Tau Herculids meteor shower, other starry things to see in the sky this week

May 30 has become a special reminder in the to-do-list of most astronomy enthusiasts as the sky is set to be lit with an unforgettable meteor outburst predicted by NASA. The Tau Herculid meteor shower may lead you to see over a thousand meteors per hour bursting into a moonless sky.

Let’s get to know what in the sky for all the night gazers this week

May 30: Tau Herculid Meteor Shower

One of the most spectacular meteor shower ever seen is yet to hit the night sky today and will continue to be there until tomorrow. According to astronomers, the Tau Herculid meteor shower might cause an outburst of around 1,400 to 100,000 meteors. This will happen as Earth goes through debris left by the Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3, which broke apart in 1995.

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Notably, these are mere speculations as some scientists are predicting faint meteors too.

May 31: Reappearing crescent Moon

Right after you spot the Tau Herculid meteor shower, May 31 will bring the reappearance of a super-slim crescent Moon. A closer look at the western sky might help you spot the delicate two per cent glimmer in the crescent Moon.

June 1: More lit crescent Moon

On June 1, you may be able to spot the crescent Moon more easily as it will light up six per cent. If you bring out your binoculars, you might be able to see ‘Earthshine’, which is the light reflect by the Earth on the Moon.

June 2: Binocular free ‘Earthshine’ and a crescent moon

The moon might want to know you a little better this day as a 10 percent-lit crescent moon will be visible. You can also see the ‘Earthshine’ without any visual aid on June 2.

June 3: Beehive Cluster

Besides seeing a 17 per cent-lit crescent Moon, you can spot the Beehive Cluster in the constellation of Cancer with the help of binoculars.

June 4: Bye-bye binoculars, see five naked-eye planets

If you manage getting up before sunrise on June 4, look up to the southeastern horizon and you’ll see all five planets with naked eye. Interestingly, the planets will be in the order of their distance from the sun.

June 5: Bright star Regulus

On June 5, you’ll be able to see a 35 per cent-lit crescent Moon quite close to the Regulus in the constellation of Leo.