Namibia's night sky in May: shooting stars in the early morning

In May, the starry sky over Namibia rewards early risers in particular. If you have many wishes and believe in the magical power of shooting stars, you should set your alarm clock to 2.30 am. At this time, the centre of a meteor shower rises above the horizon in the east. The cluster of shooting stars has been visible since mid-April and lasts until the end of May. The peak is on 5 May.

Three planets are also visible in the morning night sky: Mercury (rising from 5.15 a.m.), Mars (from 4.01 a.m.) and Saturn (from 2.20 a.m.). On 3 May, they form a line with the moon. The Moon to the left, then Saturn and Mars and finally Mercury.

The other two planets visible to the naked eye, Venus and Jupiter, will not be visible. Venus is very close to the sun as seen from Earth, while Jupiter is "hiding" behind the sun.

The evening sky has no special events to offer. Nevertheless, it is worth stepping outside the door again before going to bed. In addition to the Milky Way, which lives up to its name in Namibia, the Southern Cross and many other constellations can be seen very clearly in the clear sky.

More about the starry sky in May in the Astro-News by Lutz von Dewitz in the news section on the website of the Namibia Scientific Society (PDF nss astro news).

Sven-Eric Stender