You’ll find the bright moon near the planet Saturn on the evening of May 22, 2013, and the star Spica to the west (right) of the moon and Saturn. Although both Saturn and Spica shine brightly, they’ll be harder than usual to see tonight because of the lunar glare. Can you see them? You should be able to, but, if not, use binoculars to search for them in the moon’s glare.

The moon is in a waxing gibbous phase, edging toward the supermoon on the night of May 24-25. It’s getting big in the sky, and will turn full on the night of May 24-25. In the Northern hemisphere, we often call this particular full moon the Flower Moon, Rose Moon or Strawberry Moon. The full moon will barely clip the Earth’s penumbral shadow, but this eclipse will be so shallow and faint that’ll be virtually impossible to observe.

Saturn, the sixth planet outward from the sun, will shine in front of the constellation Virgo until passing out of Virgo and into the constellation Libra in late August/early September 2013. Blue-white Spica, the brightest star in Virgo, contrasts beautifully with golden Saturn, the most distant world that you can easily see with the unaided eye.

Supermoon – and slight penumbral eclipse – for full moon on May 24-25

What is a supermoon?

Sky alert: Jupiter, Venus, Mercury closer and closer!

The other evening planets – Mercury, Venus and Jupiter – appear low in the west at dusk and set shortly thereafter. Click here for their setting times in your sky

When the moon drops out of the early evening sky toward the end of the month, be sure to savor the beauty of these colorful celestial gems in the darkness of night.

Spica is a whirling double star

Earth passed between Saturn and the sun on April 28 of 2013. That was Saturn’s yearly opposition, and it means that we’re farther from Saturn now than we were several weeks ago. We’re now racing ahead of Saturn in Earth’s smaller, faster orbit around the sun. So Saturn is steadily appearing dimmer on our sky’s dome, and it’s slowly but surely spending less time in the sky each night. Presently, Saturn sets just before the onset of morning dawn. However, by the time that August rolls around, Saturn will set around midnight.

Saturn, like all planets, will be shining with a steadier light than the twinkling stars. In contrast to the moon, Saturn moves at a snail’s pace in front the constellations of the Zodiac. By tomorrow night, the moon will have moved onward, passing through the constellation Libra at this time tomorrow, on May 23.

Bottom line: Will you be able to see the planet Saturn and the star Spica in the glare of the waxing gibbous moon tonight (May 22, 2013)?

Saturn eclipsing the sun, as seen by Cassini spacecraft in 2006. More about this image. Credit: CICLOPS, JPL, ESA, NASA

The waxing gibbous moon glides close to the the star Spica this evening, on May 21, and pairs up with the planet Saturn tomorrow, on May 22. The moon will pass relatively close to Spica and Saturn for the next several days, as the moon moves in its endless orbit around Earth.

The bright streak on the upper part of Saturn in this photo was a great storm, seen on Saturn last year. Read more about the Great Saturn Storm of 2011. Image Credit: NASA's Cassini spacecraft

Of course, in reality, the moon’s nearness to Spica aor Saturn tonight is just a line-of-sight illusion. The moon never gets close to Spica in a true sense because the moon orbits Earth at only about one light-second away – while Spica is 260 light-years away. Saturn, though much closer than Spica, is still a very distant 74 light-minutes away from Earth right now.

Sky alert: Jupiter, Venus, Mercury closer and closer!

Whereas the moon, Spica and Saturn will be out until the wee hours tomorrow, you have to catch the other evening planets low in the west at dusk

Follow the arc the Arcturus and speed-on to Spica. Look for Saturn in the southeast at nightfall, to the lower left of Spica

The star Spica, brightest star in the constellation Virgo the Maiden. Notice its blue-white color, especially in contrast to golden Saturn.

Saturn has been fairly close to Spica throughout 2013 so far, and it will stay in the vicinity of Spica for the most of 2013. While the moon stays in any one constellation of the Zodiac for two or three days, Saturn stays in the same zodiacal constellation for up to two or three years. You can distinguish the star Spica from the planet Saturn by color. Spica radiates blue-white while Saturn appears golden. You may need binoculars to see their colors in the moonlit glare tonight or for the next several nights, but you’ll clearly see the contrast after the moon moves on.

Spica is the 15th or 16th brightest star in the sky (it’s neck-and-neck with the star Antares, in terms of brightness). Spica is a close double star, and both stars in the Spica system are much hotter and brighter than our sun. In fact, there is some evidence that there are as many as three more smaller, fainter stars in the Spica system.

