In early May, Orion, the hunter, and all of his gang of bright stars and constellations start the evening very low in the western sky. By the end of the month, all of the great stars of winter will have sunk below the horizon by 10 p.m., the time it gets dark enough to stargaze.

Watching the stars is now a late-night show. But if you stay awake for it, there are celestial rewards.

It has been a while since we've seen three planets in the evening sky, but there they are:

-- Bright Jupiter is hanging in the southwestern sky, although it's not quite as bright and close as it was in winter.

-- Mars is still shining very brightly in the southeastern sky as evening begins. Last month, it reached its closest approach to Earth in more than two years. Even with the naked eye, you can see its bright orange-red hue.

-- Saturn enters the early-evening sky right around sunset above the southeast horizon. It's the closest it has been in more than a year. It's still more than 850 million miles from Earth but remains a great telescope target. Using even a small scope, you can see Saturn's ring system and some of its brighter moons. Wait until after 11 p.m. when it will be higher in the sky and won't be behind so much of Earth's blurring atmosphere near the horizon.

Spring constellations aren't as dazzling as winter ones, but there's still much to see.

Look for Leo, the lion, in the high southwest. The backward question mark outlines the chest and head.


The moderately bright star at the bottom of the question mark is Regulus. It's more than 77 light-years away. One light-year equals slightly less than 6 trillion miles.

If you face north and look overhead this month, the Big Dipper will appear to be dumping on you. The Big Dipper is always upside down in the evening this time of year. According to folklore, that's why we have so much rain in spring.

Technically the Big Dipper is the rear end and tail of the constellation Ursa Major, the big bear.

Elsewhere in the northern sky, look for the Little Dipper, lying on its handle with the Polaris, the North Star, at the end of it.

Cassiopeia, the queen, the constellation that looks like the big W, is very low in the northwestern sky.

In the high eastern sky, look for the brightest star. That's Arcturus, in the constellation Bootes, the farmer. Bootes looks like a giant kite, and Arcturus is at its tail.

According to Greek mythology, Bootes is hunting the big bear. Since Ursa Major is almost overhead right now, this is a great time to see the fainter stars that make up the rest of that constellation.


Tonight in the low western evening sky, the new crescent moon passes through the constellation Gemini and has a close embrace with Jupiter.


A Mike Lynch Minnesota Starwatch astronomy class will be held from 8:30 to 10:20 p.m. Thursday, May 8, at the observatory at the Staring Lake Outdoor Center in Eden Prairie.

For more information, call 952-949-8470. To register for the class, go to

Mike Lynch is an amateur astronomer, professional broadcast meteorologist for WCCO Radio in Minneapolis and St. Paul and author of "Stars, a Month by Month Tour of the Constellations" (Adventure Publications, adventurepublica Write to him at mik Visit his website at