There's lots to look for in the dark sky during the month of May, especially here in the first week or two!
On the evening of May 5, look for the full Flower Moon. It's named the "Flower Moon" because this is the time of year when flowers start to bloom, but it will just look like a regular full moon.
The Eta Aquariid meteor shower should peak the morning between May 5-6. This shower is way more active in the southern hemisphere but can produce on average 10-30 meteors per hour this far north. Shortly before dawn on May 6 would be the best time to look for it, but that's the same night of the full moon. That extra light from the full moon will make it harder to spot a shooting star. This shower has been active for a couple weeks and will stay active through nearly the end of May, but this week is when activity is expected to pick up which would make it easier to see something. This meteor shower in particular produces more meteors with "trains" that look like tails, not so many bright, fireballs.
In addition to the meteor shower and the full moon, there are also several planets we should be able to see this month. If you're looking for planets at night, you should able to spot Venus and Mars. Both will be visible in the western sky after the sun sets. Venus is the brightest planet in the night sky, and if you look for it around May 9th it should be a little higher in the sky. Mars will appear dimmer to us by the end of this month, so it should be easier to spot earlier in May.
If you're up early, you can look for Saturn in the southeastern sky before dawn. It should be easier to see each day through the month. By the middle of the month, you can also look low on the eastern horizon in the morning for Jupiter and Mercury. As the sky lightens these will be tough to see since they don't usually appear very bright to us. Grab a pair of binoculars to help you out.