A tip for finding planets in our night sky. Each month, the moon pairs up for a day or two with other bright stars such as Regulus in the constellation Leo, Antares in the constellation Scorpius and Aldebaran in the constellation Taurus. These stars are located on or near the ecliptic – or path of the sun, moon and planets – in our sky.

What is the ecliptic?

On the other hand, you’ll never hear of the moon or Saturn near Polaris the North Star. If someone tells you they saw the moon or Saturn near Polaris, you’ll know that can’t be so. The moon and the planets have a set path in the sky, approximately the same path as that followed by the sun each day. That path is the ecliptic. Meanwhile, Polaris is far to the north on the sky’s dome, in a part of the sky the moon and planets never visit. So that’s your tip for finding planets: always look for planets along the same path across our sky followed by the sun and moon.

Although the planet Mercury is still deeply buried in the glow of sunset, Gary P. Caton manged to capture it to the lower right of Venus from Asheville, North Carolina, at early dusk May 20, 2013. Thank you Gary! Mercury should be much easier to see in the last week of May 2013! View larger

Bottom line: Tonight – May 21, 2013 – look for the bright waxing gibbous moon to appear near the star Spica in our sky.

In 2013, the planet Saturn appears near Spica on the sky’s dome. You’ll find them in the southeast at nightfall, moving westward across the sky during the night.

You’ll have most of the night to find the planet Saturn near the star Spica on these May 2013 evenings. But to catch the other three evening planets – Mercury, Venus and Jupiter – you have to look low in your west-northwest sky at dusk. Mars is lost in the sun’s glare during May 2013.

Drive a spike to the star Spica – and the planet Saturn – on these May 2013 evenings.

Although you’ll always find the star Spica in the same place in the sky on May evenings every year, Saturn’s proximity to Spica is special to this year. At present, Saturn shines in front of the constellation Virgo, just west of the Libra/Virgo border. On this date in 2014, Saturn will in the middle of the constellation Libra.

Yesterday we talked about learning to “follow the arc” to the star Arcturus in the constellation Bootes. You just follow the curve in the Big Dipper’s handle until you see this orange star.

Sky alert: Jupiter, Venus, Mercury closer and closer!

Tonight, let the Big Dipper introduce you Spica, the brightest star in the constellation Virgo the Maiden. You can follow the arc to Arcturus AND drive a spike or, as some say, speed on to Spica.

Today’s chart at the top of this post shows a wide sweep of sky, from northeast to southeast around nightfall. First follow the curve made by these stars in the Big Dipper’s handle to the star Arcturus in the constellation Bootes: follow the arc to Arcturus. Now extend the curve in the handle into the southeastern sky: drive a spike to Spica. Or: speed on to Spica.

By the way, keep watching the moon for the next several evenings, too. The moon will pair up with Spica tomorrow – on May 21 – and the planet Saturn on May 22.

Spica in the constellation Virgo looks like one star, but this single point of light is really a multiple star system – with two hot stars orbiting very close together – located an estimated distance of 262 light-years away from Earth. Spica’s constellation, Virgo, is large and rambling and difficult to see. But you can look for a little squarish figure to the right of Spica. This is the constellation Corvus the Crow, which we show on our chart for May 15.

Virgo? Here’s your constellation

Bottom line: Saturn is still nearly at its best for 2013. On these May evenings, drive a spike to the sparkling blue-white star Spica – and find the golden planet Saturn as well.

Now is the perfect time to look outside in the evening and learn a phrase useful to sky watchers. The phrase is: follow the arc to Arcturus.

First locate the Big Dipper asterism in the northeastern sky. Then draw an imaginary line following the curve in the Dipper’s handle until you come to a bright orange star. This star is Arcturus in the constellation Bootes, known in skylore as the bear guard.

Drive a spike to the star Spica – and Saturn – in May

Arcturus is a much larger star than our sun. Read more about Arcturus here.

Arcturus is a giant star with an estimated distance of 37 light-years. It’s special because it’s not moving with the general stream of stars, in the flat disk of the Milky Way galaxy. Instead, Arcturus is cutting perpendicularly through the galaxy’s disk at a tremendous rate of speed … some 150 kilometers per second. Millions of years from now this star will be lost from the view of any future inhabitants of Earth, or at least those who are earthbound and looking with the eye alone.

