As it does, it will leave the night skies free from moonlight, which serious stargazers view as light pollution.
In the week before the new moon, and for a couple of nights after, the night sky gets as dark as possible.
The Big Dipper and Ursa Major Most people can find the seven stars of the Big Dipper in the night sky, but did you know it’s not a constellation?
Known as an asterism — a shape of stars — the Big Dipper forms the rear end (and, unhelpfully, long tail) of Ursa Major, the great bear.”
Huddled in dense balls and thought to be the remains of ancient galaxies gobbled up by our own, there are about 150 of these in the night sky.
Why is a new moon so exciting to stargazers? 10:02 p.m. M. On Monday, May 26, EDT, our natural satellite will fully vanish from view as it passes between the Earth and the sun. Moonlight, which serious stargazers consider to be light pollution, will no longer be present in the night skies as it does.
As dark as possible is the night sky during the week leading up to the new moon and for a few nights following. The best time of the month to go outside and look up is therefore from May 20 to May 30. Views from the Northern Hemisphere’s mid-latitudes, including the continental U, are shown here. S. . roughly ten o’clock at night. M. (unless specified otherwise).
1. . Ursa Major and Big Dipper.
Known as an asterism, or shape of stars, the Big Dipper is the back end (and, unhelpfully, long tail) of Ursa Major, the great bear. Most people can locate the seven stars of the Big Dipper in the night sky, but did you know that it is not a constellation? Even though the bear is upside down, May is a great time to trace out Ursa Major’s many stars because it is nearly directly overhead in the early evening hours of the Northern Hemisphere as darkness falls.
Finding it is made easiest by starting with the bear’s three visible paws, each of which is identified by a pair of double stars: Talitha and Talitha Australis for the bear’s single visible front paw, Alula Borealis and Australis for the bear’s two back paws, and Tania Borealis and Australis for the bear’s third paw. The star Muscida marks the bear’s head beneath the latter.
2. . The lion is Leo.
As night falls, you will notice a backward question mark of stars that denotes the head and forequarters of Leo, the lion, if you look south. EarthSky states that the bright star Regulus, which means “little king,” is the . in that question mark, which stargazers refer to as “the sickle.”.
3. One little “planet parade.”.
On Friday, May 23, 45 minutes before sunrise, a crescent moon will occur in the east near a very bright Venus, with Saturn nearby, if you only get up early once this month.
4. . The herdsman is Boötes.
Go back to Ursa Major and follow its tail, which is the Big Dipper’s handle, in an “arc to Arcturus” to the next bright star in the night sky. Arcturus, the brightest star in the constellation Boötes, the herdsman, is the fourth brightest star in the night sky. It is a crucial but little-known star shape in the spring. The shape of a kite is traced by its nine stars, but ignore that and concentrate on the simple four stars that form a “Y” or champagne flute.
5. . The Hercules Group.
Strange clusters of old stars known as globular clusters are concealed in the Milky Way galaxy’s halo. There are approximately 150 of these in the night sky, huddled in dense balls that are believed to be the remnants of old galaxies that our own galaxy has devoured. They are the oldest objects in the universe that can be seen, which is remarkable.
M13, located high overhead after dark in the constellation Hercules, the hero, is among the best. A pair of stargazing binoculars or, better yet, a decent backyard telescope are required to catch a glimpse of the dense, fuzzy patch. According to NASA, it is located 25,000 light-years away on the galaxy’s periphery and has over 100,000 stars.
