An astronomer reported a rare phenomenon in May.

In May, astronomy enthusiasts will be able to see the rare phenomenon of the "blue Moon", the Eta Aquariids meteor shower, as well as Venus, gradually moving away from the Sun. This was announced on April 29 by Alexander Alekseev, a researcher at the Physics and Astronomy Department of the Tsiolkovsky State Museum of Fine Arts.

"May will begin with the first full moon. Given that there are 31 days in May and the interval between full moons is 29 and a half days, the next full moon falls on May 31. This phenomenon is called "blue Moon" — from the English expression Once in a Blue Moon (an idiom meaning "an extremely rare event"). At the same time, the Moon will be of its usual color on May 1 and 31," the scientist told RIA Novosti.

The astronomer noted that throughout May, the favorable evening visibility of Venus remains, which is gradually moving away from the Sun, becoming more convenient for observations. According to him, when using binoculars, it is already possible to distinguish the phase of the planet — the partial illumination of its disk. He also added that Jupiter is clearly visible from the bright planets, which remains in the constellation Gemini and maintains good evening visibility.

In addition, the specialist said that the favorable period for observing the spring constellations continues: Cancer, Leo, Hounds, Veronica's Hair, Virgo and Volopas are discernible in the southern part of the sky. According to him, astronomy enthusiasts can access such objects as the Manger cluster in Cancer and the globular cluster M3 in Hound Dogs, and in the constellations Virgo and Veronica's Hair, when viewed through a telescope, one can see the eponymous superclusters of galaxies.

The module was started: Russian scientists will supply energy to the Moon and interplanetary ships

What domestic technologies will help to master the Earth satellite

Universe Today reported on April 19 that astronomers at the Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile, using a new LSST digital camera and specialized software, discovered 11,097 new asteroids during the preliminary stage of the telescope's operation. According to the publication, the researchers note that such results demonstrate the high potential of the observatory and can significantly speed up the process of identifying new objects compared to previous methods.