Look west this evening after sunset to catch a glimpse of bright Jupiter, slowly setting between the horns of Taurus the Bull. An hour after sunset, Aldebaran — the Bull’s eye — is getting low, but Jupiter remains some 20° high.
With a telescope, center the stately gas giant in your field of view. It’s the brightest point of light in Taurus, easy to identify. The planet spans 33” and is flanked by its four Galilean moons early in the evening: Callisto far to the west with Europa nearer to the limb, while Io sits close to Jupiter to the east and Ganymede is farther out.
But there’s a disappearing act coming up: As time ticks by, you’ll see Europa getting closer to the planet, slipping behind the northwestern limb in an occultation at 10 P.M. CDT. The farther west you are, the better — Jupiter has already set for those in the Eastern time zone and is very low in the Midwest, while it remains respectably high above the turbulent air near the horizon farther west.
The Eta Aquariid meteor shower peaks overnight tonight, with the radiant rising in the early-morning hours of the 6th. Late-night observers might catch an increasing number of meteors as midnight approaches and the calendar date changes — we’ll update this column at midnight CDT with more details on where to find the radiant and the best time to watch the stunning shower tomorrow before dawn. If you’re looking to prepare before then, check out the entry for May 6 in the full The Sky This Week from May 2 to 9 column.
Sunrise: 5:55 A.M.
Sunset: 7:59 P.M.
Moonrise: 1:27 P.M.
Moonset: 2:50 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous (62%)
*Times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset are given in local time from 40° N 90° W. The Moon’s illumination is given at 12 P.M. local time from the same location.
For a look ahead at more upcoming sky events, check out our full Sky This Week column.