So that’s how to “follow the arc” to the star Arcturus in the constellation Bootes. Learn how you can drive a spike to the star Spica in the constellation Virgo with the help of tomorrow’s sky chart.

Big and Little Dippers: Noticeable in northern sky

Arcturus: Follow the arc

Spica is a whirling double star

The star Deneb – visible by mid-evening every May – is one of the most distant of the bright stars. You can even see it on a moonlit night or from light-polluted cites. When you gaze at this star, you are gazing across a great distance of space. The exact distance to Deneb is not known for certain, with estimates ranging from about 1,425 light-years to perhaps as much as 7,000 light-years. EarthSky veteran sky blogger Larry Sessions said in his post about Deneb:

The best estimates likely are those obtained by the Hipparcos Space Astrometry Mission in the 1990s. A simple calculation from initial Hipparcos data gives the figure of 3,230 light-years, whereas the refined data yield just over 1,400 light-years. At any of these estimates distances, Deneb is one of the farthest stars the unaided human eye can see. It is so far, that the light that reaches the Earth today started on its journey well more than 1,000 years ago.

Why don’t astronomers know the distance to Deneb exactly, and why are there different estimates for the star’s distance? The answer is that science is not a body of facts. It’s a process. Different astronomers or teams of astronomers try to improve on published distance estimates to the stars, and their various estimates are then published and passed along.

Deneb is too far away for its distance to be measured by the only direct method – stellar parallax. The distance to stars within a few hundred light-years of the solar system can be determined fairly accurately by parallax. The basic principle of parallax you can demonstrate to yourself by holding a finger in front of your nose and gazing at it with one eye closed, then the other eye closed. When you do this, you see your finger appear to jump from side to side with respect to background objects. If you hold your finger farther from your nose, it’ll appear to jump a smaller distance.

As Earth orbits the sun, astronomers can measure the parallax of the nearer stars against the more distant starry background, first from one side of Earth’s orbit and then – six months later – from the opposite side. Measuring stellar distances directly by parallax (trigonometry) only works for the nearer stars, however. For more, read Wikipedia’s parallax page.

Delta Cephei, prototype of Cepheid variable stars

Indirect means – which may be subject to errors – must be employed to estimate the distances to the more distant stars, like Deneb. Deneb’s given distance represents an educational guess, not a certainty. But there is little doubt that Deneb is one of the most distant stars that you can easily see with the unaided eye.

Deneb is one the three brilliant stars in the famous Summer Triangle asterism, which you’ll see over the east-northeast horizon by mid to late evening tonight. An asterism is a recognizable group of stars that isn’t a constellation. At our mid-northern latitudes, Deneb will light up the evening sky from now till the end of the year.

Deneb: Among most distant stars visible

Summer Triangle: Vega, Deneb, Altair

How far is a light-year?

As soon as darkness falls on May 17, 2013, look for the moon – at first quarter phase today, close to a bright star, Regulus. Sparkling blue-white Regulus is the brightest star in the constellation Leo the Lion. It represents the the Lion’s beating heart. You can also see some planets tonight, and every night in May. Jupiter and Venus are now in the west after sunset, heading for an exciting planetary trio with Mercury later this month. The moon is now sweeping across the evening sky from night to night, heading for the star Spica and then the ringed planet Saturn later this month.

Moon near star Spica and approaching Saturn on May 21

An imaginary line drawn between the pointer stars in the Big Dipper - the two outer stars in the Dipper's bowl - points in one direction toward Polaris, the North Star, and in the opposite direction toward Leo.

Moon and Regulus on May 17. Regulus is the closest bright star to the moon on May 17. The precise time for tonight’s first quarter moon is 11:34 p.m. Central Daylight Time. In other words, that is when the moon reaches the exact first quarter phase when it appears half illuminated in the sky visible from Earth. A first quarter moon always sets around midnight, giving you plenty of time to catch the moon and Regulus tonight.

If you look carefully, you might make out a backwards question mark pattern in the stars around Regulus. This asterism (or recognizable pattern within a constellation) is called the Sickle in Leo. The moon moves eastward in front of the constellations of the Zodiac from night to night. Once it has moved onward away from Leo, you can always use the bowl of the Big Dipper to find your way to Regulus.

Regulus is considered to be the most important of the four Royal Stars of ancient Persia. These Royal Stars mark the four quadrants of the heavens. They are Regulus, Antares, Fomalhaut, and Aldebaran.

Four to five thousand years ago, the Royal Stars defined the approximate positions of equinoxes and solstices in the sky. Regulus reigned as the summer solstice star, Antares as the autumn equinox star, Fomalhaut as the winter solstice star, and Aldebaran as the spring equinox star. Regulus is often portrayed as the most significant Royal Star, possibly because it symbolized the height and glory of the summer solstice sun. Although the Royal Stars as seasonal signposts change over the long coarse of time, they still mark the four quadrants of the heavens.

Regulus coincided with the summer solstice point some 4,300 years ago. In our time, the sun has its annual conjunction with Regulus on or near August 22, or about two months after the summer solstice – or alternatively, one month before the autumn equinox. Regulus will mark the autumn equinox point some 2,100 years into the future.

More about Regulus: Heart of the Lion

You’ll have to catch the planets Venus and Jupiter as dusk ebbs into darkness. An imaginary line from the moon through Jupiter helps you to locate Venus by the horizon.

The star Spica and the planet Saturn pop out into the southeast at nightfall and stay out for most of the night.

Three planets you can see in May 2013 sky. If you want to catch the sky’s brightest and second-brightest planets – Venus and Jupiter, respectively – you have to spot them over the sunset point on the horizon about 45 to 60 minutes after sunset. At mid-northern latitudes, Venus follows the sun beneath the horizon a little over one hour after sunset and Jupiter sinks below the horizon nearly two hours after the sun. Venus and Jupiter are now headed for a cool planetary trio with Mercury before this month ends. A planetary trio is when three planets fit within a circle of no more than 5 degrees diameter on the sky’s dome. On May 25, 26 and 27, Mercury, Venus and Jupiter will fit within a 3-degree-diameter circle on the sky. The circle of three planets will be most compact on May 26.

Three planets close in western evening sky last week of May

Mercury isn’t visible yet, but Venus and Jupiter are. You just as to look for them low in the sky. On May 17, as soon as you see the moon high overhead after sunset, start looking for Jupiter and Venus low in the west. Although Venus is the brighter planet, Jupiter might be the easier to spot, because it’s higher up in the sky and not as close to the twilight glare. An imaginary line from the moon and past Jupiter helps you to locate Venus by the horizon. Binoculars might be helpful for spotting Venus in the bright twilight, near the place where the sun set. But you should also be able to see Venus with the eye now.

The third-brightest planet in the evening sky, Saturn, is found in the southeast at nightfall, not far from the star Spica. Both Saturn and Spica are out for most of the night, and they reach their high point for the night at or near midnight. You can tell which light is Saturn and which is Spica by color. Whereas Spica radiates blue-white, Saturn exhibits a golden hue. If you have difficulty discerning color with the unaided eye, get an eyeful of these colorful celestial gems in binoculars!

Bottom line: Two planets – Venus and Jupiter – await you in the western twilight, and another planet – Saturn – shines in the southeast at nightfall. On May 17, 2013, the first quarter moon and Regulus beam in the southwest as evening falls.

The ecliptic is the plane of Earth's orbit around the sun. As Earth moves, we see the sun travel a narrow pathway in front of the stars. The ecliptic defines that pathway, which we most often call the Zodiac.

The Zodiac is the narrow band of stars circling through the heavens, marking the sun’s annual path or moon’s monthly path in front of the backdrop stars. Tonight’s moon – May 16, 2013 – is moving in front of a constellation of the Zodiac, the constellation Cancer the Crab.

Why does the moon pass this constellation so often? The moon orbits nearly on the ecliptic, or plane of Earth’s orbit around the sun. So as the moon makes its monthly rounds – orbiting again and again around Earth – it moves in front of the constellations of the Zodiac, passing the same stars and constellations again and again.

Cancer? Here’s your constellation

The chart at the top of this post shows tonight’s moon in Cancer. But Cancer is so faint that you will have a tough time spotting it in the glare of tonight’s fat crescent moon.

Instead, use tonight to learn what’s cool about this constellation. First, take a look at the chart to see the boundaries of Cancer. The sun passes in front of this constellation from about July 20 to August 10 every year. Wait, you say, that doesn’t match astrological dates? That’s because the constellation of Cancer as we see it in the real sky – and the astrological sign of Cancer – are not the same thing.

