The Sky At A Glance

There is an annular solar eclipse on May 9/10, visible along a path that begins in northern Australia and stretches across the South Pacific

The Moon & Planets

On May 10, a thin crescent Moon lies about 2° (4 Moon-widths) to the lower left of Venus. On the 12th, the waxing crescent Moon lies about 5.5° to the left of Jupiter. On the 23rd, the nearly full Moon passes about 5° below Saturn.

Evening Planets (after sunset)

• Mercury, WNW
• Venus, WNW
• Jupiter, W
• Saturn, SE

Visible at Midnight

• Saturn, S

Morning Planets (before sunrise)

• Saturn, W
• Neptune, SE
• Uranus, E

Comet C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS) may still be visible through binoculars or a small telescope; it will be fading from magnitude 7 to 9 during the month, but the comet will be circumpolar for observers in the Northern Hemisphere. On May 13, it passes less than half a degree from 3rd-magnitude Gamma Cephei. It will spend most of the month in Cepheus, but will pass into Draco on the 26th.

The Eta Aquarid meteors peak on the night of May 5/6. The Moon will not interfere. Expect up to 20 meteors per hour as seen from a dark-sky location.