You’ve heard us say this before, but we’ll say it again: Don’t forget to look up tonight into the sky in the early morning hours. Before dawn on Thursday, May 14 skywatchers are in for a treat, a rare sighting of the moon, Saturn and Mars as they a form a gorgeous, cosmic triangle in May’s dark sky.
Here’s everything to know about this unique sky-watching event.
What’s happening?
The moon, Saturn and Mars will form a cosmic triangle as the sun rises before dawn in the early hours of Thursday morning. (Skywatchers will want to look east on the horizon as all three will be less than 20 degrees above the horizon before they disappear amid the glare of the sunrise.)
The razor-thin moon will be in its waning crescent phase (day 27 of its 29.5 day cycle) and appear as a mere sliver in the sky, as only 8% will be lit up by the sun, occurring during some of the darkest skies of the month, according to Space.com. At the same time, two other planets, Saturn and Mars will be visible to the right and left of the moon, respectively—with Saturn appearing like a bright star, and Mars, deep red. (Neptune will also be present but not visible with the naked eye.).
What’s the best time to catch this cosmic lineup?
The best time to catch this waning crescent rmoon is about 45 minutes before sunrise on Thursday, May 14. (That will be approximately 4:55 a.m. ET in New York, or 4:36 a.m. ET here in Boston, or 5:01 a.m. in Philadelphia.)
What else is happening in the sky in May?
And that’s not the only treat in store of skywatchers this week. As the waning crescent moon, also dubbed the “old moon,” rises closer and close to sunrise as it finally approaches its new moon phase this Saturday, May 16.
Another bonus: May 2026 has a second full moon, or “Blue Moon” (although it doesn’t appear that color), at the end of the month and will appear fullest on the night of Saturday, May 30 here in North America before it enters into the morning hours of Sunday, May 31. (The last Blue Moon appeared on August 19, 2024.)
