The Night Sky - May 2025

Apr 23, 2025

by John and Peggy Hurley

We have a comet!!! (2025 F2 Swan25f) Visible near the Pleiades on May 1st. At the time of writing, this was brightening and should be visible with binoculars for a little while. It might even become naked eye! Remember comets are moving quickly and won’t be in exactly the same place from day to day.

Binoculars are easier to see through when balanced and at the right height (and width), so use a tripod if you have one. If not, a broom stick is about the right height.  Or use your elbows  on a flat surface and make a tripod with your arms or lean against a wall. If you can see what you want with your bare eyes, stare at it and bring the binoculars to your eyes. If you can’t see it first, scan slowly through the binoculars until you find it.

As for the other solar system objects: Mercury will be low in the ENE during morning twilight and lost by the end of the month, Venus will be very low in the E all month, Mars will be high in the SW after sunset and setting in the WNW around 2 a.m., Jupiter will be in the WNW and setting around 11 p.m., Saturn will be rising in the ESE during morning twilight.

May 3 has Mars south of the Moon, and on the 4th it will be close to the Beehive Cluster (M44). The evening of May 5 through the morning of May 6th there is the Eta Aquariids Meteor Shower. This might be warm enough to stay out for. These are remnants from Halley’s comet and are visible for a week or two before and after peak. If you are in dark skies you should several in an hour (counting can be a fun activity). The full Moon will be on May 12.  On the 22nd Saturn and Venus are near the Moon. New Moon starts May 26th and on the 28th Jupiter is just South of the Moon.  On the 31st, Venus will be at its greatest elongation from the sun in the morning and In the evening, the Moon, Mars and Regulus will form a line.  This will last for a couple of days. 

We have seen a couple of very strong displays of Northern Lights this past year and more are likely on their way.  We have reached Solar Maximum.  This is the point the our Sun’s 11 year cycle in which it produces the most sun spots.  We know Galileo observed sun spots with his telescope.  He recorded them in his journals.  Observing the sun this way might also be why Galileo went blind.  And he was not the only astronomer to do so. So, the cycle has been known for quite some time.  And it was observed that there were more Aurora at Solar Max.

First, how to observe the Northern Lights. Find some open sky. Next to no tree cover or at least some part is open to the North. Dark is the second thing you want. So if you are in a city or suburban space, try to find a place that is darker. Dark adapt your eyes. This means not looking at screens or sitting in bright light. Try to go for red toned if you have to have light. In the past I would have said ‘leave your phone behind’, but the cameras in phones today have been doing a fantastic job at capturing the aurora — especially in red (which the human eye doesn’t see well). Next thing to do is Look Up. Perhaps start with North (if you know). But it doesn’t have to be. Watch the sky for changes.  If you can find a place for you to observe from before the next aurora, you just have to get there.  And side roads or parking lots will work if they don’t have street lights. One that I remember quite well had me lying across the hood and windshield of my car, parked at the side of the #38, before the houses went in, next to Rivendell Golf Course, listening to classical music. Get comfortable, stay warm, protect from bugs.

The different colours mean different gases are involved. Green is oxygen at lower levels and red is the same at a higher level. Pink and dark Red are Nitrogen, blue is Hydrogen and purple is Helium.  The lines of Earth’s magnetosphere channel the particles from the sun into our North and South poles and then the particles interact with our atmosphere and we see the Aurora. 

To get an idea if there will be Aurora, go to spaceweather.com and check the KP index. This is a scale of 0-9 rating the intensity of planetary geomagnetic storms.

Clear Skies