In this guide we'll reveal what you can see in the night sky tonight, and throughout the month.
Those of us who enjoy stargazing and observing the night sky can't always plan when and where we're going to get the chance to gaze upwards.
Busy schedules, light pollution, the weather: sometimes finding even just 30 minutes to stand and stare up at a clear, dark night sky and take in the planets, stars and constellations can be a feat in itself.
So when you do find the time, you'll need to know what's visible in the night sky tonight, and the best things to look out for when stargazing.
Complete newcomer? Read our guides to the best telescopes for beginners and astronomy for beginners.
Here's our stargazing guide to what you can see in the night sky tonight.
Our guide is centred around what's visible from the UK, but all northern hemisphere observers should be able to use it, with the odd adjustment to stated times.
In our guide, we use Universal Time (UT) and British Summer Time (BST). UT is the standard time used by astronomers around the world. BST is one hour ahead of UT
We also use RA (Right ascension)and dec. (declination).
These coordinates are the night sky’s equivalent of longitude and latitude, describing where an object is on the celestial ‘globe’.
For help with these, read our guide to celestial coordinates.
For more advice, read our guide on how to stargaze or sign up to receive the BBC Sky at Night Magazine e-newsletter for weekly tips delivered directly to your email inbox.
If you're south of the equator, find out what you can see in the Southern Hemisphere night sky tonight.
What's in the night sky tonight?
May astronomy highlights
- 2 May: Vesta reaches opposition, potentially naked-eye visible (evening)
- 4 May: Mars near the Beehive Cluster (evening)
- 5 May: Lunar X clair-obscur effect visible on the Moon (01:14 BST (00:14 UT))
- 15 May: Unusual daylight transit of Titan shadow across Saturn
- 23 May: Approximate start of the Northern Hemisphere’s noctilucent cloud season
Noctilucent clouds
There’s a rapid loss of night this month as we head towards the Northern Hemisphere’s summer solstice on 21 June.
True darkness doesn't arrive for most of the UK until the end of the month.
Although this causes issues with seeing faint wispy deep sky objects, there is an upside — the start of noctilucent cloud (NLC) spotting season, typically active until early August.
2024 saw some excellent NLC displays, so there’s all to play for.
Equipment: Google Pixel 8 smartphone
Asteroid Vesta
The minor planet 4 Vesta reaches opposition in Libra on 2 May and, excitingly, there’s a chance to spot it with the naked eye from a dark site.
It’s expected to shine at mag. +5.8 for a few days either side of opposition, which is very close to the naked eye threshold and a similar typical brightness to that of Uranus.
The Moon is a 23%-lit waxing crescent on 2 May, setting in the early hours around 02:15 BST (01:15 UT) and shouldn’t be too much of a nuisance.
Eta Aquariid meteor shower
The just past first quarter Moon is fortunately quite low for the peak of the Eta Aquariid meteor shower expected on the morning of 5 May.
This is a tricky shower to observe from the UK due to its low altitude radiant which doesn’t rise until the early hours.
The best strategy is to keep watch from 02:00 BST (01:00 UT) until 03:00 BST (02:00 UT).
In this short window if you do manage to see an Eta Aquariid meteor you’ll be witnessing a tiny piece of comet 1P/Halley vaporising in Earth’s atmosphere.
The low Moon sets around 03:30 BST (02:30 UT).
Saturn Titan transits
Transits of Titan and its shadow occur in batches separated by around 15 years and even then, timings for these infrequent events may not be ideal.
This is certainly the case for a special transit of Titan’s shadow on 15 May, which happens during daylight.
Saturn is visible during the day through a telescope, but it has very low contrast, making it appear a ghost of its night time self.
The best strategy is to pick it up with an equatorially driven telescope in the pre-sunrise sky and then, if practical, stay with it.
For this event, the shadow alignment places it adjacent to the section of rings nearest Earth.
Stars and constellations
The stars and constellations visible in the earlier part of the night are those of spring, but there’s a transition taking place in the early hours as the stars of summer begin to take over.
The kite-shaped constellation of Boötes, the Herdsman rides high across the May sky, with the beautifully compact semi-circular pattern of Corona Borealis just to the east of it.
East of Corona Borealis is the sprawling form of Hercules, the Strongman, its most distinctive shape being the relatively faint pattern known as the Keystone.
