Planets dazzle the nighttime sky, a grouping the likes of which haven't been seen for twenty years. In May 2000 there was a similar grouping physically, however it took place during the day and we could not see the planets. This time, it's at night and we are treated to all five naked eye planets!

Mercury starts the show off by emerging from the Sun to approach Mars and Saturn. Mercury is the hardest of the planets to spot. The main event of the show is Venus, Saturn and Mars as they all lie within a three degree circle. The climax is when brilliant Venus slides in within three degrees of Jupiter toward the end of May.

Venus is so bright it is easy to spot before twilight fades and will without a doubt be the first to be spotted. As the sky darkens, Mercury can be spotted to the lower right of Venus. Binoculars or small telescope will show Mercury as half full phase. If you view Mercury over several nights, you will see the disk shrink towards a crescent phase. But you will have to view Mercury during the first half of May because it will be shrinking back towards the horizon, setting earlier each night.

Before it is dark enough to spot Mercury, look for Saturn and Mars near Venus. Venus is the brightest of the three, followed in brightness by Saturn and then Mars.

To the lower left of Saturn is the bright yellow star Aldebaran in Taurus the bull. Mars is too close to the horizon to be worth looking at in a telescope, our atmosphere is too unsteady to show any detail.

On May 13th, a crescent moon will add to the celestial show when it lies about three degrees to the left of Mercury. The moon will make spotting dim Mercury harder. Your best bet is to look for Mercury about thirty minutes before moonset on a dark, low western horizon.

May 13th will also mark the date when all five planets are closest together, all strung along a thirty-three degree arc along the ecliptic. The ecliptic is the imaginary line along which the Sun and planets appear to move in the sky.

On May 14th, the moon will have an encounter with Venus, sliding within three degrees of Venus. At that time, Venus is 2.4 degrees above Mars.

The show continues on the night of May 15th. The growing moon is now midway between Venus and Jupiter. Only 6.2 degrees separate the moon and Jupiter in the constellation of Gemini.

Venus continues its trek along the ecliptic and by May 24th is positioned midway between Jupiter and Mars. Towards month's end, Jupiter is the only planet worth looking at in a telescope. The rest are too close to the horizon and any details are obscured by atmospheric turbulence.

During the last few days of May, Venus, which has continued to brighten as the month progresses, and Jupiter are only four degrees apart. Early June will have these two planets approaching within less than two degrees of each other! Saturn will have left us by month's end, lost in the glare of the Sun, we will not see the ringed planet for awhile.

With all that excitement going on in the night sky, it would be a great time to plan on watching it. Why not turn a barbecue into a star party and invite friends and neighbors over the watch the celestial planet show.