{"id":642373,"date":"2026-05-01T08:51:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T08:51:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/642373\/"},"modified":"2026-05-01T08:51:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T08:51:25","slug":"astrophotography-in-may-2026-get-your-camera-ready-to-photograph-meteors-the-milky-way-and-two-full-moons-this-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/642373\/","title":{"rendered":"Astrophotography in May 2026: get your camera ready to photograph meteors, the Milky Way, and two full moons this month"},"content":{"rendered":"

May 2026 is set to bring a host of celestial targets for <\/a>astrophotographers, from a beautiful full Flower Moon rising to the Eta Aquariid meteor shower. In their wake comes the last best dark-sky window of spring for mid-northern latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, as June\u2019s solstice threatens prolonged twilight.<\/p>\n

However, in the dying embers of May comes an unexpected visitor \u2014 a second full moon, a so-called Blue Moon, making this month the perfect time to practice a full moonshot. Here\u2019s everything you need to know about astrophotography in May:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Read: 10 must-shoot events for astrophotographers in 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Article continues below <\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

Friday, 1 May: Full \u2018Flower Moon\u2019 rises<\/p>\n

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The first of the month’s two full moons rises on the May 1. Nikon D3400 with Tamron 70-300mm. 8 secs at f\/8, ISO200. (Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

May begins and ends with a full moon. First comes the full Flower Moon, at its most photogenic at moonrise where you are<\/a>. Although a full moon lacks shadows on its surface \u2014 making it less interesting for close-up lunar imaging \u2014 it excels as a landscape subject. When low on the horizon, Earth\u2019s atmosphere scatters shorter wavelengths of light, turning the moon a deep orange. Think composition, using apps like PhotoPills<\/a> and TPE (The Photographer’s Ephemeris)<\/a> to align the moon with foreground subjects such as buildings, coastlines or hills. A telephoto lens (200\u2013600mm) will exaggerate the moon\u2019s size relative to the foreground.<\/p>\n

Read: How to photograph the full moon<\/a><\/p>\n

May 5-6: Eta Aquarid meteor shower<\/p>\n

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\"The
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Meteor shower shot with a Sony A7R V and 14mm f\/1.8 lens. 6 secs at f\/2, ISO3200 (Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

It runs from April 19 through May 28, but May 5-6 is when to try for the annual Eta Aquarid meteor shower. The shower\u2019s peak night, it should see about 10 to 20 \u201cshooting stars\u201d per hour, which makes this one less for standing and staring at and more for capturing on camera.<\/p>\n

The best way to shoot a meteor shower is always to automate the process. With a wide-angle lens and a tripod, frame the southeast night sky and take test frames, making sure the stars are sharp by zooming in on your viewfinder. Then use a low f-number (such as f\/2.8), an ISO of between 800 and 3200, and an exposure of about 20-30 seconds. Use an intervalometer (a separate device or a built-in feature on your camera) and take the same image again and again for multiple hours.<\/p>\n

The best camera deals, reviews, product advice, and unmissable photography news, direct to your inbox!<\/p>\n

Will you catch a meteor? You\u2019ll only know when you go through your images afterward. Even if you don\u2019t, the frames you\u2019ve shot can be used to make a star trail image<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Read: Astrophotography: How-to guides, tips and videos<\/a><\/p>\n

May 9 – 20: Dark sky window<\/p>\n

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\"Leo
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May will see dark evening skies perfect for imaging galaxies like the Leo Triplet (Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

With the rise of a last-quarter moon on 9 May, a valuable dark-sky window opens for astrophotographers. In the week to come, the moon will rise after midnight and shrink as it does, posing no problem for evening and, ultimately, late-night astrophotography. Even after the new moon on 16 May, the nights will be predominantly dark until around 20 May when the waxing crescent moon\u2019s brightness begins to bleach the night sky. For those at mid-latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, the nights are now noticeably shorter, making this dark-sky window particularly valuable to deep-sky astrophotographers \u2014 and a great chance to image the realm of the galaxies beneath the constellation Leo and the rising arc of the Milky Way before dawn.<\/p>\n

What to read next<\/p>\n

Read: The best cameras for astrophotography<\/a><\/p>\n

May 18: Crescent moon and Venus<\/p>\n

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\"The
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(Image credit: Bookes Payne \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

A two-day-old crescent Moon sits just a few degrees from brilliant Venus in the western sky after sunset \u2014 one of the most photogenic pairings of the month.<\/p>\n

This is classic \u201cnightscape astrophotography\u201d: a bright foreground sky event framed within a terrestrial scene. The crescent moon will display Earthshine \u2014 sunlight reflected from Earth onto the moon\u2019s dark side \u2014 giving it a ghostly glow. Wide-angle lenses<\/a> naturally capture Earthshine well, but shooting in RAW will give you flexibility to balance the bright crescent with the dimmer surroundings.<\/p>\n

Read: When to photograph the moon<\/a><\/p>\n

May 30: Full \u2018Blue Moon\u2019 rises<\/p>\n

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\"People\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Getty Images \/ Matt Cardy)<\/p>\n

How often are there two full moons in the same month? About every 2.5 years, yet the \u201conce in a blue moon\u201d event is enough of a novelty to get the media talking about the full moon. Expect headlines like \u201crare blue moon lights up night sky,\u201d despite it being no different from any other. There are actually two definitions of a blue moon; May\u2019s is a monthly blue moon \u2014 defined as the second full moon in a calendar month \u2014 which occasionally must occur because the moon orbits Earth every 29.5 days. When photographing the blue moon, avoid the temptation to tweak color settings to make it look blue \u2014 that way lies a credibility leak. If you want to get quick images of the moon, a smart telescope<\/a> is the way to go.<\/p>\n

Astrophotography shot of the month: The Milky Way returns<\/p>\n

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\"Panoramic\n<\/p>\n

Milky Way over Calgary, Canada. 20secs at f\/2.8, ISO6400. (Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Between the last quarter Moon and new Moon, May offers one of your final chances before summer for truly dark skies in the Northern Hemisphere \u2014 but you\u2019ll need to be in the middle of the night. The Milky Way\u2019s core begins to climb into the southeast around 2:00 a.m. local time in the Northern Hemisphere (depending on latitude) \u2014 a soft, luminous band stretching across the sky.<\/p>\n

Use a wide-angle lens (14-24mm), a fast aperture (f\/2-f\/2.8), ISO 1600\u20133200 and exposures of 10-20 seconds. A star tracker<\/a> will allow much longer exposures and finer detail, revealing dust lanes and star clouds within.<\/p>\n

Read more:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Astrophotography tools: the best camera, lenses and gear<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2022 The best lenses for astrophotography<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2022 The best star tracker camera mounts<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"May 2026 is set to bring a host of celestial targets for astrophotographers, from a beautiful full Flower…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":642374,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[449,458,459,64,63,460,134],"class_list":["post-642373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-design","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=642373"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642373\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/642374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=642373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=642373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=642373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}