The constellation Cancer. Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Click here to expand chart above

Cancer, though one of the dimmest constellations of the Zodiac, is still very significant. In ancient times, this constellation won much fanfare because the sun shone in front of Cancer during the Northern Hemisphere’s summer solstice. Some 2,800 years ago, the star Asellus Australis actually marked the summer solstice point in the sky. Nowadays, the sun has its annual conjunction with Asellus Australis on or near August 1.

Also in our day, the sun shines in front of the constellation Taurus the Bull on the summer solstice. Because the sun reaches its northernmost point from the Earth’s equator on the summer solstice, you’d think the northernmost extent of the sun’s travels would be called the tropic of Taurus. But no. Look on the globe and you’ll find the sun’s northernmost latitude labeled as the tropic of Cancer, in deference to this faint yet celebrated constellation.

Bottom line: On Thursday, May 16, 2013, the moon is in front of the faint constellation Cancer. The moon’s glare will make Cancer tough to spot. Good night to use your imagination!

Here is the star Vega, the fifth brightest star in the sky. If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, you’ll find this beautiful bluish star by looking northeastward at mid-evening. It’s so bright that you can notice it, even when no other stars are visible. Because it is the brightest in the constellation Lyra the Harp, Vega is sometimes called the Harp Star.

The constellation Lyra the Harp, with its brightest star Vega and other interesting stars or objects within its boundaries.

Read more about Vega and its constellation Lyra the Harp

Also on this Wednesday, May 15: Look for the planets Jupiter and Venus low in the west about 45 minutes after sunset.

As darkness falls on May 15, the waxing crescent moon shines in the vicinity of the Gemini stars Castor and Pollux. On the other side of the moon is the even brighter star Procyon.

Try it! Just look northeast tonight in mid-evening. You’ll see this bright bluish star shining above that horizon. From far south in the Southern Hemisphere, you can’t this star until late tonight because Vega is located so far north on the sky’s dome. Vega will reach its high point for the night around 3 a.m., at which time people in the Southern Hemisphere can see this star in the northern sky. As seen from mid-northern latitudes, the star shines high overhead at this early morning hour.

Vega’s rising time in your sky

Vega is a lovely star to come to know. When I was first learning the night sky, nearly 40 years ago, I spent hours, days, weeks, months poring over charts and books. So I sometimes came to know the names and whereabouts of certain stars before seeing them in the night sky. One soft May evening, I happened to glance toward the northeast. I was thrilled at the sight of Vega – gleaming, sapphire-blue – and surprisingly bright for being so low in the sky.

Like all stars, Vega rises earlier each day as Earth moves around the sun. So Vega will ornament our evening sky throughout the summer and fall. Although Vega is considered a late spring or summer star, it’s actually so far north on the sky’s dome that you can find it at some time during the night, nearly every night of the year.

Contrast the chart at the upper right showing the western evening sky on Wednesday, May 15 with the photo below of the western evening sky on Tuesday, May 14. Thank you for the photo, Carl!

Photo taken by Carl Galloway of the western sky at nightfall on May 14, 2013. Thank you Carl! Jupiter is at the lower right, Pollux and Castor to upper right of the moon, and Procyon to the moon’s left or lower left. A larger waxing crescent moon will appear a little higher in the sky at nightfall on May 15. However, you’ll still see the moon between the Gemini stars and Procyon. View larger.

Bottom line: It’s easy to identify the star Vega in the constellation Lyra at this time of year. Just look northeast in the evening for a bright, bluish star above the northeastern horizon.

May 2013 guide to the five visible planets

On the evening of May 14, 2013, the waxing crescent moon shines close to Castor and Pollux, the two brightest stars in the constellation Gemini the Twins. On the opposite side of the moon is even a brighter star, Procyon. By the way, an imaginary line drawn from Procyon and right in between the Gemini stars takes you to Polaris, the North Star. It’s a very long jump across the heavens but the imaginary line will take you there. Try it tonight!

Before darkness falls, see if you can catch Venus, the sky’s brightest planet, almost on line with the moon and Jupiter about 40 to 50 minutes after sunset.

But the first thing you want to do at dusk is to look for the planets Jupiter and Venus in the west. Venus sets before nightfall and Jupiter sets around mid-evening. In contrast, the moon and Gemini stars stay out until late night, even flirting with the midnight hour.

