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Ephemeris: 05/11/2026 – Finding the tiny but distinctive constellation of Corvus the crow

May 11, 2026 Leave a comment

This is Ephemeris for Monday, May 11th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 40 minutes, setting at 8:59, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:17. The Moon, 2 days past last quarter, will rise at 3:57 tomorrow morning.

The small constellation of Corvus the crow is located low in the south at 10:30 this evening. It’s made of 6 dim stars, but the pattern is a distinctive but distorted box with two stars at the upper left marking that corner, and another two marking the lower right corner. I usually don’t notice the extra star at these corners, which denote the wings of this crow in flight to the upper right. To me the box is distinctive enough. It’s pretty much alone below Virgo and its bright star Spica, left an above it. I don’t see a crow here, but the box is distinctive in that no two sides are parallel. In the US we call the shape a trapezium, the British call it a trapezoid. Anyway it is a very memorable shape, at least to me.

The astronomical event times given in this blog are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (Lat 44.7° N, Long 85.7° W; EDT, UT – 4 hours) unless stated otherwise. Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum

Corvus the crow finder for 10:30 PM, May 11, looking south.
Corvus the crow finder for 10:30 PM, May 11, showing just the stars, then constellation lines, and finally constellation art. I substituted Stellarium’s art for Corvus with my own, which I thought fit the stars better. Actually I don’t see a crow here. distinctive patern of its four brightest stars is enough. Created using Stellarium, LibreOffice Draw, GIMP and a flying crow inage found on the Internet.
Categories: Constellations, Ephemeris Program, Observing Tags: