Saturn, Jupiter and Venus will all be VISIBLE this May – this is how you can you see them
THIS month Saturn, Jupiter and Venus will appear brighter and more visible to the skywatchers – and this you can see them.
Jupiter and Venus visible to the naked eye in 2012
Two of the solar system’s enormous gas planets, Saturn and Jupiter, will be visible to enthusiastic sky watchers after sunset, with one visible at each end of the night.
Jupiter will be especially clear on May 7 when a almost full Moon passes nearby with both objects expected to be bright enough take a memorable photograph, according to astronomer Ian Morison.
Then on May 14, the Moon will also be close to Saturn, making it possible to see the planet’s rings with an amateur telescope.
Saturn, Jupiter and Venus will be visible this month
Venus and Jupiter were both visible in December 2008
By this time in the month Saturn is expected to rise before midnight, but will not be high in the sky.
Most of the other planets will be almost completely hidden by twilight.
But Venus will appear brilliant in the morning sky, but just a few degrees above the Earth’s horizon at sunrise.
A clear eastern horizon on the evenings of May 22 and 23 will also show Venus passing over a thin crescent Moon.
The phenomenon comes as the northern hemisphere’s sky is transitioning between spring and summer.
For star grazers, the zodiacal constellations which are most prominent over the past few months, Leo and Virgo, will now be low by midnight, according to the Times.
Jupiter and Saturn visible in South Africa in 2005
But the eastern sky will begin to show the “summer triangle” of three prominent stars: Vega, Deneb and Altair.
A familiar constellation, the Plough, which looks more like a saucepan will also become more visible overnight.