This is the guide to locating a beautiful showpiece of spring, M13 the Great Globular in Hercules.
Located one third of the way down from the northwest corner of the Keystone towards the southwest corner, this globular is estimated to contain upwards of 100,000 stars.
M13 is just visible to the naked eye as a fuzzy star from a dark sky location, but it is really quite stunning through a telescope.
Night sky in May 2025, night-by-night
Thursday 1 May
During the middle of the year, the sky fails to get properly dark. Observing at the start of May still allows most of us to experience truly dark skies and beautiful views of objects such as M13, the Great Globular in Hercules.
Friday 2 May
Minor planet 4 Vesta reaches opposition, shining at mag. +5.7 among the stars of northern Libra. As with all minor planets, through a telescope Vesta simply resembles a star!
Sunday 4 May
Planet Mars appears 1.1° south of the 44%-lit waxing crescent Moon at 01:46 BST (00:46 UT). At this time, Mars will also be 0.8° northwest of the centre of the Beehive Cluster, M44.
Monday 5 May
See the Lunar X and V clair-obscur effects at around 01:15 BST (00:15 UT).
At 19:00 BST (18:00 UT), mag. +1.3 Regulus (Alpha (α) Leonis) is 1.5° south of a 62%-lit Moon, a perfect chance to find the star in daylight.
Tuesday 6 May
This morning sees the peak of the annual Eta Aquariid meteor shower, which has a maximum ZHR of 40 meteors per hour. However, the shower is hard to observe well from the UK due to the radiant’s low altitude at dawn.
Wednesday 7 May
If you can locate the 79%-lit waxing gibbous Moon low above the eastern horizon under daylight conditions, binoculars or a small telescope will show that the Jewelled Handle clair-obscur effect is under way.
Saturday 10 May
If you can catch Venus through a telescope in the morning sky, it’s still showing a beautiful crescent phase. Today, it’s 35%-lit and 31 arcseconds across. By late May, it will be 49%-lit with a diameter of 24 arcseconds.
Monday 12 May
The Moon is full at 17:57 BST (16:57 UT), one day, 16 hours and eight minutes after it reached apogee (its furthest point from Earth). Informally known as a micro-Moon, this full Moon will be slightly fainter and smaller than average.
Wednesday 14 May
Today at 02:40 BST (01:40 UT), the 98%-lit waning gibbous Moon lies 0.9° south-southwest of globular cluster M4 and 1.9° southwest of mag. +1.0 red supergiant Antares (Alpha (α) Scorpii).
Thursday 15 May
An extremely difficult-to-see Titan shadow transit occurs during daylight between 10:31 BST (09:31 UT) and 15:31 BST (14:31 UT) when Saturn sets. The shadow appears to skirt along the northern edge of the planet’s rings.
Saturday 17 May
The Great Globular in Hercules, M13, is often called the best visible from the Northern Hemisphere. However, M5 in Serpens Caput is a worthy challenger and currently well placed around 01:00 BST (00:00 UT) above the southern horizon.
Sunday 18 May
The lunar libration feature known as Mare Orientale is reasonably favourably positioned for viewing in the morning skies from now until 24 May.
Tuesday 20 May
With the summer solstice just one month away, it’s worth remembering that the current solar cycle is thought to be close to its peak. If you have correctly filtered equipment, there should be plenty of active solar regions to see right now.
Friday 23 May
Late May is typically when noctilucent cloud displays start to become visible in the Northern Hemisphere. Last year had some excellent examples. Will 2025 follow suit?
Saturday 24 May
This morning, the brilliant planet Venus appears 4.8° southwest of the 12%-lit waning crescent Moon. See them rising together shortly before 04:00 BST (03:00 UT).
Friday 30 May
Lunar libration currently favours the eastern part of the Moon, bringing into view features such as 360km-wide Mare Marginis and 200km-wide Mare Smythii.
Saturday 31 May
Another extremely tricky-to-see Titan shadow transit occurs during daylight hours, between 19:48 BST (18:48 UT) and 14:35 BST (13:35 UT) when Saturn sets. Again, the shadow appears to skirt along the northern edge of the planet’s rings.
Share your observations and images with us, or send us your astronomy questions to contactus@skyatnightmagazine.com
