Sky Watcher - May 2025

May 1

Eta Aquariid Meteor Shower

Each year in late April to late May, we are able to observe the Eta Aquariid meteor shower. This year, it peaks on the night of May 5-6. You may know the name of this shower due to it’s famous parent comet: Comet Halley. During early May, Earth’s orbit brings us through the dust cloud left by Halley’s Comet, which creates this meteor shower.
While this is a fairly standard meteor shower, if you get a clear night and patiently watch the sky, you’ll be in for a treat watching these meteors. While the radiant of this meteor shower is in the constellation of Aquarius, you should able to view meteors in any part of the sky after dark during early May.

The Dippers in the Spring

During the month of May in the Northern Hemisphere, the infamous Big Dipper is very easy to spot from the mid-northern latitudes. While we can technically observe the Big Dipper at all times of year as it is a circumpolar asterism, during the spring this easily-spotted group of stars is nearly straight overhead during the month of May.