Key Takeaways
- The Eta Aquariid meteor shower peaks on the mornings of May 5–6, but a bright waning gibbous Moon will limit rates to under 10 per hour from the UK
- Venus (mag −3.9) and Jupiter (mag −2.1) are both brilliant in the evening sky — still 36° apart but closing in on their June conjunction
- Asteroid Vesta remains near peak brightness at mag 5.7 in Libra — grab binoculars and hunt for it this week
- Last Quarter Moon on May 9 brings darker skies for the second half of the week
- The Coma Star Cluster (Melotte 111) is perfectly placed for binoculars high in the south after dark
📑 Table of Contents
Eta Aquariids: Halley's Comet Debris Returns
The headline act this week is the Eta Aquariid meteor shower, which peaks on the mornings of Monday 5 and Tuesday 6 May. Every one of these meteors is a speck of dust shed by Halley's Comet — the most famous comet in history, last seen in 1986 and not due back until 2061. Earth crosses Halley's debris trail twice a year: the Orionids in October and the Eta Aquariids right now.
Under ideal conditions, the Eta Aquariids can produce 40–60 meteors per hour at their peak. From the UK, though, the radiant in Aquarius never climbs very high above the southeastern horizon before dawn washes it out, so realistic UK rates are more like 10–20 per hour in a good year.
This year, there's an added challenge: a bright waning gibbous Moon (around 75–85% illuminated on peak nights) will be up for much of the early morning, washing out fainter meteors. Expect to see fewer than 10 per hour from the UK, though the ones you do catch will be memorable — Eta Aquariids enter at 66 km/s (among the fastest of any shower) and often leave long, glowing persistent trains.
When to look: Your best window is between 2:00 and 4:30 a.m. BST on the mornings of May 5, 6, and 7. Face east-southeast with the Moon behind you. The radiant rises around 2:00 a.m. BST, so earlier than that there's little point. If you can only pick one morning, try May 7 when the Moon is slightly less bright and rises later.
What to watch for: Eta Aquariid meteors are fast and bright, often white or yellowish-white with occasional blue-green tints. Because the radiant is low from UK latitudes, you may see dramatic "earthgrazer" meteors that skim across a wide stretch of sky near the horizon.
If you'd like a deeper dive on this shower, we've got a full Eta Aquariid observing guide with photography tips and the complete Halley's Comet backstory.
Venus and Jupiter Rule the Evening
Step outside any clear evening this week and two planets will grab your attention immediately.
Venus (magnitude −3.9) blazes in the west-northwest after sunset, impossible to miss. It's currently tracking through Taurus, sitting roughly between the Pleiades and Aldebaran — though the cluster is getting harder to pick out in the brightening twilight as it sinks lower each night. Venus sets around 11:30 p.m. BST, giving you a generous viewing window. Even a small telescope will show its gibbous phase right now (about 70% illuminated).
Jupiter (magnitude −2.1) sits higher and to Venus's upper left in Gemini, between Castor and Pollux. The two planets are currently about 36° apart — roughly three and a half fist-widths at arm's length — but Venus is chasing Jupiter eastward, closing the gap by about a degree each day. By the end of May they'll be under 9° apart, building toward a spectacular conjunction on 9 June when they'll be just 1.6° apart.
Jupiter sets after midnight, so there's time to get a telescope on it. Look for the four Galilean moons and, if the seeing is steady, the two dark equatorial cloud belts. On Thursday 8 May, telescope owners are in for a treat: the shadows of both Europa and Ganymede will be visible crossing Jupiter's cloud tops simultaneously in the late evening. This double shadow transit is a rare and beautiful sight — you'll need at least a 4-inch telescope and steady conditions.
For more on tracking these two planets through the year, see our guides to observing Venus and observing Jupiter.
Vesta at Its Best
Asteroid 4 Vesta reached opposition on 2 May, and this week it's still at peak brightness — magnitude 5.7 in Libra. That puts it right on the edge of naked-eye visibility from a truly dark site, but it's a comfortable binoculars target from anywhere in the UK.
