Tuesday, May 3
Leo the Lion still reigns high in the southwestern sky after dark, slowly making his way toward the horizon as the hours pass. He won’t set until early tomorrow morning, making this constellation a great place to spend your evening hours.
Leo contains five Messier objects, all galaxies: M65, M66, M95, M96, and M105. The brightest is magnitude 8.9 M66, which sits about 2.8° southeast of 3rd-magnitude Chertan in the Lion’s hindquarters. M66 is also part of the famous Leo Triplet of galaxies, together with NGC 3628 (magnitude 9.5) and M65 (magnitude 9.3). While you can see M65 and M66 in nearly any binoculars, if you watch to catch all three members of this group, you’ll want 70mm (or larger) lenses or a small telescope to bring out edge-on NGC 3628 as well. A wide field of view (roughly 1°) will show all three at once.
These three spiral galaxies are not only apparently grouped together on the sky, but physically close together as well, each interacting with the others. The entire group lies about 35 million light-years away.
Sunrise: 5:58 A.M.
Sunset: 7:57 P.M.
Moonrise: 7:32 A.M.
Moonset: 11:04 P.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing crescent (8%)
Wednesday, May 4
The Moon passes 0.008°, or a mere 29", south of dwarf planet 1 Ceres at 10 A.M. EDT, resulting in an occultation from some locations on Earth. By this evening, they’ve separated considerably and stand nearly 5° an hour after sunset. The Moon is now located in far western Gemini, while Ceres stands over the border in eastern Taurus. The 9th-magnitude main-belt world is just northeast of a line drawn between the Bull’s two horns, Alheka and Elnath, and is due west of the Moon.
The pair is sinking in the west, along with another target you’ll want to be quick about — but one that’s worth pursuing this May the Fourth. NGC 2359 is an emission nebula commonly known as Thor’s Helmet, but it’s recently been given another nickname as well: the Baby Yoda Nebula, after The Mandalorian’s popular character Grogu. That’s because the glowing gas not only looks a bit like the Norse god’s winged helmet, but also Grogu’s round head with its long, pointed ears.
Located in northeastern Canis Major, NGC 2359 is just under 9° northeast of Sirius. This region is setting in the southwest, with the nebula about 18° high an hour after sunset. If you have a go-to scope, you can punch in the nebula’s NGC number, or try finding it by pointing at the 11th-magnutude star HIP 35378, which is the massive young sun responsible for the glowing gas.
In a 6-inch or smaller scope, Grogu will appear only as a fuzzy patch in the sky around the star’s location. Slightly larger scopes may begin to show the arcs of his ears. If you want to make out more detail, you’ll need to go even bigger: 10 inches or more of aperture. Astrophotographers can try capturing the Child even with smaller scopes; try using a narrowband filter and a longer focal length (400mm or greater), plus plenty of exposure time.
Sunrise: 5:56 A.M.
Sunset: 7:58 P.M.
Moonrise: 8:12 A.M.
Moonset: —
Moon Phase: Waxing crescent (13%)