Homeboy Astronomy Blog - Homeboy Astronomy Blog – Down-to-Earth Advices for Amateur Astronomers

So, we are already in May and having a very nice and warm spring. What’s up with the nightsky this month? There will be only few more dark nights before the summer in northern hemisphere, especially in the northern side. Here in Helsinki the Sun will go below -12 degrees 9th of May. After that there will be no more dark nights before autumn. Above 70 degrees northern latitude the Sun will not set anymore after May 16th.

Although summer nights are bright here in Nordic countries, the brightest stars can still be observed. Examples of those observable bright stars are Regulus, Arcturus and Spica. Also Vega, Deneb and Altair can be seen well. Although it might be a bit more difficult to find Antares, it can be observed in early morning.

Which planets can be observed in May 2008? There are four observable planets in the nightsky in May 2008. Mercury, Mars and Saturn can be observed in early night, while Jupiter is best observed in early morning. Mercury can be seen in late evening in South-West. Mars is located in constellation Gemini in early May, but will move to Cancer in May 5th. It is not easy to locate Mars in May because the planet is not very bright at this time. Saturn is located in constellation Leo and close to Regulus. Saturn can be seen between West and South-West directions. Jupiter is located in constellation Sagittarius and can be seen in South-East direction in early morning. Jupiter is pretty easy to find in May because it is very bright.

How about the Moon? Is there going to be anything interesting happening with the compagnion of the Earth? Below is a list of the most interesting upcoming events with the Moon in May 2008.

May 6th: Located close to Aldebaran, Mercury and Pleiades
May 10th-11th: Located close to Castor, Pollux and Mars
May 12th-13th: Located close to Regulus and Saturn
May 16th-17th: Located close to Spica
May 20th: Full moon at 5:11 am (Helsinki, Finland)
May 20th-21st: Located close to Antares
May 24th-25th: Located close to Jupiter

This is the nightsky situation in May 2008. Although nights here in northern side of the northern hemisphere are not anymore as dark as in mid winter, many interesting stars and planets can still be observed in May. Enjoy the warm spring and have great stargazing nights!