Name: Astronomy Night at Chamberlin Observatory
Start: 2026-06-06T14:30:00-06:00
End: 2026-06-06T17:00:00-06:00
Location: Chamberlin Observatory

Here’s a brief look at what’s going on in the Mile High City this week.

May 11:

🌘 The waning crescent Flower Moon reaches Ascending Node, as it crosses the ecliptic plane moving from south to north of Earth’s orbital plane around the Sun.: 4:36 AM UTC

May 12:

SPHEREx: NASA’s New Explorer of the Universe with Fynn Janssen from Caltech

🖥️ Amateur Astronomers Association: SPHEREx: NASA’s New Explorer of the Universe with Fynn Janssen from Caltech: Free, virtual event via Zoom (registration required): 5:00 PM
🔭 Messier 5, the globular cluster in the constellation Serpens, reaches it’s highest point in the night sky at 1:00 AM.

May 13:

🔭 Dark Skies & Deep Space: Galaxies of the Spring Sky with Boulder Open Space & Mountain Parks: Free, in-person event at 📍Beech Shelter (registration required): 8:00 PM

May 14:

🖥️ Standley Lake Stargazing: Weekly Livestream: Free Online program via Zoom: 6:00PM
👀 Find the waning crescent Flower Moon next to Mars before sunrise in the western sky in the constellation Pisces: 5:00 AM
🪐 Mercury reaches Superior Conjunction, as it moves behind the sun into the evening sky: 6:00 AM

May 15 (Dark Sky Weekend):

🛰️ Psyche will fly by Mars for a gravity assist, slingshotting the spacecraft the rest of the way on its journey to the asteroid belt: ~8:27 PM
🔭 Berthoud Observatory Public Star Night: Free, in-person event at 📍Little Thompson Observatory: 7:00 PM
🔭 Northern Colorado Astronomical Society Star Party: Free, In-person event at 📍Bobcat Ridge Natural Area (registration required): 8:00 PM
🪐 Venus reaches Perihelion, the point closest to the sun in its orbit at approximately 0.72 AU: 4:00 AM

May 16 (Dark Sky Weekend):

🔭 Starry Sky Soiree with Northern Colorado Astronomical Society: Free, in-person event at 📍Red Mountain Open Space (registration required): 9:00 PM
🌑 New Strawberry Moon: 2:01 PM

May 17 (Dark Sky Weekend):

🌒 The waxing crescent Strawberry Moon reaches Perigee, it’s closets distance to the earth at 358,074 km: 7:48 AM

This Week’s Solar System Summary:

The Sun shifts from rising about 5:55 AM to 5:50 AM, while sunset moves from 8:01 PM to 8:07 PM, continuing the steady increase in daylight.
The Moon rises in the overnight hours at the start of the week and shifts into the early morning hours by the weekend, while moonset moves from the afternoon into the evening.
Venus continues to dominate the evening sky, shining brightly in the west after sunset and setting between 10:35 PM and 10:50 PM.
Jupiter remains visible in the evening but sets progressively earlier, moving from about 1:00 AM to 12:45 AM.
Mercury reaches superior conjunction on May 14 and is not observable this week.
Mars and Saturn remain close to the Sun, with only very brief and difficult viewing opportunities low in the eastern sky before sunrise.
Uranus sets between 9:30 PM and 9:15 PM and is becoming increasingly difficult to observe as it sinks into the evening twilight.
Neptune rises shortly before sunrise and sets in the late afternoon, remaining a challenging target requiring excellent conditions.

This Week’s Meteoric Activity:

You can keep track of the activity of meteor showers as well as those beyond the limits of visual observing by visiting the NASA Meteor Shower Portal.

Anthelion (ANT): 1:00 AM in eastern Libra near σ Librae: About 2 per hour
η Aquariids (ETA): 4:00–5:00 AM low in Aquarius near α Aquarii (Sadalmelik): About 5–10 per hour (past peak, decreasing; low radiant limits Denver rates)
April ρ Cygnids (ARC): 4:00–5:00 AM in northeastern Cygnus near ρ Cygni: Less than 1 per hour (ending activity)