Vesta is the second most massive object in the asteroid belt, a differentiated proto-planet 525 km across with an iron core, mantle, and crust — visited by NASA's Dawn spacecraft in 2011–2012. Finding it is a matter of knowing exactly where to look: it sits roughly 10° upper-right of Zubeneschamali (Beta Librae). Use a star chart app like Stellarium to pinpoint its position, then sweep with binoculars. It looks just like a star — the giveaway is that it moves slightly against the background stars from night to night.
We published a full Vesta opposition guide last week with detailed finder instructions and photography tips.
The Moon This Week
The Full Flower Moon was on 1 May, and this week the Moon is waning through its gibbous phase toward Last Quarter on Friday 9 May at 22:12 BST.
Early in the week (Sunday–Tuesday), the bright waning gibbous Moon dominates the sky from late evening through the predawn hours, rising around 10:30–11:30 p.m. BST. This is the main obstacle for the Eta Aquariids and for any deep-sky observing.
By Wednesday and Thursday, the Moon doesn't rise until after midnight, opening up a useful dark-sky window from about 10 p.m. to midnight — perfect for binoculars targets like the Coma Star Cluster and for hunting Vesta.
From Friday onward, with the Last Quarter Moon not rising until the early hours, the entire first half of the night becomes properly dark. If you've been waiting for darker skies to get the telescope out, the weekend of 9–10 May is your opportunity.
Deep Sky: The Coma Star Cluster
With the Moon out of the way later in the week, this is a great time to explore the Coma Star Cluster (Melotte 111) in Coma Berenices. It's one of the nearest open clusters to Earth at just 280 light-years, and it spans about 4° — roughly eight times the apparent diameter of the Full Moon. That makes it too big for most telescopes but absolutely perfect for binoculars or the naked eye.
Find it by looking roughly between Arcturus (the bright orange star high in the east) and Leo. Under reasonably dark skies, the cluster appears as a delicate spray of about 40 stars — ancient tradition says it represents the hair of Queen Berenice II of Egypt, cut off and placed among the stars. Through 7×50 or 10×50 binoculars, dozens of stars resolve into a beautiful, loose grouping.
While you're in the area, Coma Berenices is also the gateway to the Virgo Galaxy Cluster. With a 6-inch or larger telescope, you can start galaxy-hopping southward from the cluster toward dozens of faint fuzzy patches — but that's a project for a truly dark, moonless night.
Will Tonight Be Worth It?
🔭 Check Before You Head Out
With the Moon dominating early in the week and clearer opportunities later on, it's worth checking conditions before dragging the telescope outside. Our free Tonight tool gives your local sky a score from 1–10 based on your UK postcode — factoring in cloud cover, Moon phase, light pollution, and transparency. You can also sign up for email alerts and we'll nudge you on afternoons when tonight's conditions are genuinely worth going out for.
Quick Tips for This Week
Best nights this week: Wednesday 7 to Saturday 10 May offer the darkest skies, with the Moon rising progressively later. Friday and Saturday nights are the pick of the bunch.
Sunset and twilight: Sunset is around 8:40 p.m. BST from central England this week, with astronomical twilight not ending until after 11:00 p.m. The short May nights mean true darkness lasts only about four hours — make the most of it.
Saturn in the predawn: If you're already up for the Eta Aquariids, look low in the east around 4:00 a.m. BST for Saturn (magnitude +1.1) in Pisces. It's still quite low and brief, but it's returning to the morning sky after months hidden behind the Sun. Mars is even lower and harder to spot.
Binoculars targets: Venus, Jupiter, the Coma Star Cluster, and Vesta are all excellent binoculars targets this week. A simple pair of 10×50s is all you need.
Looking ahead: Venus and Jupiter are drawing closer every night, building toward one of the best planetary conjunctions of the decade on 9 June. Start watching their separation shrink — it's a slow-motion celestial dance that's worth following over the coming weeks.
