by With the new moon of May 2024 the bright summer constellations will begin to rise just as the winter constellations are below the horizon. On the same night, Saturn, Mars and (for observers in more equatorial latitudes) Mercury will be in the preliminary skies.
The timing of the moon phases depends on the position of the moon relative to the Earth, rather than the position of the person on the surface of the Earth. This is why the time when the new moon (or any other phase) occurs is based on the person’s longitude and time zone.
May’s new moon occurs on May 7 at 11:22 pm Eastern Daylight Time (0322 UTC May 8), in New York, according to the US Naval Observatory. While the moon reaches the new phase almost midnight in New York, it happens at 8:22 in Los Angeles. As one moves east the date moves to May 8; in Cape Town it is at 5:22 am, and in New Delhi it is at 8:52 am, and in Tokyo it is in the afternoon, at 1:22 pm
Related: What is the phase of the moon today? Moon phases 2024
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The new moon phase occurs when the moon is directly between the Earth and the sun. During this stage, they share celestial longitude, a projection of the Earth’s longitude lines on the sky, in an arrangement also known as association.
If the sun and the moon are coming up perfectly the result is a solar eclipse; the next one is due on October 2.
That doesn’t happen most of the time, because the moon’s orbit is slightly tilted – about 5 degrees – relative to the Earth’s orbital plane. Therefore it will not be possible to see the moon in its new phase, because of the sun’s error and the moon looking away from us; even if we could see it, we would be looking at the dark side which would be black on a black background.
Visible planets
On the day of the new moon, the sun sets at 7:59 pm in New York, according to the US Naval Observatory. As one moves north the sun sets later; moving south the opposite happens and settles earlier; at this time of year the longer days that mark the Northern Hemisphere’s summer begin to emerge easily. For example in Seattle, which is only seven degrees of latitude north of New York City, the sun sets at 8:31 Pacific Daylight Time. Meanwhile in Miami it is 7:56 pm local time.
Sunset gets earlier as one moves south due to the tropics, meaning between latitudes 23.5 degrees north (Tropical of Cancer) and 23.5 degrees south (Tropical of Capricorn), the length of the day does not change much in during the year. as it does in more northern or southern regions. In those two latitudes the length of the day is between 10 hours and 40 minutes and 13 hours and 34 minutes; this contrasts with cities such as Chicago, where the day is as long as 15 hours 31 minutes and as short as 9 hours 7 minutes. So as one gets closer to the equator and summer approaches, the length of the day gets shorter and the sun seems to set earlier.
In the wee hours of May 8th, the first planet to rise will be Saturn, at 3:25 local time in New York City. It follows Mars at 4:08 am It follows Mercury, which rises at 4:53 am
Saturn, in the constellation Aquarius, reaches an altitude of 16 degrees around 5:00 am; at that point the sky is clearing – sunrise in New York City is at 5:45 am Mars is about that point to the left of Saturn, 10 degrees above the sky almost due east. Mercury is the hardest to see; it will only reach an altitude of 6 degrees by 5:30 am; this will be the case in any location in the mid-northern latitudes (New York City, Denver, Chicago or Sacramento, for example).
The entire planetary triad is easier to see as one moves toward the equator; it is the steepest angle that the ecliptic (the plane of the Earth’s orbit projects onto the sky) leaves with the highest horizon they reach before sunrise (this is also the reason why it appears that of the sun and shorter tropical sunrises).
From Belize City, for example, sunrise is earlier – at 5:23 a.m. local time on May 8, but Saturn rises at 2:08 a.m. local time, Mars at 3:06 a.m., and Mercury at 4:03 a.m. Means that is until 4:30 am Saturn is 33 degrees high, Mars is at 20 degrees and Mercury is 6 degrees above the horizon – an easier target to observe the latter than in most of the States United or Europe.
Constellations
In the mid-northern latitudes, summer sets in, and it doesn’t get fully dark until around 9:00 pm local time in New York City or Chicago. The time will be different depending on which side of the time zone one is on – Detroit, for example, is on the western side of the Eastern Time zone so the sun appears to set at 8:40 pm , although it is almost. the same latitude as New York, and some locales do not use daylight savings time.
