Dark Sky News

The parade of galaxies continues! Also, this is your last chance for Jupiter, ending with several moon transits!

 This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Flower Moon because this was the time of year when spring flowers appeared in abundance. This moon has also been known as the Corn Planting Moon and the Milk Moon.

The Eta Aquarids is an above average shower, capable of producing up to 60 meteors per hour at its peak, but mostly seen in the Southern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, the rate can reach about 30 meteors per hour. It is produced by dust particles left behind by comet Halley, which has been observed since ancient times. Unfortunately, the waning gibbous moon will block out many of the fainter meteors this year. But if you are patient, you should still should be able to catch some of the brighter ones. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Aquarius, but can appear anywhere in the sky.

Double moon transit on Jupiter! Both Europa’s and Ganymede’s shadows will be visible on the planet at the same time! – right around 9pm EDT. Here’s a link to see the moons yourself

Europa and Ganymede both transiting at the same time! Watch this parade from 8pm to 1am! Check the link here to get the precise times!

Last chance to get a nice view of some of the fainter Messier galaxies!

See two Venus planets in the sky at the same time! The ISS will make an overhead flight passing Venus on its way up. Both are almost exactly the same brightness – a whopping magnitude -3.7! Don’t miss this opportunity! Watch the event around 9:17pm. Click on this link to see its precise time and orbit path.

Since this is the second full moon in the same month, it is sometimes referred to as a blue moon. This rare calendar event only occurs one every few years, giving rise to the term “once in a blue moon”.