Man Stargazing

Moon Phases

Eye on the Night Sky, May 3, 2024

Friday, May 03, 2024

Today:
Although the twilight starts early, and overwhelms most of the stars by quarter of 5 in the morning, early risers tomorrow morning will enjoy an engaging arrangement of the waning Crescent Moon, sitting between Saturn on the right, and Mars on its left. They are low in the east-southeast from 4:30 until twilight get too bright by 5:00 AM.

Saturday:
The early morning twilight offers a challening view of a thin, waning Crescent Moon, and the relatively faint Mars, quite low in the east-southeast from 4:30 AM until about 4:50 AM. Mars spends the next several months in the mornings, but by the end of the year is much brighter while it works into the evening skies through next winter.

Sunday:
The Eta Aquariid meteor shower enjoys a broad peak over the next few nights, with no interference from the Moon. Best seen after midnight, with up to 15 meteors or “shooting stars” per hour, these cosmic pebbles that burn up upon entering the Earth’s atmosphere are actually the debris from Halley’s Comet, not returning until 2061.

This program is a partnership between the Fairbanks Museum and Vermont Public.