After slipping behind the sun, Venus emerges in our evening twilight.  Look for it in the west-northwest shortly after sunset.  For a few weeks this brightest of our neighboring planets will be hard to find in a bright sky (this week it sets less than an hour after the sun) but as the month progresses, Venus will rise higher in an evening gavotte.

As the sky darkens, Jupiter will glow brightly in the west-northwest.  It will set around 10:30 in the evening, roughly two hours after Venus.  As it sets, Saturn rises in the east-southeast.

This is a good month for looking up at Saturn.  The Earth made its closest pass of the year just two weeks ago and the Ringed Planet is as bright as it'll be in 2013; it is slightly brighter than it was during last year's close encounter because the positions of the planets this year give us a better view of the bright rings.

If you're not familiar with Saturn, look for the Big Dipper.  Follow the curve of the Dipper's handle down to a bright yellow star called Arcturus.  Now follow that arc an equal distance down past Arcturus to a pair of objects.  The blue-white star on the right is called Spica and the tan or pale yellow object on the left is Saturn.  Saturn was the most distant planet known before the invention of the telescope and it is the most spectacular when seen with optical aid.

The moon's circuit will bring it next to Venus on Friday the 10th.  Look toward the west-northwest right after sunset to see a very thin crescent setting just below Venus.  On the 11th and 12th, the crescent moon will be fatter and hanging out with Jupiter and on the evening of the 22nd, a nearly full moon will rise to the right of Saturn.

But don't forget Venus and Jupiter, because late in May they begin to dance together.

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