May 2026 smart telescope observing guide
28 Apr. 2026
In the Northern Hemisphere, May marks the transition from galaxy season to Milky Way core season, with Scorpius and Sagittarius returning to the morning sky.
In the Southern Hemisphere, these constellations are already climbing high by midnight. While the southern sky is not as galaxy-rich as the northern sky, it still offers several remarkable targets worth observing.
May 2026 astronomical calendar
It is recommended to observe nebulae and galaxies when the Moon is not visible. Its brightness diminishes the darkness of the sky and reduces the quality of observations of faint and diffuse objects.
Refer to the following calendar for the best days this month.
- May 1 – Full Moon
- May 6 – Eta Aquarid meteor shower peak (up to 50 meteors per hour). Best observed before dawn.
- May 9 – Last Quarter Moon
- May 10 – The Milky Way core season begins
- May 11 – Cygnus and its nebulae return to the second half of the night sky in the Northern Hemisphere, alongside the Summer Triangle (Deneb, Vega, and Altair)
- May 16 – New Moon
- May 23 – First Quarter Moon
- May 25 – The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) returns to the morning sky in the Northern Hemisphere
- May 31 – Full Moon… again!
Celestial Scene of the Month
Northern sky
Bode's and Cigar galaxies
High in the northern sky, in Ursa Major, M81 and M82 are arguably the most popular galaxy duo. Separated by only 0.63°, they can fit in the same field of view even without using mosaic mode. That said, a mosaic can deliver a more balanced, aesthetic framing, and can also bring the nearby lenticular galaxy NGC 3077 into the scene.
These two galaxies have interacted gravitationally, and their contrasting appearances tell the story. M81 (Bode’s Galaxy) remains the relatively orderly spiral, while M82 (the Cigar Galaxy) is the neighbor that got shaken up—ignited into a starburst and visibly reshaped by the encounter.
Southern sky
Antares Nebula and Messier 4 globular cluster
This field in Scorpius combines interstellar nebulae in the Galactic disk with two globular clusters that belong to the Galactic halo. The objects are not physically related, they are simply aligned along the same line of sight, but together they create a striking composition, with unusually rich color contrasts for a nebular region.
What we casually call the “Antares Nebula” is actually a complex of emission and reflection nebulae illuminated by the brilliant red supergiant Antares and nearby hot stars. Within the warm reddish glow, IC 4604 appears as a small, vivid blue reflection nebula, creating a strong and visually distinctive contrast. Dense molecular clouds, silhouetted against the background starfield, further enrich the scene by adding dark structure and depth.
Just beside Antares lies Messier 4, one of the closest globular clusters to Earth.
"Plan my Night" of the month
Suggested observation program you can automate with "Plan My Night."
Give each object as much observation time as you can to get the best results.
Northern sky
Do not use the dual band filter for this plan.
Southern sky
Do not use the Dual band filter.
During the few nights surrounding the full moon, it's best to focus on star clusters, which are less affected by the Moon’s light pollution.
Northern sky
Messier 5
Globular cluster
Mag: 5.7 - Angular size: 23'
Constellation: Serpens
Southern sky
Ptolemy's cluster, Messier 7
Open cluster with a starfield background
Mag: 3.3 - Angular size: 80'
Constellation: Scorpius
Challenging Target of the Month
Northern sky
Integrated Flux Nebula around Polaris
IFNs (Integrated Flux Nebulae) are high–galactic-latitude dust clouds that shine by scattering the combined light of the Milky Way’s stars, rather than being illuminated by a single nearby star, as is the case for most classic reflection nebulae. Because this illumination is diffuse and indirect, IFNs have extremely low surface brightness, with no bright core or high-contrast regions. This makes them particularly challenging to detect and photograph.
IFNs can be found in several areas of the night sky, especially at high galactic latitudes, with one of the most well-known examples located around Polaris (the Polaris Flare).
Capturing IFNs requires excellent sky conditions. Bortle 4 or darker, along with long total integration times. Realistically, you should expect 15 hours or more to reveal well-defined structures.
Visually, IFNs appear as faint, grey, filamentary clouds, resembling atmospheric cirrus. Good processing skills are essential to reveal them.
Southern sky
The Snake Nebula, Barnard 72
The Snake Nebula is a striking dark nebula located in the constellation Ophiuchus, close to the dense Milky Way starfields near the Galactic center. Unlike emission or reflection nebulae, it does not emit or reflect light—its presence is revealed by what it obscures.
The Snake appears as a long, sinuous ribbon of dense interstellar dust that absorbs the light of the rich background starfield, carving a sharply defined silhouette against the luminous Milky Way. Its contrast is effective precisely because this region of the sky is so crowded with stars. Without that dense stellar backdrop, the nebula would be far less apparent.
To capture it properly, use no filter.
Magnitude and angular size reminder
