May 6
The Circling Guard
Sun Position
The Sun is in Taurus at roughly +16.7° declination. The Northern Hemisphere is well into spring; days near 45°N run about 14.5 hours. In the southern latitudes, cool evenings lengthen toward winter.
Sky Highlight
The Eta Aquariid meteor shower is at or just past peak on this date. Even after peak night, the shower remains active for several more days, and any night from May 4 through May 10 can produce respectable rates from a dark site. The pre-dawn southeastern sky is the place to watch.
Deep Sky Object
M51 (NGC 5194), the Whirlpool Galaxy, about 23 million light-years away, in Canes Venatici. One of the most studied interacting galaxies, its spiral arms clearly engaged with the smaller companion NGC 5195. In binoculars from a dark site it appears as a smudge with a brighter knot; in any telescope the interaction becomes apparent. Best from northern latitudes; southern observers see it low.
Featured Star
Pherkad (γ Ursae Minoris) reappears on tonight's sky, 487 light-years away, spectral class A3II-III, a circumpolar star for observers above about 30°N that traces its slow circle around Polaris every 24 hours without ever dipping below the northern horizon. Its constancy made it a reliable reference in classical navigation.
Around This Date
- May 6, 1835Edmond Halley's Comet reached perihelion (its closest approach to the Sun) during its 1835 apparition, the same comet whose debris produces the Eta Aquariid shower visible this week.
- May 4, 1989NASA launched the Magellan spacecraft to Venus, which would ultimately radar-map nearly the entire planetary surface.
The pole star holds still; everything else turns around it.