Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog

Ephemeris for Wednesday, May 20th.  Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 59 minutes, setting at 9:09.   The Moon, 2 days past new, will set at 11:35 this evening, and tomorrow the Sun will rise at 6:08.

Lets take a look at the bright planets for this week.  Mercury is now too close to the Sun to really be spotted in the evening twilight.    It’s at a 13 degree angle from the sun and will set at 10:47.  Mercury is getting dimmer as its phase becomes a decreasingly thin crescent.  Our brilliant evening star Venus is in the west by 9:30 p.m. It will set at 12:47 a.m.  Jupiter will appear high in the west-southwestern sky before 10 p.m.  It will set at 2:14 a.m.  It’s near the sickle-shaped head of Leo the lion, and it’s the second brightest star-like object in the sky after Venus.  Saturn will rise in the east-southeast at 9:03 p.m.  It will be low in the southwest as morning twilight brightens. It’s rings and the moon Titan can be seen in small telescopes.

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

Addendum

The evening planets from west to east at 10:30 p.m. on May 20, 2015. Created using Stellarium.

Telescopic views of the evening planets showing their relative sizes at 10:30 p.m. on May 20, 2015. Created using Cartes du Ceil (Sky Charts).

Note:  The unnamed satellite of Jupiter is Callisto, which ended its transit of Jupiter at 10:27 p.m.

Binocular-like view of the Moon at 10:30 p.m. on May 20,2015. Created using Cartes du Ceil (Sky Charts).