THE PLANETS

Venus’s dominance of the western evening sky comes to an end, becoming a twilight-only object by mid-May and gone by month’s end. During its departure, it’s passed by Mercury on 22nd as this innermost world makes an evening return. Next is Jupiter, around 21:30, followed by Saturn – these gas giants transit in the pre-dawn. In the morning Mars rises around midnight (midmonth), followed by Neptune two hours later. Uranus returns to the morning, out of the midmonth dawn.