Gemini? Here’s your constellation

People often refer to Castor and Pollux as “The Twins” but they aren’t really twins at all. At a distance of about 34 light-years, Pollux is the closest giant star to our solar system. It’s one of the very few giant stars in our galaxy known to have a planet.

Castor is farther away, at 52 light-years. It looks like a single star to the eye, but it’s actually six stars in one, all revolving around one another in an intricate dance.

Pollux on left. Castor on right. See the contrast in their colors? Pollux is golden, and Castor is white. (Warren Wilson College)

With binoculars, you might be able to discern Castor and Pollux’s contrasting colors. Pollux looks orange, while Castor appears white. An orange star has a relatively low surface temperature, indicating that Pollux is in the autumn of its years. On the other hand, a more youthful star – like Castor – displays a white color, a sure sign of this star’s higher surface temperature.

Meanwhile, tonight’s moon is in a waxing crescent phase. It’ll continue to wax larger until the full moon on the night of May 24/25. Mark your calendar: the full moon will be visible all night long, from dusk until dawn.

Full Flower Moon shines from dusk till dawn on May 24/25

When you’re finished looking at Castor and Pollux with binoculars, be sure to take a closer look at the moon. The interplay of light and shadow along the terminator – the shadow line dividing the lunar day and night – features the best three-dimensional views of the the lunar landscape. The terminator shows you where it’s sunrise on the waxing moon.

Tonight, use the moon to find the Gemini stars Castor and Pollux, and Procyon, the brightest star in the constellation Canis Minor!

Photo taken by Carl Galloway of the western sky at nightfall on May 14, 2013. Thank you Carl! Jupiter is at the lower right, Pollux and Castor to upper right of the moon, and Procyon to the moon’s left or lower left. A larger waxing crescent moon will appear a little higher in the sky at nightfall on May 15. However, you’ll still see the moon between the Gemini stars and Procyon. View larger.

Bottom line: On the evening of May 14, 2013, the waxing crescent moon shines close to Castor and Pollux, the two brightest stars in the constellation Gemini the Twins. Mark your calendar for the May 24/25 full moon.

Castor is the fainter of two Twin stars

Pollux: Brightest star of the Twins

Shortly after sunset on May 13, 2013 a picturesque array of worlds will appear in the western sky. The three bodies are the moon, Jupiter and Venus and all are very bright. As darkness falls, look west for the moon with Jupiter below it, and Venus below Jupiter. To catch Venus, you have look near the sunset point on the horizon no later than about 35 to 55 minutes after sunset. Why? Because Venus has just returned from being behind the sun, and it soon follows the sun below the western horizon.

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By the way, we highlight the ecliptic on the sky chart at the top of this post. It’s a projection of the Earth’s orbital plane onto the backdrop stars. Because the planets revolve around the sun on nearly the same plane that Earth does, practiced stargazers know to look for the planets on or near the ecliptic.

View larger. | Here are the moon, Jupiter and Venus (lower right) last night, May 12, 2013. Photo by EarthSky Facebook friend Gary P. Caton of Asheville, NC.

Jupiter and Venus shine about 15^o apart on the evening of May 13. For reference, your fist at an arm length spans about 10^o, and the diameter of the moon equals about one-half degree. Between now and late May 2013, Jupiter and Venus – the sky’s two brightest planets – will be edging closer and closer to one another. As the sun sets each evening, you’ll find Venus farther away the sunset glare, and Jupiter closer to it. The two worlds will meet on May 28, at which time they’ll be about one degree apart. The Venus-Jupiter conjunction on May 28, 2013, will be their last until August 18, 2014.

The great Jupiter/Venus conjunction on May 28. The planet Mercury is also nearby.

Starting on or near May 23, Jupiter and Venus will be about 5^o apart. That means the solar system’s two brightest planets will fit – or nearly fit – within the same binocular field of view. They’ll be close enough together to occupy one binocular field from about May 23 till early June.

But wait, there’s more! Mercury will have a conjunction with Venus on May 25, and a conjunction with Jupiter on May 27. Look for all three worlds – Mercury, Venus and Jupiter – to cozy up together in a single binocular field for about a week, centered on or near May 26.

Closest grouping of three planets until the year 2021

Bottom line: Jupiter and Venus line up with the moon in the west after sunset on May 13, 2013. Watch as Venus, the sky’s brightest planet, and Jupiter, the second-brightest, approach each other daily. Their grand evening conjunction will take place on May 28, 2013.