Kevin Sheely from Woodridge shared this shot of the planets in the sky Monday evening. Our astronomer Dan Joyce describes the interesting astronomical alignment visible above Chicago:
Even in metropolitan lit skies the planets (and for a short while, together with the moon) are putting on a show each clear evening for a couple of weeks. Jupiter is being passed by the moon over the next couple of nights as dusk descends in the western sky as both hover over brilliant Venus, which itself will make headlines early in June because it will pass directly in front of the sun for the last time this century on June 5th.
By about 8:00 Mars is shining in its characteristic fiery color not far from Regulus, the royal star of Leo, King of Beasts. Just a couple of hours later below and to the right of Mars will be Saturn near Spica, brightest star in Virgo, largest of the zodiacal constellations.
Anyone with a clear western horizon looking low between about 6:15 and 6:45pm will also see Mercury, which is making one of its better apparitions out of solar glare for about anothe week or so. --Dan Joyce, Astronomer
