The Red Planet pokes the Beehive

THE SOLAR SYSTEM’S CHANGING LANDSCAPE AS IT APPEARS IN EARTH’S SKY.

MARTIN RATCLIFFE, ALISTER LING

Jupiter and Mars are on display during May evenings. It’s your last chance to grab a good view of Jupiter before it drops out of sight for midsummer. A gathering of planets in the morning sky offers some nice opportunities, and in the first week of May they’re joined by meteors from the annual Eta Aquariid shower. Let’s begin our tour with Jupiter, continuing its long goodbye as its elongation from the Sun diminishes from 40° to 18°. It sets just after 11 p.m. local daylight time on May 1st and around 9:30 p.m., or about an hour after sunset, on May 31. Your finest views occur in the first few days of the month, when the planet spans 34" and remains above 20° altitude an hour after sunset. Jupiter…

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Astronomy (Digital) - 1 Issue, May 2025

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