Four planets, a new star and a meteor shower. What else will you see in the May sky?
When you look at the night sky in May, you won't just find stars and a moon, you'll find four planets, a chance of meteor showers and the possibility of a super nova.
Here's more of what to expect in the sky this month.
All throughout the month of May, both Mars and Jupiter will be in the western sky just after sunset.
Mars will be visible for several hours after nightfall, but Jupiter will set by around 9:30 or 10 p.m. and will get progressively lower in the sky each day.
In the morning before sunrise, Venus and Saturn will be visible in the east.
Venus and Mars will progressively pull away from one another throughout the month.
For several days in late May, the moon will pass between the two planets. The moon will be closest to Venus and Saturn on May 23.
More: Did you miss the eclipse? Photos show the moon taking a 'bite' out of sun.
Throughout the month of May and for the next few months, astronomers are looking skyward for a new star explosion that will be visible to the naked eye.
Astronomers are searching for a light from a distant explosion, called a nova, to reach Earth.
A nova occurs because over 3,000 light years away, a star system known as the T Coronae Borealis, or T CrB, consists of a red giant star with a smaller white dwarf star orbiting closely around it.
The outer atmosphere around the giant is puffed up and the dwarf star is close enough that gravity will capture some of the giant's hydrogen.
Every 80 years the white dwarf has accumulated so much of the said hydrogen that it ignites a thermonuclear explosion. This is what's known as a nova.
'Once-in-a-lifetime event': Nova explosion to look like new star, NASA says
The annual Eta Aquarid meteor shower, which includes meteors that originate from Halley's Comet, took place on May 6. The comet makes a regular return to our solar system, completing an orbit once every 76 years.
Each May the Earth passes through the comet's dust stream which creates the meteor's initial streak.
If you did not catch the meteor shower, you will get another chance in October.
Contact Nicholas Sorensen at Nsorensen@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: What to find in the sky during the month of May according to NASA
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