MINNESOTA STARWATCH FOR MAY 2026

     May opens and closes with full moons, but both make it hard to catch their moment of perfect fullness. 

     On May Day that moment arrives near noon, when the moon won’t be visible from Minnesota. And on the 31st, perfect fullness comes at 3:45 a.m., when few of us are up. But there’s a silver lining here. Because we’ll have two full moons in a calendar month, the second one qualifies as a blue moon.

     Evening viewers may catch Venus blazing through the sun’s afterglow in the west-northwest, or lighting up a dark sky for a short time after the afterglow fades. Two bright objects stand out above Venus. To the right is Capella, in the constellation Auriga, the charioteer. To the left shines Jupiter, which is on course to drop past Venus in June. 

     The spring constellation Leo, the lion, comes out high in the south early in May and ends the month high in the southwest. On the 22nd, a nearly first quarter moon visits Regulus, the bright star marking the lion’s heart. Below and east of Leo glimmers Spica, the only bright star in Virgo, the maiden. You’ll probably need a star chart to find Virgo, but not Corvus, the crow, a quadrangle of stars just below and west of Spica. 

     High in the southeast shines Arcturus, in the constellation Bootes, the herdsman. The brightest star in the northern hemisphere of sky, Arcturus can be found by extending the curve of the Big Dipper’s handle. Its closest rival in brightness is Vega, in the constellation Lyra, the lyre of the mythical Greek musician Orpheus. 

     Vega is now in the morning sky, along with the other stars of the big Summer Triangle: Altair, in Aquila, the eagle; and Deneb, in Cygnus, the swan. While you’re up, look near the southeastern horizon for Antares, the red heart of the summer constellation Scorpius.  

The University of Minnesota offers public viewings of the night sky at its Duluth and Twin Cities campuses. For more information, see:

Duluth, Marshall W. Alworth Planetarium: www.d.umn.edu/planet

Twin Cities, Minnesota Institute for Astrophysics: www.astro.umn edu/outreach/pubnight

Check out astronomy programs, free telescope events, and planetarium shows at the
University of Minnesota's Bell Museum: www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/astronomy

Find U of M astronomers and links to the world of astronomy at: http://www.astro.umn.edu.

4/23/26 Contact: Deane Morrison, (612) 720-3721, morri029@umn.edu