Topline<\/p>\n
This weekend is about a simple but satisfying alignment in the early evening sky. As the moon brightens and climbs higher after sunset, two planets \u2014 Jupiter and Venus \u2014 will be easy to see in the western sky. Look carefully, and you could also glimpse tiny Mercury, which is now rising higher into the sky with each passing night. Here\u2019s everything you need to know about stargazing and planet-watching this weekend. <\/p>\n
Jupiter, Venus and Mercury will be on parade n the post-sunset night sky this week (artist’s Illustration shows three exoplanets).<\/p>\n
gettyTimeline<\/p>\n
Friday, May 22The 45%-lit waxing crescent moon is now leaving the planets behind, tonight passing close to Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation Leo.<\/p>\n
Saturday, May 23Look west just after sunset, and you\u2019ll see Jupiter shining above a slightly brighter Venus, with dim Mercury close to the horizon. For the latter, you may need binoculars.<\/p>\n
Sunday, May 24There\u2019s another chance to find Jupiter, Venus and Mercury, with a bonus observation of bright star Capella \u2014 the famous \u201cGoat Star\u201d from the constellation Auriga. It will form an equilateral triangle with Venus and Mercury.<\/p>\n
See Jupiter, Venus and Mercury, with Capella, on Sunday, May 24. <\/p>\n
StellariumA Planetary Encounter Draws Near<\/p>\n
This weekend sees the build-up to one of the year\u2019s most striking planetary encounters. Night after night, Venus and Jupiter will appear noticeably closer together in the western sky after sunset, creating a beautiful changing tableau in twilight. Brilliant Venus dominates low in the west, with Jupiter nearby as the gap between them steadily narrows ahead of their close conjunction on June 9-11 \u2014 an encounter that will also have Mercury in attendance.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s Next In The Night Sky<\/p>\n
Over the next few weeks, the moon continues to wax, reaching full phase again on May 31 and creating a rare Blue Moon, which will be best seen rising at dusk on May 30 \u2014 also the night of \u201cManhattanhenge\u201d at sunset in New York City. As June begins, attention shifts to the evening sky, where Venus and Jupiter draw steadily closer. There\u2019s a brief dark-sky window around a New Supermoon \u2014 the biggest of the year \u2014 on June 15, before the summer solstice on June 21 brings the shortest nights of the year.<\/p>\n
The times and dates given apply to mid-northern latitudes. For the most accurate location-specific information, consult online planetariums like Stellarium<\/a>.<\/p>\n Further ReadingForbesIn Photos: Full \u2018Flower Moon\u2019 Lights Up Night Sky Around The WorldBy Jamie Carter<\/a>ForbesWhat Is That Bright Star In The West After Sunset?By Jamie Carter<\/a>ForbesIt\u2019s 100 Days Until A Total Solar Eclipse. Here\u2019s How To See ItBy Jamie Carter<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Topline This weekend is about a simple but satisfying alignment in the early evening sky. As the moon…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":978260,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[8],"tags":[54023,272295,17172,272294,272298,272297,70,272296,16,15,20630],"class_list":["post-978259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-blue-moon","tag-crescent-moon-evening-sky","tag-jupiter","tag-moon-jupiter-conjunction-may-2026","tag-night-sky-this-weekend","tag-planets-after-sunset-may-2026","tag-science","tag-stargazing-weekend-may","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-venus"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116619561352456043","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/978259","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=978259"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/978259\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/978260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=978259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=978259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=978259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}