May 13, 2026: A thin crescent moon guides Saturn’s first morning appearance, while Venus passes between Taurus’ horns and closes in on Jupiter in the evening sky.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:33 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 8:03 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
Saturn, Moon before Sunrise
Step outside an hour before sunrise. The crescent moon, 16% illuminated, is over 10° above the east horizon. It is 6.2° to the upper right of Saturn, making the planet’s identification fairly easy as it makes its first morning appearance after its solar conjunction earlier this year.
Binocular View
Saturn and the crescent easily fit into the same binocular field. Find a clear spot looking eastward, such as a hilltop or a high floor in an elevated structure.
Earthshine
Look for earthshine, sunlight reflected from Earth’s features, on the lunar night side. While visible to the unaided eye, a binocular shows the effect more clearly. Photograph it with a tripod-mounted camera or a steady camera phone using exposures up to a few seconds.
Venus Through Taurus’ Horns after Sunset
After sunset, brilliant Venus and Jupiter shine brightly from the west. Appearing as the brightest starlike body in the sky, Venus can be seen as early as 30 minutes after sunset. Thirty minutes later, it is 15° above the west-northwest horizon.
This evening, Venus passes between Taurus’ horns—Elnath and Zeta Tauri. Venus is 4.1° to Elnath’s lower left and 3.8° to Zeta Tauri’s upper right. The span between the stars is too wide to fit all three in the same binocular field.
Venus steps eastward, passing 3.9° to Zeta Tauri’s upper right tomorrow evening as it moves in front of Gemini on May 19.
Jupiter, Venus’ Target
Tonight, bright Jupiter is nearly 27° to Venus’ upper left. The gap between them closes about 1° each night as Venus moves eastward about 10 times faster than Jupiter.
The Jovian Giant is 35° above the west horizon and 6.8° to Pollux’s lower left, one of the Twins. Castor, the second brother, is 9.7° to the upper right.
Venus sets over two hours after sunset, followed by Jupiter and the Twins about three hours later.
Before sunrise, look for the Saturn-Moon pairing, while Venus passes between Taurus’ horns as it approaches Jupiter.
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