New moon
May 16
Flower Moon
May 1
Dark-sky window
May 12 - May 20
excellent moon conditions
Best first target
M51
Ready · Dark site
Monthly anchors
Ordered for this month's Munich guide view.
Spiral Galaxy (interacting)
The iconic spiral galaxy — the first object in which spiral structure was recognized, locked in a gravitational dance with its smaller companion.
Find it
Not visible to naked eye. Located in Canes Venatici, about 3.5° southwest of Alkaid (η UMa), the star at the end of the Big Dipper's handle.
Flocculent Spiral Galaxy
A beautiful 'flocculent' spiral galaxy — its arms are patchy and fragmented like sunflower petals rather than the smooth sweeping arms of grand design spirals.
Find it
Not visible to naked eye. Located in Canes Venatici, about 6° north-northeast of Cor Caroli (α CVn).
Seyfert II Spiral Galaxy
An active galaxy with a supermassive black hole producing radio jets — and the most precisely measured distance of any galaxy beyond the Local Group.
Find it
Not visible to naked eye. Located midway between the Big Dipper's bowl and Cor Caroli, in the 'gap' between Ursa Major and Canes Venatici.
Galaxy Cluster
The nearest major galaxy cluster to Earth — over 2,000 galaxies bound together by gravity, including the supergiant elliptical M87.
Find it
Individual galaxies not visible to naked eye. The cluster spans a huge area centered roughly between Denebola (Leo) and Vindemiatrix (ε Virginis).
Needs catalog details
May target, but not yet present in the local DSO catalog.
3 targets
In Canes Venatici, below the Big Dipper's handle
1 target
Centered in Virgo, extending into Coma Berenices
Peak: May 5-6
50
meteors/hr
Debris from Halley's Comet produces fast meteors in early May. From European latitudes, the radiant is low, so expect 10-30 meteors per hour rather than the full ZHR. Many meteors appear as 'earthgrazers' skimming the atmosphere.
Best viewing
Pre-dawn (3am-5am)
Look east toward Aquarius in the hour before dawn
Photo notes
Low radiant means long meteor trails. Point camera east at low altitude.