What's in the Southern Hemisphere night sky tonight, May 2024

If you're based in the Southern Hemisphere and want to know what you can see in the night sky tonight, this page is for you.

Our monthly-updated night-sky guide will show you what you can see in the Southern Hemisphere over the coming weeks.

We'll include monthly highlights, stars, constellations, planets and deep-sky objects.

For more advice, read our guides to Southern Hemipshere stargazing and the best night-sky targets to see in Australia.

Mars at Opposition by Matt Watson, Sydney, Australia. Equipment: Takahashi Mewlon 250, Losmandy G11, ZWO ASI174MM mono, Baader RGB filters, A Televue 3x Barlow

Southern Hemisphere night sky tonight: highlights, April 2024

Periodic Comet 12P/Pons–Brooks orbits the Sun every 71 years, having a favourable return in 2024.

After reaching perihelion on 21 April, it opens May around mag. +4.5, close to the western horizon as twilight ends.

The comet can be found below Rigel (Beta Orionis) early in the month, rising slowly and passing within 5° of the star on 17–23 May.

If a tail is visible, it should point towards Rigel in early May.

The month closes with Pons–Brooks in Lepus, possibly faded to mag. +6.0.

Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks delighted Northern Hemisphere observers in the early part of 2024. Now it's the Southern Hemisphere's turn. Credit: Tim Jackson

Stars and constellations

The Milky Way’s most southerly region is brilliantly displayed in May.

The closest obvious asterism to the South Celestial Pole is the trapezium in Musca, beneath (south of) the Southern Cross (Crux).

Flanking it are two rivals to this claim: Triangulum Australe to the left (east) and the Diamond Cross (part of Carina) to the right (west).

Within these are the closest second-magnitude stars to the pole: Atria (Alpha Triangulum Australe) and Miaplacidus (Beta Carinae).

Planets

Evenings contain no planets in May in the Southern Hemisphere skies.

Saturn rises around 01:30 mid-month, followed by Neptune an hour later, Mars at 03:30 and finally Mercury around 05:00.

The eastern pre-dawn sky finds Saturn, Mars and Mercury in a line, with the waning crescent Moon in conjunction with each on 4, 5 and 6 May respectively.

The month commences with Mars and Neptune only 1° apart then swiftly separating.

Early May sees the best morning return for Mercury this year, rising one hour before dawn.

Deep-sky objects

This month, a trip to Corvus the Crow, whose most obvious feature is four main stars in a trapezium shape.

The northeast corner is mag. +3.0 Delta (δ) Corvi, a nice naked-eye double with mag. +4.3 Eta (η) Corvi 0.6° away.

Binoculars show them to be blue and yellowish-white respectively.

Move 4° northeast to discover the double star Struve 1669 (RA 12h 41.3m, dec. –13° 01’). It’s ideal for small telescopes, presenting two yellow components with matching brightness (mag. +5.9), separated by a snug 5.5 arcseconds.

Corvus is home to a little-known but bright and large planetary nebula, NGC 4361 (RA 12h 24.5m, dec. –18° 47’).

The nebula is a circular disc (around 100 arcseconds across) with a central 13th-magnitude star. Its total magnitude is +10.5, being brightest in the centre and gradually fading towards the edge.