May is a great month for viewing planets!
The five major planets in our solar system are all easily visible to the unaided eye, which is why they have been known about since antiquity. If you have never seen a planet before, this is a good month to start looking for them. The only planet that cannot be seen this month is Venus, which is too close to the blindingly bright Sun to spot.
The sun sets at 20:45 BST mid-month, with nautical twilight (when the Sun falls to 12 degrees below the horizon) ending at 22:24 BST – although it does not get astronomically dark until 23:52 BST.
Even though it is still twilight at 21:45 BST, this is the best time to look for the planet Mercury.
Because Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, orbiting the Sun in just 88 days, it is always pretty close to the Sun in the night sky. But, every 3 months there are a brief few days when Mercury gets to the extreme of its orbit – this is the time to spot it in the evening sky after sunset.
Look low in the bright north-western sky to find Mercury, the best times being between the 5th and 10th of May, about 45 minutes after sunset – that is the time when the sky is dark enough to see Mercury, and Mercury has another hour yet before it follows the Sun below our horizon.
The ideal date to look is on the 6th of May, when Mercury is just to the left of the beautifully young crescent Moon. Having a flat clear horizon also helps, so gazing out to sea looking west is the best way to spot the planet.
Mars is visible towards the west throughout the evening, easily recognisable thanks to its red colour. The Moon acts as a useful guide on the 10th of May, when it is just to the left of Mars.
Saturn is visible until the early morning, always in the western sky. Through even the smallest telescope, you can see the rings that surround this majestic planet. On the 12th, the Moon moves into position just below the planet.
And finally, at around midnight, the planet Jupiter is rising in the east, with the Moon beside it on the 24th and 25th.
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