May 4
A Braid in the Mane
Sun Position
The Sun is in Taurus at roughly +15.9° declination. Northern Hemisphere days approach 14.5 hours near mid-latitudes; southern evenings lengthen as autumn deepens toward winter.
Sky Highlight
The Eta Aquariids are nearing their peak. For Southern Hemisphere observers in particular, these are among the best pre-dawn meteors of the year, bright, fast, and capable of leaving glowing trains lasting several seconds.
Deep Sky Object
M66 (NGC 3627), spiral galaxy in Leo, part of the Leo Triplet, about 35 million light-years away. Its asymmetric arms, pulled by gravitational interaction with its neighbors M65 and NGC 3628, make it a favourite for galaxy-group study. Good altitude for northern and equatorial observers through May evenings.
Featured Star
Adhafera (ζ Leonis) is a yellow-white giant 274 light-years away, spectral class F0III, sitting in the curved arc of stars that marks the lion's mane. Its Arabic name means 'the braid,' and it rides the spring sky high enough from both hemispheres to observe well through most of the night.
Around This Date
- May 4, 1976NASA launched LAGEOS 1 (Laser Geodetic Satellite) from Vandenberg aboard a Delta rocket, a dense retroreflector sphere designed to serve as a permanent orbital reference point for measuring crustal motion, polar drift, and Earth-rotation variations.
- May 5, 1973NASA launched Skylab, the United States' first space station, into orbit aboard a Saturn V rocket; the station operated until 1979.
The mane of the lion is a handful of yellow stars, scattered and bright.