What’s Up in the Night Sky? May 2022

Fred Barrett | May 04, 2022

We have a real sky treat this month, a total eclipse of the Moon! It will be the first of two this year (The second occurs on November 8 in the early morning). The eclipse begins about 9:30 pm EDT when the outer edge of the Earth’s shadow, the penumbra, subtly shades the Moon’s lower limb (the penumbra is the partially shaded outer region of a shadow cast by a solid object). The dark umbra of the Earth’s shadow touches the Moon about 10:30 pm EDT and a progressive darkening of the Moon’s limb will be noticed. A reddish tinge will be noticed as the darkening progresses across the Moon, especially through a telescope or binoculars. The period of totality lasts from 11:29 pm to 12:53 am EDT. That’s about 85 minutes! This eclipse is a ‘central’ eclipse. That means that the Moon passes through the axis of the Earth’s dark umbral shadow and the resulting eclipse is especially long. The Moon is also a day and a half from perigee or its closest approach to Earth. We could call it a Super moon! Actually, you would need super eyes to detect how much bigger it is. The penumbral shadow leaves the Moon about 2:50 am EDT and the eclipse ends. Particles in the earth’s atmosphere cause the beautiful orange colour of the Moon and as the sky darkens, you should be able to make out the Milky Way in the southeast.

The Eta Aquariid meteor shower is active until about May 28, with its peak on May 6. A quarter Moon sets about 1 am leaving a dark sky for excellent morning meteor observing. The radiant rises about 3 am in Aquarius. These meteors are debris trails left by Halley’s Comet. The max hourly rate peaks at 50.

Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are all in the early morning sky in the east and southeast.

Astronomy week runs from May 2 to 8, culminating with Astronomy Day on the seventh. Check www.astroleague.org for more information.

May 5: The Moon is at apogee – 402,930 Kms. May 6: The Eta Aquariid meteor shower peaks: May 8: First quarter Moon. May 16: Full Moon. Total lunar eclipse occurs. This full Moon is called the Full Frog Croaking Moon. Ribbit! May 17: The Moon is at perigee – 358,206 Kms. May 22: The Moon is 4 degrees south of Saturn at 1 am EDT. Last Quarter Moon. May 24: The Moon, Jupiter and Mars form a large triangle. May 26: The Moon is 0.2 degrees south of Venus at 11 pm. May 28: Mars is 0.6 degrees south of Jupiter at 8 pm EDT. May 30: New Moon.

Have a great observing month! Look at these links for information and upcoming events at the North Frontenac Dark Sky Preserve:

www.northfrontenac.com/en/open-for-business/dark-sky-preserve.aspx

www.visitfrontenac.ca/en/explore-and-do/dark-sky-preserve.aspx

Let me know what you’re finding in the sky, especially anything unusual. I enjoy the emails and the feedback. If you have any questions or suggestions, you can contact me through this paper or email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Clear Skies!