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May 2026 Skywatching Highlights ✨

A new month, a new chance to enjoy the beauty of the night sky! May is filled with stunning celestial events—from glowing full moons to fast-moving meteors and bright planet meetups:

🌕 May 1 – The Flower Moon shines bright
☄️ May 5–6 – Eta Aquariid meteor shower reaches its peak 🌠
🪐 May 13–15 – The Moon passes close to Saturn and Mars
✨ May 18–21 – The Moon pairs with brilliant Venus (with Jupiter nearby)
🌆 May 30 – Manhattanhenge sunset alignment
🌕 May 31 – A rare Blue Moon closes the month

🌟 Highlight of the month: Don’t miss the Moon and Venus together—an easy and beautiful sight!

📍 Tips for watching:
• Head outside during early night or before sunrise
• Choose a spot away from bright city lights
• Most events are visible without any equipment

Mark your calendar and enjoy the sky!

How to see the naked eye comet an hour before dawn. Read this.

Don't miss this comet right before sunrise!

Right now, people on every continent are waking up before dawn and pointing cameras at the same patch of sky. They are all looking for the same thing. Here is what they are finding.

Comet C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS). This week. This is what the world is seeing.

The observations started slowly. On March 20, astronomer Alan Hale — one of the co-discoverers of Comet Hale-Bopp — became the first person to spot C/2025 R3 with the naked eye using binoculars. At that point, it was at magnitude 9. You needed a telescope to see it. That was 25 days ago.

By April 4, it had brightened to magnitude 6 — the very edge of naked-eye visibility under perfect conditions.

By April 8, observers were reporting something extraordinary: the ion tail had grown to at least 7 degrees in length. Seven degrees. That is 14 full Moons laid side by side across the sky. A gas tail driven straight away from the Sun by the solar wind, blue-white and razor-straight, stretching across more than a finger-width of sky at arm's length. Astrophotographers with Canon cameras and 200mm lenses were capturing it from their backyards in 15-second exposures.

By April 10, the comet was officially naked-eye accessible in dark skies. Multiple observers confirmed it independently. Photos began appearing on astronomy forums within hours — fuzzy green-cyan comets with trailing tails, soft against the black background.

On April 11, the first confirmed naked-eye sighting with no optical aid: magnitude 5.1, confirmed by independent observers. No binoculars. Just eyes. Just a dark field.

By April 13, the ion tail had extended to more than 10 degrees — equivalent to 20 full Moons laid end to end. The tail is now visible in binoculars as a distinct straight blue-white streak pointing away from the Sun. The dust tail — shorter, curved, ivory — is visible separately. Two tails, both visible.

Space skywatching columnist described it this week as actively hunting the comet before dawn, the comet low in the eastern sky at 90 minutes before sunrise. On April 14, a 12% illuminated waning Moon is nearby as a pointer.

The best is still ahead. Perihelion is April 19. The predicted brightness: magnitude 3. Equivalent to the brightest stars in the sky. The New Moon on April 17 gives the darkest possible sky during the peak.

Every morning this week, thousands of people are waking up before dawn to look. Some find it. Some do not. All of them are looking at the same place — a soft smudge above the northeastern horizon, moving slowly against the stars, growing slightly brighter each morning.

You could be one of them tomorrow.

Naked eye comet early evening right before sunrise!

A comet that hasn’t visited Earth’s skies in 170,000 years is returning… and it’s already glowing brighter. ☄️✨

Comet C/2025 R3 (Pan-STARRS) is now visible under truly dark skies, and over the next 10 mornings, it will only get easier to spot.

This isn’t just another comet — it’s a once-in-a-human-history event.
The last time it passed by our planet, early humans were still sharing the Earth with extinct giants.

It will reach perihelion — its closest point to the Sun — on April 19, passing at a safe distance of about 0.5 AU (half the distance between Earth and the Sun).

Then comes its brightest moment:
On April 27, it will make its closest approach to Earth… shining at peak visibility.

But there’s a catch.

By then, this ancient traveler will disappear from Northern Hemisphere skies, making these next few mornings your only chance to witness it.

Miss it now… and you’ll have to wait another 170,000 years.

Naked eye comet right before sunrise!

The countdown is over. You can go outside and try to see it tonight.

Comet C/2025 R3 PanSTARRS is now a naked-eye target in dark skies. Not in 6 days. Not in 4 days. Tonight.

Here is exactly what to do.

Go outside 60 to 90 minutes before your local sunrise. Face northeast. Let your eyes adapt to the darkness for at least 10 minutes — this is not optional. The comet is at magnitude 4.8 and sitting in the constellation Pegasus, just east of the Great Square — four stars forming a large square low in the pre-dawn northeastern sky. The Great Square is your pointer. Once you find it, look to its lower right. You are looking for something that does not look like a star.

A star is a point. Sharp, hard, and perfectly still. This comet is a smudge. A soft, slightly elongated blur — brighter at the center and fading at the edges, with a faint tail extending northwest away from the Sun. It will not look dramatic from a city. From a dark field away from streetlights, binoculars will show it clearly — a distinct fuzzy object with a visible tail.

The optimal naked-eye window is April 13 to 15. Tonight is inside that window. The New Moon on April 17 will darken the sky further. The peak comes at perihelion on April 19 when the comet is forecast to reach magnitude 3 — as bright as a moderately bright star.

But the window where it is naked-eye accessible under good conditions — without needing peak brightness — is now. Tonight.

What you need: dark sky, 10 minutes of eye adaptation, and the patience to look twice. If you see a soft glow that doesn't look quite like a star — you found it.

It has a hyperbolic orbit. After April, it leaves the solar system forever.

Tonight is one of the nights that will always have existed.

Visibility varies by location — check local astronomical timings.

Meteor shower schedule of occurrence

For meteor scatter monitoring on shortwave radio signals, try these frequencies:
- *20-30 MHz*: Good for detecting meteors, especially during peak showers.
- *28 MHz*: A popular frequency for meteor scatter, with many meteors producing reflections.
- *FM broadcast band (88-108 MHz)*: You can also monitor FM stations for meteor scatter pings.

Keep in mind that shortwave frequencies can be affected by ionospheric conditions, so results may vary.

During a meteor scatter occurrence, you can hear these on VHF and shortwave radio:
- *Short bursts of signal*: Brief, sudden appearances of a distant transmitter's signal, often lasting only seconds.
- *Pings or pongs*: Sharp, distinct sounds caused by meteor reflections.
- *Signal enhancements*: Brief increases in signal strength from distant transmitters.

These signals can be heard on frequencies where meteor scatter is occurring, often on VHF or shortwave bands.