ALTHOUGH the nights are getting shorter there are plenty of astronomical events to be seen in May, says Martin Lunn of the Earby Astronomical Society. The two inner-most planets, Mercury and Venus, can be seen close together low in the south west just after sunset. Mercury is never easy to see because it is so close to the Sun so any opportunity to see this most elusive of planets should always be taken.

In addition this month there is a meteor shower, the eta Aquarids, one of two meteor showers connected with probably the most famous of all comets, Halley’s comet. The other shower connected to Halley’s comet is the Orionids in October.

The May night sky is the first of the year in which Orion is completely absent.

The brilliant Hunter has vanished below the horizon and of the other winter stars only Capella in Auriga, together with Castor and Pollux in Gemini, remain in view.

The North Star can still be found by using the pointer stars in the Plough.

These are the two furthest stars from the handle. A line drawn from the right hand star through the left and continued for some distance across the sky will reach the North Star.

The North Star, or Polaris, to give it its proper name, is the end star of the Small Plough, a much fainter version of the more familiar Plough.

Any hints of mist in the sky make the pattern of the Small Plough difficult to find except for the red coloured star Kocab which is one of the end stars of the blade.

Another interesting star to try to locate is called Thuban in the constellation of Draco the Dragon.

Thuban lies midway between Mizar, the middle star of the handle of the Plough, and Kocab, which is often referred to as the ‘Guardian of the Pole’.

Thuban has a claim to fame in that although it is a faint star, it was the North Star at the time of the building of the great pyramids in Egypt. The pyramids were aligned to Thuban rather than Polaris.

The position of the North Star changes over a long period of time due to the wobbling of the Earth.

If you imagine a spinning top just about to fall over, the handle appears to draw a circle. This, of course, only takes a fraction of a second.

If you imagine the Earth like that spinning top, a line projected from the North Pole on Earth will draw a circle in the sky.

It takes 23,500 years for the Earth to wobble once. Therefore, around 2,000 BCE Thuban was the North Star, today it is Polaris and in about the year 14,000 CE it will be the bright star Vega.

Staying with the northern sky, this is a good time to look for the stars that form Draco the Dragon.

Draco is formed of a long curve of stars that swirl around the North Star. The head of the dragon is formed of a quadrilateral of four stars at the end of this line of stars; it can be easily found because it is close to the bright star Vega, one of the stars of the Summer Triangle. The four stars are not bright but are quite distinctive.

Harry Potter fans reading this might recognise the name ‘Draco’ which was used by J.K. Rowling to create Draco Malfoy, one of Harry’s opponents.

We know we find Arcturus by following the curve of the handle of the Plough and if we then continue the curve around it will point to Spica in Virgo the Virgin, which is now due south and can be seen at its best this month. Regulus in Leo the Lion can be found at the base of the prominent backwards question mark that indicates the head of the lion and is now very prominent in the south. Both Spica and Regulus are also at their best this month.

One last star to mention which can be seen easily during late spring evenings is Cor Caroli, the only bright star in the constellation of Canes Venatici, the Hunting Dogs.

Although not as bright as the stars that form the Plough it is still easy to see. This star can be found beneath the handle of the Plough.

The hunting dogs of Canes Venatici are sometimes depicted being on a leash in the hands of Bootes the Herdsman. The constellation was added to the sky by Sir John Flamsteed, the first Astronomer Royal, and Cor Caroli was named in honour of the murdered monarch King Charles I.

The planets in May

Venus the brilliant beacon in the western sky which has been with us all year is getting lower in the sky in the west after sunset.

Now there is a chance to use Venus to help you identify Mercury. On the nights of May 21 and May 22 the two planets will be very close together.

Venus will be seen as the very bright white spot and Mercury will appear as a pinkish looking dot, which although bright is nowhere near as bright as Venus.

On the 21st, Mercury will be just below Venus while on the 22nd it will be just to the left of Venus. On both days the two planets will be about one degree apart. There is a handy way to measure this distance; hold your hand at arms length and use the width of your little finger, which is about one degree, to show how far apart Venus and Mercury are.

The other three naked eye planets Jupiter, Mars and Saturn can all be seen in the morning sky low in the south east before sun rises. Jupiter is the bright white spot while to its left is Saturn, a bright yellowish looking object and further still to the left again a reddish looking object which is the Red Planet, Mars.

Meteor Showers

On the night of May 5/6, the Eta Aquarid meteor shower will be at its maximum. These meteors are the remains of Halley’s Comet, one of the most famous of all comets.

Unfortunately the meteor shower will be seen low down in the sky so not that many meteors will be visible. It is best seen from countries much further south than Britain. However, if you are out on that night, in particular the early hours of May 6, and you see a meteor, you will probably have seen a small part of Halley’s comet burning up in the atmosphere.

Phases of the Moon for May

Full Moon 7; Last Quarter 14; New Moon 22; First Quarter 30.

The Full Moon in May is called the Flower Moon. The flowers in the fields and in the gardens are now becoming abundant for everyone to see.

Due to the current Corona Virus there will be no meetings of the Earby Astronomical Society until further notice.