Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog

Monday, May 2nd.  The sun rises at 6:31.  It’ll be up for 14 hours and 16 minutes, setting at 8:48.   The moon, 1 day before new, will rise at 6:21 tomorrow morning.

This month there will be a great gathering of planets in the morning sky, I call it a planet jam, kind of like a traffic jam.  But these four planets are nowhere near each other, but just lined up to our sight.  Unfortunately the group is too close to the sun and in the bright twilight to easily spot.  The farther south you are the better the view.  By south I mean south of the equator.  Venus and Jupiter will be the easiest to spot, and by the end of the month Jupiter will break out of the group to become easily visible.  Yesterday Jupiter passed Mars and within one day during the night of May 10th and 11th Venus will be in a tight group with Jupiter and Mercury.  That morning might be the best time to spot Mercury.  That’s half an hour before sunrise.

* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan.  They may be different for your location.

Addendum

Planet Jam May 2011 animation

30 minutes before sunrise Eastern time is U.T. minus 4 hours.  It’s perhaps a good thing I can’t ass the twilight glow.  It’d drown out the planets.