The Moon
First Quarter on the 1st rising at 11.09 and setting at 21.46
Full Moon on the 9th rising at 21.59 and setting at 05.05
Last Quarter on the 17th rising at 02.13 and setting at 12.27
New Moon on the 24th rising at 04.07 and setting at 22.02
So the Moon will be in the sky for the first half of the month, leaving the second half mostly to the Deep Sky folk, though it does intrude later. However, the nights are so short now, and it doesn’t get dark anyway, so it hardly matters.
Planets. As last month, Saturn will have the night virtually to itself, though Mercury does get a look in during the first week as the Sun goes below the horizon in the west. It sets an hour or more after the Sun, but as it will be closing on the Sun then, take care looking for it with binoculars or telescope later than that.
Saturn is also getting lower towards the end of the month, so make the most of it while still quite high in the sky.
All the other planets are in the east rising just before the Sun. Jupiter first, about 90mins ahead on the 1st, with Neptune a couple of degrees away. They will accompany each other all month with the separation reducing to less than 25 mins of arc.
About 3am on the 17th, these two, less than a degree apart, will rise with the Last Quarter Moon, 2° away, a good photo opportunity, but it’ll need a telescope or long lens, and the planets will fade as the Sun follows them up a couple of hours later. This will of course require a clear sky and a clear eastern horizon.
All the other planets will follow Jupiter up into the sky as dawn twilight lightens the sky. Bright Venus and faint Uranus will be up 50 mins later and Mars another 20 mins after them, about 40 mins before the Sun, but only Venus is likely to be bright enough to hold her own against the brightening dawn. All these 5 planets will hold similar positions all month just ahead of the Sun, with the waning Moon joining in the parade from the 17th to the 22nd.
Meteor showers. There is just one of any significance in May, the Eta Aquarids, whose peak is on the 5th. The peak rate is in the region of 30/hour as seen at the top of the sky, but the radiant, where they appear to come from, is in Aquarius, rising after 1am. The shower is associated with the comet Halley.
What else? Spring is a bit in between-ish, between the winter of Orion and his entourage and the Summer Triangle and its associated sights. Most of them associated with the inspiring summer Milky Way, running from Cassiopeia in the north, through Cygnus, Vulpecula, Aquila, Serpens to Scutum and Ophiuchus in the south. Full of clusters of stars, nebulous gas clouds where stars are born and Planetary nebulae and Supernova remnants where stars have died. Unfortunately many require a telescope and some will also need enhancing filters, or better still photographs to bring out their shapes and beauty. Visit our website http://www.donastro.org.uk for some examples.
Satellites. The International Space Station passes near Doncaster on
12th at 23:16 from the WSW to the ESE and gets 50° up in the S
13th at 22:07 from the SW to the SSE and gets 34° up in the S
15th at 22:59 from the W to the ESE and gets 60° up in the S
and also at similar times on the next 5 days, but check http://www.heavens-above.com for details, where you can see timings of Iridium flares and other satellites.
Iridium flares can be seen at the following times exactly
5th at 22:35:21 in the NE 35° up, very bright
5th at 23:26:05 in the WSW 31° up, very bright
6th at 23:20:04 in the WSW 32° up, bright
9th at 22:20:33 in the NE 42° up, very bright