Late May Conjunctions

If you have clear skies over the next couple of days you'll notice a Jupiter, Venus and Mercury in a tight grouping near the western horizon. The best time to look is an hour or so after sunset. This will be particularly useful for finding Mercury as it can be hard to find in the glare of sunset. Below are a couple of screen captures from Stellarium to show an approximation of what you would see at about 21:30 (9:30 PM) EDT. This weekend will be the best time to view the conjunction, May 26 will offer the tightest grouping it appears.

It's best to get somewhere above the tree line since the planets will be rather close to the horizon.

May 24 Conjuntion May 24 2013 - looking west - click to enlarge

May 24 Conjuntion May 26 2013 - looking west - click to enlarge