 arcminutes north of Neptune. Both will fit in the eyepiece of a telescope but are only 20° from the Sun.

April 13: Around midnight local time Omega Centauri (the brightest globular cluster in the sky) is at its most favorable for viewing from the St. Louis area.  Have a very low southern horizon and be away from city lights. Use binoculars or a telescope to tease out this faint fuzzball from the southern horizon.

April 14: The Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) in Canes Venatici is near the zenith around local midnight.

April 16: The Southern Pinwheel Galaxy (M83) in Hydra is near the zenith around local midnight.

April 17: The globular cluster M3 in Canes Venatici is near the zenith around local midnight.

April 19: The 2-day-old Moon passes a bit more than 4 and a half degrees north of Venus in the western sky at sunset.

April 20: The 4-day-old Moon is close to Beta Tauri in the evening. Parts of the southern hemisphere watches the Moon occult the star.

April 22: The Moon and Jupiter are at conjunction, separated by about 3 and a half degrees.

April 22: The Lyrid meteor shower peaks on this night. Look for meteors once the radiant point in Hercules rises above the horizon around 8:45pm.  See meteor shower info below.

April 23:  The Pinwheel Galaxy (M101) in Ursa Major is near the zenith around local midnight

April 24: The first-quarter Moon passes slightly more than one degree from the Beehive Cluster (M44) in Cancer.

April 25:  The Moon occults Regulus in our area. The Moon covers Regulus at 7:07pm (during daylight) and uncovers Regulus at 8:18pm (during twilight). The Moon will be 9 days old and 75% waxing gibbous.

Major Meteor Showers – from https://www.amsmeteors.org/meteor-showers/meteor-shower-calendar/

The Lyrid meteor shower is active between April 16 and April 25 with the peak in April 22.  The zenithal hourly rate (ZHR) is estimated at 18 at locations with pristine viewing conditions. These meteors usually lack persistent trains but can produce fireballs. The 6-day-old Moon will not interfere with viewing. The parent body has been identified as comet C/1861 G1 (Thatcher).

The eta Aquariids meteor shower is active from April 19 through May 28 with a peak on May 8. The Moon will be waning gibbous (84% illuminated and will severely affect the 10-30 ZHR.

Planet Watch for April 15, 2026

Mercury is a morning object but is not visible as it is only about 3° above the horizon at sunrise.

Venus becomes visible above the western horizon in the evening as the Sun sets and will remain visible until a little after 9pm with a low western horizon.

Mars is not visible this month as it is on the opposite side of the Sun from Earth. Mars’ next opposition is February 19, 2027.

Jupiter rules the night and is visible high near the zenith as the Sun sets and is observable until around 2am. Jupiter is still bright at magnitude -2.2 and continues to accompany nearby Castor and Pollux in Gemini.

Saturn finished its most recent apparition and is not visible. Saturn is on the other side of the Sun from Earth and will next be visible in the morning sky in late May.

Uranus is too close to the Sun for viewing, ending its current apparition. Uranus will next be visible in the early morning sky in June.

Neptune is too close to the Sun for viewing, ending its current apparition.