At 9 pm the winter stars are saying goodbye. Castor and Pollux, marking the heads of the famous Twins (Gemini), will still be seen low in the west; Procyon, the bright star in Canis Minor (Canis Minor) will be below them and to the left. If one faces south (with Gemini to one’s right) and looks about two-thirds of the way up the sky, one sees Leo the Lion, with the constellation’s alpha star, Regulus, marking the bottom of the crescent-shaped group the Lion’s Head.
Looking north, you can point to the Big Dipper, almost directly above the northern horizon, with the bowl upside down and the two stars representing Polaris, the pole star, on the left side of the bowl. The stars are called Dubhe and Merak, and Dubhe is the closest to Polaris – one finds Polaris by drawing a line between the two and continuing until one hits Polaris.
After handling the Blacksmith, one can “arc to Arcturus” – a sweeping movement along the curve of the handle takes you there, to the brightest star in Boötes, the Herd. Continuing that arc the head of Spica, the brightest star in Virgo, hits. If one draws a line between Black and Merak taking place from Polaris one reaches Leo, the Lion.
In the East, Vega, the alpha star of Lyra, the Lyre, is rising, about 10 degrees high by 9 pm local time. Vega is one of the three stars of the Summer Triangle, the others being Deneb, the brightest star in Cygnus, the Swan, and Altair, the eye of the Eagle. The last two will rise around 11:30pm and will be high enough to be easily seen by midnight. The triad forms a rough right triangle with its narrowest point facing south, so it is a good direction finder especially as it gets higher in the sky, and the Big Dipper can be used in a northerly direction.
By midnight, looking southeast, about 12 to 15 degrees high (depending on how far north or south) one will see Antares, the brightest star (the “heart”) of Scorpius, the scorpion legendary who killed Orion, the Hunter. Looking above Antares three medium-bright stars can be seen as the head of Scorpius. From places in the darker sky, above and to the left of Scorpius is the fainter (but much larger) constellation Ophiuchus, the Serpent Holder or Healer.
Ophiuchus can be identified by a long trapezoid of medium-sized stars that extends above Scorpius; at first (around midnight) it will appear to be lying on its side. On either side of Ophiuchus are the constellations Serpens Caput and Serpens Cauda, the head (Caput) and the tail (Cauda) of the serpent that Ophiuchus holds. Ophiuchus, also known as Asclepius by the ancient Greeks, was the healer who brought Orion back to life after the Hunter was bitten by the Scorpion.
In the southern hemisphere, winter is approaching. In Cape Town, for example, the sun sets early, at 5:58 pm local time on May 8. That means the sky gets dark enough to see the stars by 7 pm Observers in mid-south latitudes can see Orion and Gemini in the northwest. near the horizon by then; Orion will be horizontal and the three stars of the belt will make a vertical line; Gemini will be to the right (north) of Orion – both will appear “upside down” relative to what an observer in the Northern Hemisphere would see; this means that stars like Sirius, which are almost on the horizon in New York or Miami are almost 50 degrees higher in the west.
Turning left (south) Canopus can be seen at about the same height as Sirius; it is the brightest star in Carina, the Long’s Keel. Continue turning east and one sees – again at a similar height above the horizon – the Southern Cross, and just below it is Alpha Centauri, also known as Rigil Kentaurus (“Rigel” the Centaur). Alpha Centauri is the brightest star in Centaurus the Centaur and the closest neighbor to the sun. Above Alpha Centauri is Beta Centauri, or Hadar.
Scorpius – “upside down” in Atpadanian terms – will be rising in the south-east lower to the horizon; it becomes fully visible by about 8 pm. A fainter constellation just above Scorpius and to the left (east) of Centaurus is Lupus, the Wolf.
Carina is the Slim, as one looks to the right one sees the stars of Puppis, the Poop Deck. A wide circle of stars above Canopus is Vela, the Sail; its brightest star is Gamma Velorum, above and to the left of Canopus. Below and to the left of Canopus is the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way.
The Celestial South Pole, in the constellation Octans, is the octan (octant is an old astronomical tool). There is no southern “pole star” – the alignment of Polaris with the North Celestial Pole is accidental. One way to find the Pole is to use the “directions” in Centaurus, Alpha and Beta Centauri. Draw a line midway between those two and another bright star, Achernar, the terminus of Eridanus, the River, which will be close to the horizon in the southwest. The halfway point marks the pole.
