2024, May 22: Flower Moon

May 22, 2023: The Flower Moon is this month’s bright moon, visible all night.  Mars and Saturn shine before sunrise.

May Day Exhibition
Photo Caption – Spring Flowers

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by Jeffrey L. Hunt

Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:24 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 8:11 p.m. CDT.  Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program.

Summaries of Current Sky Events
Summary for Venus as a Morning Star, 2023-24

Here is today’s planet forecast:

Morning Sky

Morning Moon

2024, May 22: Two hours before sunrise, the moon is in the southwest with the Scorpion.
Chart Caption – 2024, May 22: Two hours before sunrise, the moon is in the southwest with the Scorpion.

At two hours before sunrise, the bright moon, 98% illuminated, is nearly 10° above the southwest horizon.  In over 24 hours, the moon reaches its Full phase, this month known as the Flower Moon.

The lunar orb is approaching Antares, the Scorpion’s heart.  Tomorrow evening, it occults or eclipses the star for sky watchers in the Caribbean basin, Central America, Africa, and the American Southeast.  The event ends as the moon rises from the American Midwest.  It is not visible from western time zones, although the lunar disk is very close to the star.

This morning, the moon is 4.3° to the lower right of Zubenelgenubi, the Scorpion’s southern claw, nearly 16° to the lower right of Dschubba, the forehead, and 23.0° to Antares’ lower right.

Morning Planets

2024, May 22: Mars, Saturn, and Fomalhaut are in the eastern sky before sunrise.
Chart Caption – 2024, May 22: Mars, Saturn, and Fomalhaut are in the eastern sky before sunrise.

An hour later, Mars and Saturn are in the eastern sky.  Saturn, easier to see than Mars, is over 20° above the east-southeast horizon.  It appears as a yellow-orange star, dimmer than might be expected, but brighter than most stars this morning.

Reddish Mars is almost 10° above the eastern horizon and nearly 30° to Saturn’s lower left.  The Red Planet continues to widen a gap to Saturn, after their conjunction last month.

In a week, Mars rises before the beginning of morning twilight, becoming higher in the sky and easier to see from week to week.

The star Fomalhaut, the mouth of the Southern Fish, is low in the southeast, nearly 25° to Saturn’s lower right.

Three other planets are west of the sun, meaning that they rise before sunrise, although they are hiding in bright twilight.  At 30 minutes before daybreak, Mercury is less than 5° above the eastern horizon.  It is bright as it retreats toward its solar conjunction on June 14th.

Venus passes solar conjunction 10 days before Mercury.  This morning it rises only a few minutes before the sun, along with Jupiter.  Tomorrow, Venus passes Jupiter in a close conjunction, but the pair is too close to the sun for safe observing.

Evening Sky

Flower Moon Night

2024, May 22: The Flower Moon is in the southeast with Scorpius after sundown.
Chart Caption – 2024, May 22: The Flower Moon is in the southeast with Scorpius after sundown.

An hour after sundown, the bright Flower Moon, is about 10° above the southeast horizon.  It is in the Scorpion’s clutches. The claws are to the upper right, while Dschubba is to the lower left.

The moon’s trek tonight occurs closer to the official Full moon phase than tomorrow night’s path.  Whether tonight or tomorrow night is considered the night of the Flower Moon, both nights provide opportunities for evening walks without flashlights.

After sunset at this season, the Scorpion reaches across the southeastern horizon. The arachnid is not fully visible until nearly five hours after sundown.  Tomorrow morning at one hour before sunrise, the moon is in the southwest.  The Full phase occurs at 8:53 a.m. Central Time, after its sets for most of the Americas.

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