May’s Evening Planets:

Bright Venus will be up in Taurus the Bull until 11 PM and earlier every day until 8 PM by the end of May. Find Mercury in Gemini the Twins in the last week of May until around 10 PM. Find bright Jupiter and Saturn between Capricornus the Sea-Goat and Sagittarius the Archer as of 2 AM and earlier every night.

May’s Evening Stars:

The Summer Triangle of Vega in Lyra the Harp, Deneb in Cygnus the Swan, and Altair in Aquila the Eagle will be up as of 11 PM and earlier every night until 10 PM by the end of the month. Spica in Virgo the Virgin, Arcturus in Boötes the Herdsman, Capella in Auriga the Charioteer, and Castor and Pollux in Gemini the Twins will be up. Also find the stars of constellations Cassiopeia, Virgo, Leo, Hercules, Draco, Ophiuchus, Libra, Cepheus, Hydra, and Ursa Major and Ursa Minor (the Big and Little Dippers).

Morning sky, looking south at 03:45 EDT on Thursday, 14 May 2020. Sky Safari star chart annotated (Annotable, Pixelmator & Graphic) by Peter Tagatac

May’s Morning Planets:

Red Mars will be moving between Capricornus the Sea-Goat and Aquarium the Water bearer as of 3 AM. Bright Jupiter and Saturn will be between Capricornus the Sea-Goat and Sagittarius the Archer until sunrise. Neptune is in Aquarius the Water bearer as of 4 AM. Pluto is in Sagittarius the Archer as of 2 AM and lingering until the morning.

May’s Morning Stars:

The Summer Triangle of Vega in Lyra the Harp, Deneb in Cygnus the Swan, and Altair in Aquila the Eagle will be up until sunrise. This month, look for reddish Antares in Scorpius and Arcturus in Boötes, along with the stars of constellations Hercules, Libra, Scorpius, Sagittarius, Pegasus, Perseus, Andromeda, Capricornus, Cepheus, Ophiuchus, Cassiopeia, Draco, Ursa Major, and Ursa Minor (the Big and Little Dippers).

May Skylights

May 5 Eta Aquariid Meteor Shower peaks – Predawn
May 5 Moon at perigee (223,500 miles away)
May 6 Full Moon – Super Moon at 6:45 AM
May 11 Mars, Saturn, Jupiter and Moon line – Predawn
May 14 Last quarter Moon at 10:00 AM
May 18 Moon at apogee (252,000 miles away)
May 22 New Moon at 1:35 PM
May 29 First Quarter Moon at 1:30 PM

Resources

Download Ken Graun’s May 2020 sky chart for reference and observing ideas.
Another equally helpful resource is Skymaps monthly evening sky charts available for different hemispheres. Download The Evening Sky Map for May.