May 9, 2026: See the Last Quarter moon before sunrise and track Venus moving between Taurus’ horns as it closes in on Jupiter in the western evening sky.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:37 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 7:58 p.m. CDT. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times.
Venus as an Evening Star
Moon, Bright Planets
The moon reaches the Last Quarter phase, while brilliant Venus and Jupiter dominate the evening sky.
Morning Moon
An hour before sunrise, the slightly gibbous moon, 55% illuminated, is over 20° above the southeast horizon. The lunar orb reaches the Last Quarter phase at 4:10 p.m. Central Time.
Use a binocular to find Deneb Algedi, Capricornus’ tail, 10.5° to the lower left.
Venus, Evening Star
After sunset, brilliant Venus shines from the west-northwest. Tonight, it is below the horns of Taurus, Elnath and Zeta Tauri. One hour after nightfall, the Evening Star is about 15° above the horizon, 5.5° to Elnath’s lower left and 6.8° to Zeta Tauri’s lower right. During the next several nights, watch Venus move between the horns.
Venus steps toward slower-moving Jupiter, 31° to the upper left.
Jupiter, Gemini
The Jovian Giant rambles eastward in front of Gemini, 7.1° to Pollux’s lower left. Watch Jupiter slowly move compared to the background stars. Tonight, it sets about 5 hours after sunset.
Venus overtakes Jupiter on June 9.
Before sunrise, find the moon in the southeast. After sunset, brilliant Venus and Jupiter are in the western sky.
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