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May 2026 is an exciting time for astronomy, both in the sky above us and in space beyond Earth. In this episode, we take a look at the planets visible this month and recap the successful Artemis II mission, which has just returned astronauts from a journey around the Moon for the first time in over 50 years.

We’ll walk through what you can expect to see in the evening and morning skies, including a beautiful mid-month alignment of the Moon, Venus, and Jupiter, along with a helpful guide to spotting Mars and Saturn in the predawn sky.

On the space news side, we break down the Artemis II mission from launch to splashdown, highlight what was learned during the flight, and look ahead to what comes next in NASA’s Artemis program.

Beginning this month, “What’s Up in the Month’s Sky” is now a two-part series. In Part 1, we focus on planets and space news. In Part 2, we shift back to observing with the Lunar Feature of the Month and a deep sky tour.

We’re also updating the monthly Sky Guide. It will now include detailed planetary data along with information on all of the deep sky objects covered each month, and will be available both as a web page and as a downloadable PDF. More details on that coming in the next episode.

Whether you're observing with binoculars or a telescope, or simply stepping outside to take a look, May offers plenty to enjoy.

Don’t forget to like and subscribe, your support helps bring astronomy to more people every month.

Contact: AstroGuyPodcast@gmail.com
Text/Voicemail: (973) 404-0380

If you enjoy the episode, please subscribe, comment, and share, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform. Carpe Noctem!

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Our Facebook group page: / astroguypod

Cranford TV-35: https://www.cranfordnj.org/tv-35

Our “Astronomy Basics” episode: • Astronomy Basics
The “Great Astronomers” Playlist: • The Great Astronomers
The Full Episode Guide of DSO’s sorted by Catalog Name: http://tinyurl.com/AGFullGuide

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by Scott Bucklye
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April 2026 is shaping up to be a fantastic month for astronomy. In this episode, we explore two comets that may be visible this month, the return of the Lyrid meteor shower, the start of galaxy season, and a possible Artemis II launch that could send astronauts back around the Moon for the first time in over 50 years.

We’ll also take a full planetary tour of the April sky, visit our Lunar Feature of the Month: Archimedes, and go deep into some of the best spring galaxies including M81 & M82, M51, M64, and the Leo Triplet.

Whether you're observing with binoculars or a telescope, April offers something for everyone, from challenging twilight planets to breathtaking deep sky targets.

Don’t forget to like and subscribe, your support helps bring astronomy to more people every month.

Contact: AstroGuyPodcast@gmail.com
Text/Voicemail: (973) 404-0380

If you enjoy the episode, please subscribe, comment, and share, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform. Carpe Noctem!

Feel free to buy us a cup of coffee or two! We really appreciate it!

https://tinyurl.com/AstroGuyCoffee

Our Facebook group page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/astroguypod

Audio Credits:

Hymn to the Dawn

Adrift Among Infinite Stars

Last and First Light

www.scottbuckley.com.au

Music promoted by

https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/

Creative Commons CC BY 4.0

Creative Commons CC BY 3.0

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You don’t need a giant observatory telescope to explore the universe. In this episode, we take a journey outward through space to discover 10 amazing things you can see with a small telescope or even 50mm binoculars. Starting at the rugged surface of the Moon and traveling farther from Earth with each stop, we’ll visit giant planets, colorful double stars, glowing nebulae, dense star clusters, and finally another galaxy more than 2 million light-years away. Along the way, we’ll learn what these objects actually look like through the eyepiece.

This episode is designed especially for beginners, but even experienced observers will find these targets rewarding. Every object on this list can be seen with 50mm binoculars, and many become even more impressive through a small backyard telescope. Whenever possible, I’ll describe what to expect through different instruments so you’ll know exactly what to look for.

For the deep-sky objects beyond our solar system, I’ll also include links to past episodes where we explore them in more detail and explain how to find them. And don’t forget to check out the free Full Episode Guide in the description, which includes all of the objects featured here and many more.

Don’t forget to like and subscribe, your support helps bring astronomy to more people every month.

Contact: AstroGuyPodcast@gmail.com Text/Voicemail: (973) 404-0380

If you enjoy the episode, please subscribe, comment, and share, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform. Carpe Noctem!

Links: Feel free to buy us a cup of coffee or two! We really appreciate it!

https://tinyurl.com/AstroGuyCoffee

Our Facebook group page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/astroguypod

Episodes featuring the objects discussed:

All about the Moon: https://youtu.be/TS0DHGnfmQs?si=Z8acXJQa5TirLQEe Albireo: https://youtu.be/ohY72oLh1IY

Orion Nebula: https://youtu.be/rBtraHAHtCw

M13, Dumbbell and Lagoon Nebulae: https://youtu.be/exxfO4v2wSM?si=CNVQ9g4ewdJbqJdH

Double Cluster: https://youtu.be/5IRTj-5_SUM?si=YlYNl4Q3Lw159VRx

Andromeda Galaxy: https://youtu.be/OJCYf7BKH0Y?si=D9vNV-YsNyBkuulN

Affiliate Links:

High Point Scientific: https://www.highpointscientific.com/?rfsn=7714880.bb6129

Amazon: https://amzn.to/4gFQmOG

Audio Credits:

Hymn to the Dawn

Adrift Amongst Infinite Stars

Keys of Moon

The Long Dark

All songs by Scott Buckley

www.scottbuckley.com.au

Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/

Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 Creative Commons CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...

Support the show