MERCURY moved into the morning sky at the end of April. At first in May it will rise only shortly before the sun and so will not be observable. But by mid May the planet will rise two hours before the Sun, and so be easily visible, low in a direction between east and northeast, 45 minutes before sunrise. It will remain visible in the morning sky for the rest of the month.

In mid May, Mercury will only be moderately bright, magnitude 1.5. By the end of May, it will have brightened to 0.3. The planet will be the brightest object low to the northeast throughout the second half of May. It will move from Cetus into Aries on May 23. Hamal, magnitude 2.0, the brightest star in Aries, will be about 14° to the left of Mercury.

The moon will be at its closest to Mercury on the mornings of May 12 and 13. On the 12th the crescent moon, only 5.5% lit, will be some 11° to the upper left of Mercury, the next morning the moon is a little closer, but to the lower left of the planet and less than 2% lit. At the time Mercury will be second magnitude.

VENUS will move higher into the evening sky during May, so that by the end of the month it will set 2 hours after the sun. It starts the month in Taurus, below Aldebaran. During May it moves across Taurus, below Orion, and into Gemini on May 20. At the end of May, Venus will be between Betelgeuse in Orion and Pollux, the brightest star in Gemini.

The moon is at its closest to Venus on the 16th when the thin crescent moon will be 3° to the lower left of Venus. A daytime occultation of the planet will be visible from much of North Africa and southern Asia. It occurs after sunset in southeast Asia, much of Indonesia and the Philippines.

MARS will remain visible in the early evening sky throughout May, although it will be setting by about 11pm at the end of the month. By then the planet will be in Leo 3.5° from Regulus. The star,magnitude 1.4, will be nearly as bright as Mars, magnitude 1.1. The minor planet Vesta will also be nearby, 7.5° from Mars. Vesta, magnitude 7.7, will be visible in binoculars.

Mars starts May in Cancer, when it will be at its highest soon after sunset. The planet moves into Leo on May 13. On the 20th the 42% lit moon will be 4° from Mars, the two being closest around 8pm, with the moon to the upper left of Mars.

JUPITER will rise soon after 3am at the beginning of May advancing to a little before 2am by May 31. It starts the month in Aquarius, but moves into Pisces on May 3. The planet will be well up in the sky and easily visible in a direction between north and northeast an hour before sunrise. By the end of May, Jupiter will be just over a degree from the outer planet Uranus. The latter is easily visible in binoculars. Uranus will be to the lower right of Jupiter and the brightest object close to Jupiter.

This month the waning Moon will be 18% lit when at its closest to Jupiter. The two are closest on the morning May 10, when they will be about 7.5° apart a short while before sunrise, with the Moon to the lower left of Jupiter. They are in fact a little closer earlier in the morning.

SATURN remains the best placed planet for viewing in the evening sky during May. It is at its highest and to the north close to 10pm on May 1 and 2 hours earlier at the end of the month. Saturn is only just north of the celestial equator so is at mid altitude as seen from New Zealand. The planet is in Virgo, just over 25° to the left of Spica and is slightly brighter than the star.

The closest approach of the moon to Saturn is on the 23rd, when the 75% lit moon will be 8° from the planet and to its upper right early evening, when they are closest.

Saturn's rings are still only open a slight amount, so will generally appear as a bar either side of the planet in a small telescope. Viewing at high power will show the rings.