Thursday, May 2, 7:14 a.m. EDT. The last or third quarter moon rises around 2 a.m. and sets around 1 p.m. It is most easily seen just after sunrise in the southern sky.
Thursday, May 9, 8:28 p.m. EDT. The moon is not visible on the date of new moon because it is too close to the sun, but can be seen low in the east as a narrow crescent a morning or two before, just before sunrise. It is visible low in the west an evening or two after new moon.
The first solar eclipse of 2013 occurs at the Moon's descending node in eastern Ares. An annular eclipse will be visible from Australia, eastern Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and the Gilbert Islands.
Saturday, May 18, 12:34 a.m. EDT. The first quarter moon rises around 1 p.m. and sets around 2 a.m. It dominates the evening sky.
Saturday, May 25, 12:25 a.m. EDT. The full moon of May is called the Milk Moon. Its Cree name is Aligipizun, meaning “Frog Moon.”
Thursda, May 31, 2:58 p.m. EDT. This is the second last quarter moon this month. It rises around 1 a.m. and sets around 1 p.m. It is most easily seen just after sunrise in the southern sky.
Friday, May 10. An annular solar eclipse will be visible in a narrow path stretching from central Australia across the south Pacific Ocean. Partial phases of this eclipse will be visible over a much larger area. This is how it will look at maximum eclipse in Cooktown, Australia.
Sat., May 11, after sunset. Venus has now moved into the evening sky, and tonight it and Jupiter frame the slender crescent moon.
Wed., May 22, before sunrise. The moon will move closer to the bright star Spica all night long, getting closest just around the time the moon sets. As seen from southeast Asia, the Philippines, Indonesia, northeastern Australia, and Polynesia, the moon will actually pass in front of Spica.
Saturn will appear near the moon on Thursday, May 23, 2013, before sunrise.
Friday, May 24, after sunset. Venus and Mercury are in close conjunction, with Jupiter a few degrees away.
The second lunar eclipse of the year again occurs at the Moon's ascending node in Scorpius about 7° northwest of Antares (mv = +1.07). Such a shallow eclipse is only of academic interest since it will be all but impossible to detect.
The second lunar eclipse of the year again occurs at the Moon's ascending node in Scorpius about 7° northwest of Antares (mv = +1.07). Such a shallow eclipse is only of academic interest since it will be all but impossible to detect.
Sunday, May 26, after sunset. Three bright planets, Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter, form a 2-degree equilateral triangle in the western sky just after sunset.
Tueday, May 28, after sunset. The three planets rearrange themselves so that Jupiter and Venus are only a degree apart, with Mercury just above.
This illustration from the Space Telescope Science Institute depicts the annular solar eclipse expected to occur on May 10, 2013.
This sky map from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory shows the locations of the constellations Cancer and Gemini in the western sky on May 13, 2013.
This sky map from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory shows the locations of the constellations Lyra and Cygnus rising late in the northeastern sky in May 2013.
This sky map from the Space Telescope Science Institute shows the location of Jupiter in the western sky at 9:00 p.m. EDT in early May 2013.
This sky map from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory shows the locations of the constellations Cancer and Gemini in relation to the moon and the Beehive Cluster looking west on May 14, 2013.
This sky map from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory shows the locations of the constellations Cancer and Gemini in relation to the moon and the Beehive Cluster looking west on May 15, 2013.
This sky map from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory shows the locations of the constellations Cancer and Gemini in relation to the moon and the Beehive Cluster looking west on May 16, 2013.
This sky map from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory shows the locations of the constellations Cancer and Gemini in relation to the moon and the Beehive Cluster looking west on May 17, 2013.
This sky map from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory shows the locations of the constellations Leo and Gemini in relation to the moon looking west on May 18, 2013.
This sky map from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory shows the locations of the constellations Leo and Gemini in relation to the moon looking west on May 19, 2013.
This image from the Space Telescope Science Institute depicts the penumbral lunar eclipse expected to occur on May 24, 2013.
This sky map from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory shows the locations of the constellations Leo and Virgo in relation to the moon and Saturn looking southeast on May 22, 2013.
This sky map from the Space Telescope Science Institute shows Saturn in the southeastern sky in May 2013.
