What’s visible in the sky above Liverpool in May 2013?
Map is valid for:
1st May 2013 at 00:00 BST
15th May 2013 at 23:00 BST
30th May 2013 at 22:00 BST

The Sun

The Moon

	Last Quarter	New Moon	First Quarter	Full Moon	Last Quarter
Date	2nd May 2013	10th May 2013	18th May 2013	25th May 2013	31st May 2013
Time	12:15 BST	01:29 BST	05:35 BST	05:25 BST	19:59 BST

Planets

Mercury

Mercury reaches Superior Conjunction (that is, it is behind the Sun as seen from Earth) on the 12th of May and so will not be visible until later in the month, however when it does reappear it joins Venus and Jupiter making a nice sight low in the Western sky just after sunset. The three planets will all sit around the horns of Taurus (although due to the remaining sunlight these stars may not be visible).

The images below show the positions given in the table above (although the times are slightly different, they will be close).

Chart: Mercury, Venus and Jupiter low in the Western sky at 21:30 BST on May 21st, 2013

Chart: Mercury, Venus and Jupiter close together in the Western early evening sky at 21:30 BST on 26th May, 2013

Chart: Mercury, Venus and Jupiter close together in the Western early evening sky at 21:30 BST on 31st May, 2013

An interesting aspect of this to note is that by the end of the month, Mercury is higher in the sky than Venus.

Venus

Venus can be found very low in the Western evening sky after just sunset, becoming easier to locate as the month draws on. An interesting association with Mercury and Jupiter is detailed in Mercury’s entry above.

Mars

Mars only passed Solar Conjunction last month, and so is not particularly favourable at the moment.

Jupiter

Jupiter, visible low in the Western evening sky will become more difficult to see as the month progresses and it approaches next month’s Solar Conjunction. See Mercury’s entry for information about its brief association with the planet this month.

Saturn

Saturn passed Opposition last month, the point at which it is opposite the Sun in our sky, and so is well placed for observation this month. By midnight the planet is is visible towards the South at the edge of the constellation of Virgo (the virgin), passing 2.5° North of Khambalia (λ-Virginis) on May 5th.

Comets

Comet C/2011 L4 (Pan-STARRS)

Comet C/2011 L4 (Pan-STARRS) is growing much fainter, although it should still be observable in a small telescope as it passes from the area between Cassiopeia (the Ethiopian queen) and Cepheus (the Ethiopian king) early in the month to the tail of Ursa Minor (the little bear) towards the end of May.
On 14th May 2013, Comet Pan-STARRS passes within ¼° of Errai (γ-Cephei), and by the end of the month will be about 5° from Polaris.

Comet C/2012 F6 (Lemmon)

Comet C/2012 F6 (Lemmon), while not expected to be visible to the naked eye (at least not from urban areas), is moving into the skies of the Northern Hemisphere. By May 15th, it will be rising in the North-East near Algenib (γ-Pegesi), the star to the lower left of the square of Pegasus (the winged horse) at about 02:00 BST. June may be more favourable for observing this comet, as it will be higher in the sky.

Meteors