May 15, 2026: Saturn emerges from bright morning twilight near a thin crescent moon, while Venus moves eastward between Taurus’ horns and closes in on Jupiter after sunset.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:31 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 8:04 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 before Sunrise, Venus-Jupiter Evening Planets
Saturn emerges from morning twilight as Venus slowly overtakes Jupiter in the western sky after sunset.
Saturn Emerges from Morning Twilight
An hour before sunrise, Saturn is over 5° above the eastern horizon, emerging from bright morning twilight. Use a binocular to look for it from a spot with a clear eastern horizon or another elevated vantage point. It is too low for favorable visibility through a telescope, although that improves from week to week during this apparition.
The thin crescent moon rises about an hour before sunrise, although it is a challenging sight. It passes through the new phase tomorrow and into the evening sky, joining the bright planets.
Evening Planets
After yesterday’s superior conjunction on the sun’s far side, Mercury speeds toward an evening appearance. It joins the evening planet display in nearly 10 nights.
An hour after sunset, brilliant Venus shines from the west-northwest. It can be seen as early as 30 minutes after sunset. Thirty minutes later, it is 15° above the horizon. Tonight, it is 5.2° to the upper left of Elnath and 3.9° to the upper right of Zeta Tauri, the Bull’s horns. In three nights, it steps eastward in front of Gemini as the crescent moon joins it in a close evening pairing.
The Evening Star is closing the gap to Jupiter, nearly 25° to the upper left tonight. Venus passes the Jovian Giant on June 9.
Jupiter slowly rambles eastward in front of Gemini, 6.7° to Pollux’s lower left and 9.7° to Castor’s lower left, the Twins.
Venus sets over 2.5 hours after sunset, while Jupiter sets over two hours later.
Look for Saturn before sunrise, and watch the planet activity in the evening western sky.
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