What's in the Sky Tonight?

MAY 2026

May 1 - Full Moon.

May 6 & 7 - Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower. The Eta Aquarids is an above average shower, and can produce up to 60 meteors per hour at its peak in the Southern Hemisphere and 30 meteors per hour in the Northern Hemisphere. These meteors are remnants of comet Halley, which has been seen since ancient times. The shower appears every year from April 19 to May 28, and peaks this year on the night of May 6 and the morning of the May 7. The waning gibbous moon will block out many of the fainter meteors this year. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight.

May 16 - New Moon.

May 31 - Full Moon, Blue Moon. The Moon will be located on the opposite side of the Earth as the Sun and its face will be will be fully illuminated. Since this is the second full moon in the same month, it is sometimes referred to as a blue moon. This rare calendar event only occurs one every few years, giving rise to the term "once in a blue moon."

What are the 2026 best viewing nights when the Moon is least bright?

2026 best viewing nights

ASTRONOMY BINOCULARS
A mini telescope you can take anywhere

If you love sky gazing, you have to have a pair of astronomy binoculars! Binoculars are a fantastic alternative to telescopes—inexpensive, lightweight, and portable. For city dwellers where there is a lot of light pollution, binoculars are essential if you want to see much of anything.

Binoculars enlarge and brighten the beauty and immensity of the night sky. You can see the detail of the moon's craters, the phases of Venus, the moons and stripes of Jupiter, the awesome jewels that dot the Milky Way, nebulae, star clusters, and comets when they're passing near.

Our favorite astonomy binoculars is the Celestron SkGiyMaster Giant 15x70 Binoculars. These are excellent as well:

ANOTHER GREAT ASTRONOMICAL TOOL:

THE PLANISPHERE
A year-round, real-time sky map

A planisphere is a rotating star chart that allows you to dial in the entire visible sky for any day and time of the year and with great precision. It has been called an analog star computer and was considered magical in ancient times.

Planispheres show the brightest stars, constellations, notable galaxies and nebulae, as well as the path of the Milky Way. The plane of the ecliptic is also shown, which reveals the pathway of the planets as they appear to move across the night sky.

Purchase a planisphere for $7.95