Sunday May 5, 2024

Old Moon Passes Mars (pre-dawn)

Another day of travel will shift the even slimmer crescent moon several
finger widths to the lower left (or celestial east) of Mars. In the
Americas, the duo will be close enough to share the view in binoculars D but turn all optics away from the eastern horizon before the sun rises. That
same morning, observers from Madagascar to Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, northwestern Indonesia, the Philippines, eastern China, Japan and the southeastern shore of Russia can watch the moon occult Mars. Use an app like Starry Night to look up the times for your location. The event will occur in daylight for the eastern portion of that zone. Eta-Aquariids Meteor Shower
Peak (overnight)

The annual Eta-Aquariids Meteor Shower is produced when Earth's orbit
carries us through a cloud of particles left behind by repeated passages of Halley's Comet. The shower, which runs from April 19 to May 28, will peak in intensity on Sunday evening, May 5 in the Americas D with no moonlight to
spoil the show. While meteors should be visible on Sunday after dusk, more should appear once the shower's radiant point in Aquarius rises above the southeastern horizon around 3 a.m. local time on Monday. A few dozen meteors per hour are typical during the peak D including some fireball meteors. Its southerly radiant makes the Eta-Aquariids shower better for observers
located closer to the tropics.

(Data courtesy of Starry Night)
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