International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day
An explosion at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in 1986 spread a radioactive cloud over large parts of the Soviet Union; millions of people in the three countries were exposed to the radiation.
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Full Moon
The Full Moon rises at sunset, is visible high in the sky around midnight, and is visible all night.
Moon at Perigee
Supermoon: Full Moon at the Moon's perigee - the Moon's closest point to Earth in its monthly orbit.
World Day for Safety and Health at Work
The World Day for Safety and Health at Work will focus on addressing the outbreak of infectious diseases at work, in particular, on the COVID-19 pandemic.
Conjunction of Uranus & the Sun
Uranus will pass close to the Sun in the sky as its orbit carries it around the far side of the solar system from the Earth.
May Day
May Day is a public holiday usually celebrated on 1 May or the first Monday of May. It is an ancient festival of spring and a current traditional spring holiday in many European cultures. Dances, singing, and cake are usually part of the festivities. In 1889, May Day was chosen as the date for International Workers' Day by the Socialists and Communists of the Second International to commemorate the Haymarket affair in Chicago. International Workers' […]
Last Quarter Moon
The Moon is at Last Quarter (or Third Quarter) - rising around midnight, and visible to the south after sunrise.
Eta-Aquariid Meteor Shower
The Eta Aquariids are a strong shower when viewed from the southern tropics. From the equator northward, they usually only produce medium rates of 10-30 per hour just before dawn. Activity is good for a week centered the night of maximum activity. These are swift meteors that produce a high percentage of persistent trains, but […]
Conjunction Moon and Jupiter
The Moon appears near the planet Jupiter in the southeastern predawn sky on this date.
Cinco de Mayo
Mother's Day in the United States is an annual holiday celebrated on the second Sunday in May. Mother's Day recognizes mothers, motherhood and maternal bonds in general, as well as the positive contributions that they make to society. It was established by Anna Jarvis, with the first official Mother's Day celebrated through a service of worship at St. Andrew's Methodist […]
Arthur Leonard Schawlow, Nobel Prize, co-inventor of Laser, born 1921
Arthur Leonard Schawlow (May 5, 1921 – April 28, 1999) was an American physicist and co-inventor of the laser with Charles Townes. His central insight, which Townes overlooked, was the use of two mirrors as the resonant cavity to take maser action from microwaves to visible wavelengths. He shared the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physics with Nicolaas Bloembergen and Kai Siegbahn for his work using lasers to determine atomic energy levels […]