Balanced Moon
The Moon is in a sort of cosmic balance tonight. It is passing through Libra, the balance scales, which is the only constellation of the zodiac that doesn’t represent a living thing.
Sun Rays
One of the icons of western movies is the sunset, with rays of sunlight radiating into the sky from behind mountains or clouds. They are called crepuscular rays, from the Latin word for twilight. They appear to converge at the Sun because of perspective.
Moon and Spica
Spica, the brightest star of Virgo, stands close to the lower left of the Moon at nightfall. The Moon slides toward it during the night, so they are especially close as they set, in the wee hours of the morning.
Mizar and Alcor
A horse and rider gallop across the north and northwest on May evenings. They are in the handle of the Big Dipper, which is high in the sky at nightfall. They’re the stars Mizar and Alcor. Mizar is the brighter of the two, with fainter Alcor just a whisker away.
Disappearing Dog
As the last blush of evening twilight fades away, look almost due west for Procyon, the little dog star. It’s not all that high in the sky, but if you have a clear horizon, it will stand out.
Cygnus Returns
Beautiful Cygnus, the swan, returns to the evening sky this month. It rises in the northeast by about 11 p.m. Its brightest star is Deneb, which marks the swan’s tail. Its body stretches to the right of Deneb, through the glow of the Milky Way.
Moon and Regulus
The Moon and the heart of the lion stand close together this evening. The lion’s heart is the star Regulus, below the Moon at nightfall.
NGC 3432
The spiral galaxy NGC 3432 is about 30 million light-years away, in Leo Minor, the little lion. The galaxy is too faint to see without a telescope. It’s high above the Moon this evening. The bright star Regulus stands to the left of the Moon.
Head Cases
The star Rasalhague represents the head of Ophiuchus the serpent bearer, while Rasalgethi is the head of Hercules. Rasalhague climbs into good view in the east by 10 p.m., with fainter Rasalgethi above it by about the width of three fingers held at arm’s length.
Moon and Twins
The Moon passes especially close to the star Pollux tonight – the brighter “twin” of Gemini. The star stands just to the right of the Moon at nightfall. The other twin, Castor, is farther along the same line.