1
00:00:00,116 --> 00:00:01,901
[Raquel Villanueva]
Shooting stars before dawn,

2
00:00:01,901 --> 00:00:04,604
a brilliant meetup
between the Moon and Venus,

3
00:00:04,604 --> 00:00:07,207
and a rare "Blue Moon"
to end the month.

4
00:00:07,390 --> 00:00:09,325
That's What's Up this May.

5
00:00:09,809 --> 00:00:12,746
 First up: the Eta Aquarid
meteor shower,

6
00:00:12,746 --> 00:00:14,531
which peaks in early May.

7
00:00:14,531 --> 00:00:17,467
These shooting stars
come from Halley's Comet.

8
00:00:17,517 --> 00:00:21,071
Every year, Earth passes
through the comet's dusty trail,

9
00:00:21,071 --> 00:00:24,307
and those tiny particles
burn up in our atmosphere.

10
00:00:24,357 --> 00:00:26,476
That's what creates
those bright streaks

11
00:00:26,476 --> 00:00:27,644
across the sky.

12
00:00:27,961 --> 00:00:29,779
Halley's Comet last
passed through

13
00:00:29,779 --> 00:00:32,482
the inner solar system in 1986,

14
00:00:32,582 --> 00:00:35,585
and won't return until 2061.

15
00:00:36,036 --> 00:00:39,589
The Eta Aquarids appear to come
from the constellation Aquarius.

16
00:00:39,589 --> 00:00:41,424
That's where the
shower gets its name.

17
00:00:41,825 --> 00:00:43,743
These meteors are fast,

18
00:00:43,993 --> 00:00:47,697
racing into Earth's atmosphere
at about 40 miles per second.

19
00:00:48,148 --> 00:00:50,016
And because they're
moving so quickly,

20
00:00:50,150 --> 00:00:52,202
they can leave
behind glowing trails 

21
00:00:52,202 --> 00:00:54,537
that linger for a moment
after the flash.

22
00:00:54,938 --> 00:00:57,307
At peak, the shower
can produce up to

23
00:00:57,307 --> 00:01:00,076
about 50 meteors
an hour under ideal skies.

24
00:01:00,376 --> 00:01:01,778
The best time to watch?

25
00:01:01,895 --> 00:01:03,580
In the hours
before dawn,

26
00:01:03,580 --> 00:01:06,316
looking generally
toward the eastern sky.

27
00:01:06,549 --> 00:01:09,319
For the best chance
of seeing meteor showers,

28
00:01:09,319 --> 00:01:10,670
go somewhere dark,

29
00:01:10,670 --> 00:01:13,840
let your eyes adjust
for about 20 to 30 minutes,

30
00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:17,227
and avoid bright lights,
including your phone screen.

31
00:01:17,710 --> 00:01:21,081
The peak is expected around
May 5th to 6th, but bright

32
00:01:21,081 --> 00:01:24,434
moonlight this year may wash out
some of the fainter meteors.

33
00:01:25,518 --> 00:01:28,638
On May 18th, look west
just after sunset.

34
00:01:29,155 --> 00:01:33,042
The Moon gets a bright little
sidekick as Venus shines nearby.

35
00:01:33,309 --> 00:01:35,245
The crescent Moon
helps point the way,

36
00:01:35,245 --> 00:01:37,080
making this an easy one to spot.

37
00:01:37,413 --> 00:01:40,867
Venus is one of the brightest
objects we can see from Earth,

38
00:01:40,967 --> 00:01:43,153
often called the Evening Star.

39
00:01:43,470 --> 00:01:45,789
The Moon and Venus
look close together

40
00:01:45,789 --> 00:01:48,358
because they line up
from our point of view on Earth.

41
00:01:48,641 --> 00:01:49,843
But in reality,

42
00:01:49,843 --> 00:01:52,962
they're separated
by millions of miles in space.

43
00:01:54,197 --> 00:01:56,232
Last month, Artemis II launched

44
00:01:56,232 --> 00:01:59,202
right around the time
of the April 1st Full Moon,

45
00:01:59,202 --> 00:02:00,954
sending astronauts
around the Moon

46
00:02:00,954 --> 00:02:03,356
for the first time
in more than 50 years

47
00:02:03,356 --> 00:02:06,075
and giving us some
spectacular new views

48
00:02:06,075 --> 00:02:07,710
of our closest neighbor.

49
00:02:07,877 --> 00:02:10,847
And now, May ends
with another lunar moment:

50
00:02:10,847 --> 00:02:13,716
a Full Moon on May 31st.

51
00:02:13,867 --> 00:02:15,652
This one is a Blue Moon.

52
00:02:15,652 --> 00:02:18,037
But it actually won't look blue.

53
00:02:18,238 --> 00:02:19,272
Blue Moon is the name

54
00:02:19,272 --> 00:02:22,909
given to the second Full Moon
in a single calendar month.

55
00:02:23,193 --> 00:02:24,911
It's a relatively rare event,

56
00:02:24,911 --> 00:02:27,580
hence the phrase
"once in a blue moon."

57
00:02:27,797 --> 00:02:30,400
So whether you're
up before sunrise

58
00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:32,085
or out after sunset,

59
00:02:32,085 --> 00:02:34,637
May is a great time to look up.

60
00:02:35,722 --> 00:02:37,674
Here are the phases
of the Moon for May.

61
00:02:38,958 --> 00:02:41,361
You can stay up to date
on all of NASA's missions

62
00:02:41,361 --> 00:02:45,915
exploring the solar system
and beyond at science.nasa.gov.

63
00:02:46,482 --> 00:02:49,936
I'm Raquel Villanueva from
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

64
00:02:49,936 --> 00:02:52,572
and that's What's Up
for this month.