May 2014 is Saturn’s month. We pass between Saturn and the sun on May 10, bringing the planet closest for this year. May is great for other planets, too! Charts, pics, info here.

Jupiter and Mars both pop into view as soon as darkness falls on these May 2014 evenings. Both are very, very bright. It’s not likely that you’ll mistake one planet for the other. They are in different parts of the sky, and exhibit different colors. Jupiter appears cream-colored and Mars reddish. At early evening, golden Saturn rises over southeast horizon, and though not as bright as Jupiter or Mars, its brilliance is on par with the sky’s brightest stars. And, by rights, this is Saturn’s month. The ringed planet is closest to us in May 2014 for this year.

Saturn is the planet to watch in May 2014. As seen from the whole Earth, Saturn sits low in southeast at nightfall and early evening. Earth in its smaller, faster orbit passes between the sun and Saturn on May 10, bringing the planet opposite the sun in our sky (opposition). In 2014, Saturn shines in front of the constellation Libra, making a triangle with the constellation’s two brightest stars, Zubenelgenubi and Zubeneschamali. Look for the almost full moon to couple up with Saturn on the night of May 13!

Mercury will present its best evening apparition of the year for the Northern Hemisphere in May 2014. This month, you almost certainly need to be in the Northern Hemisphere or southern tropics for any chance of seeing Mercury, which is the innermost planet of the solar system and which, therefore, stays near the sun in our sky. Northerly latitudes will see Mercury starting the second week of May. Mercury will reach its greatest eastern elongation – greatest angular distance from the setting sun on our sky’s dome – on May 25. Look for the slender lunar crescent near Mercury after sunset on May 30.

Venus, the sky’s brightest planet is still prominent in the eastern predawn/dawn sky throughout May. In fact, dazzling Venus will remain the most brilliant star like object in the morning sky until late October 2014, at which time it will shift over into the evening sky. The lovely waning crescent moon swings close to Venus on May 25.

The brightest and second-brightest luminaries of nighttime – the moon and the planet Venus, respectively – will be putting on quite a show in the early morning hours on January 28 and 29. No matter where you live worldwide, get up some 90 to 60 minutes before sunrise. Look low in the southeast – or in the direction of sunrise – to observe the attractive morning couple.

Rising times for the sun, moon and Venus in your sky

If your sky is clear, there is no way to overlook Venus, the most brilliant of planets, in the predawn and/or dawn sky. Look first for the thin waning crescent moon, and then seek for the exceptionally bright star-like object in close vicinity to the moon. The moon and Venus are visible to the eye because these worlds reflect sunlight.

When can you see earthshine on a crescent moon?

Moreover, the moon and Venus show the whole range of phases in Earth’s sky. In fact, if you observe Venus in a telescope at dawn tomorrow (January 28), you’ll see that the crescent phase of Venus very much resembles that of tomorrow’s crescent moon.

Understanding moon phases

Yet, the crescent Venus is actually waxing toward full while the crescent moon is waning toward new. In fact, the moon will turn new on January 30, to usher in the second supermoon of January 2014. At that time, the moon will move out of the morning sky and into the evening sky.
Second supermoon of the month falls on January 30, 2014
Venus, on the other hand, won’t reach full phase until October 25, 2014. At this time, Venus will transition out of the morning sky and into Earth’s evening sky.
Be sure to catch the beautiful pairing of the moon and Venus before sunrise on January 28 and 29. Whereas the moon will leave the morning sky after a few more days, Venus will remain the dazzling morning “star” until October 2014.

Courtesy EarthSky