This is a great time to see elusive Mercury in the evening after sunset (at least for mid-northern locations). Ryadian's father and I found it easily in binoculars, and then with the unaided eye, the other night about 35 minutes after sunset. It was about 10 degrees high in the west-northwest. (If you have a good view in that direction, much brighter Venus is below it and acts as a guide. We had too many trees here to see Venus). Details are included in this week's sky at a glance.

Thanks for this, @stargazer. Glad you and Rya's father were able to enjoy that beautiful sight. My aim is to get outside from a higher viewing point to view Mercury and Venus. It always seems an accomplishment to see Mercury, as, like you said, it is quite elusive.

Nowadays, with the sun rising just after 6 a.m., it is mighty tricky to get walking for any time at all under the night sky. This morning I was out at 5:25, and dawn was well in swing. I saw Jupiter and, barely, Saturn, but everything else was washed out by the brightening sky. I am almost counting the days until I can view that stunning deep vastness with ease again.  

Tonight is our first clear evening this week, so around 9 local time, I am heading out back to catch a glimpse of the Moon's sliver by Venus, low in the west, with Mercury a bit above it. Excited!

Good luck, Jo! Rya's father and I successfully found Venus in binoculars (before sunset) but could not see the Moon even after sunset. Maybe it's our old eyes. 😉

We've seen Mercury several times now, and look forward to seeing a slightly-thicker Moon near it tomorrow evening, weather permitting.

Cool, stargazer! *but chuckles empathetically at 'old eyes'*

Success last night between 9:15 and 9:40. I tried out by the field just back of us, but even with a bit more height there, there were a couple of well (badly?) placed trees that hid exactly where I wanted to see. However, from this point, when it was a bit darker, I quite easily viewed Mercury.

When I realized I couldn't see close enough to the horizon from the field, I hopped in the car (in my cozy pjs ) and drove to our standard wide, higher vista point just a kilometer south of us. Venus was glittering quite near the horizon, but with the now-set sun's red glow, I could not see the Moon with my naked eye. However! putting the binoculars to my eyes, I narrowed in, and sure enough, just to the left of Venus, was the thin crescent Moon. What a sight! I gasped aloud at the discovery and joy of this! Once I knew where it was, I could then see it without aid, although it was very faint. And it looked huge, as is the norm that close to the horizon.

I enjoyed spotting Mars, too, along with Betelgeuse and Gemini, all in the west. The Big Dipper was at the zenith of the sky, with Arcturus glowing nearby.

Tonight is a truly pleasant evening, with a temperature of about 60F/16C with no humidity or mosquitoes - the perfect time to step outside around 9pm local time and see the delicate crescent Moon about 3 degrees to the left of Mercury. Soon the planet was easily visible without binoculars, along with Mars and some of the brighter stars. I enjoyed just sitting in a chair watching night fall and the stars come out. 

There's something new to watch for in the night sky - the recently-launched Chinese space station module, called Tianhe-1 ("harmony of heaven"). Predictions are available at heavens-above and elsewhere.  We saw it easily last night, even in our suburban skies (at first magnitude it's far dimmer than the ISS).

There is a total lunar eclipse coming up, on the morning (or evening, for areas west of the International Date Line) of May 26. Visibility is best around the Pacific Basin - especially New Zealand and most of Australia. In North America, the moon is setting during the eclipse, and you see more of it the farther west you live.

It's barely total - the total phase lasts only 18 minutes - so it's likely to be bright red in color. The NASA eclipse page has more details. (To translate, U1 - the partial eclipse - begins at 0945 UT, the total phase (U2) at 1111, totality ends (U3) at 1126, and the partial eclipse (U4) ends at 1252). You can find conversions to your own time zone online. For US Central Daylight Time, subtract 5 hours.

Dawn will interfere here in North America; the sun rises (and the moon sets) before totality begins in my time zone (Central US). In addition, the eclipsed moon will be quite low and faint in the twilight, making it even harder to see.

@stargazer Ooh, wish I could be back in Australia to watch that! I've never managed to see a lunar eclipse. I remember one once, years ago, but the sky was just too cloudy to see anything much where we were (that was also in Australia).

@Courtenay, unfortunately, it looks like the UK is not in line for a lunar eclipse for a while.  The next one, in November, also favors the Pacific and much of North America.

I've seen online articles touting this as a 'once in a lifetime event' - due, I guess, to its timing of the May full moon and the supermoon. But that's a bit of hyperbole, in my mind. It's well worth watching on its own merits.

Here is Sky and Telescope's discussion about Wednesday's eclipse, including drawings of its approximate appearance in several US cities. Here we get about 55% coverage by the time the sun  rises and the moon sets.

Well I had to laugh. We pulled ourselves and our kids out of bed just in time this morning to drive half a mile to our church parking lot. The moon was a sliver of a crescent when we pulled in, and probably within 5-8 minutes, it was fully eclipsed and we could no longer see it at that point. LOL

But we did get to see it and we rewarded the kids with donuts afterwards for getting out of bed early.  

Donuts for breakfast! Glad you got to see at least part of it. In 6 months (November 19) there will be a nearly-total lunar eclipse before dawn, with North America somewhat better situated to see more of it.

It was clear all night here - until clouds rolled in shortly after 4 am (the partial phase was set to begin at 4.45). I was ready to go back to sleep but decided to check one last time at 4.48. I could glimpse the moon through the trees, but it was still cloudy enough that I couldn't see the eclipse.

The moon was only 6 degrees high then and twilight was well under way, so I walked to a nearby church parking lot that has good views in the right direction. The overcast cleared as fast as it had come, and in addition to the moon just above the trees I spotted Jupiter high in the southeast.

By 5.15 the moon was about 45% covered and a deep orange color (due to the atmosphere, not the eclipse). The eclipsed portion faded from view as dawn approached. The moon went behind trees shortly before sunrise.

Two weeks after that total lunar eclipse, its partner, an annular solar eclipse, comes the morning of June 10.

An annular eclipse occurs when the moon isn't quite big enough to cover the sun completely; since the moon was close to earth for the lunar one, it's at its farthest two weeks later for this one. So the sun looks like a donut, or a ring (annular comes from annulus, ring).

The sun will rise in annular eclipse over Lake Superior, then the path moves across Canada, Greenland, the North Pole, and ends in Russia. Much of Europe, and some of eastern North America, will see a partial eclipse.

Here, the sun rises partially covered. Near Toronto, the sun rises just after maximum eclipse (about 80% covered).

This article has a lot more information, including a link to an interactive map that will allow you to see what will happen at your location.

Sadly going to miss this eclipse. I'd love to see the "ring of fire" sometime. But I did see that October 14, 2023, there's going to be another Annular Solar Eclipse not terribly far from where I live. Might be worth driving to see.  

And then obviously looking forward to the big Total Eclipse on April 8, 2024.

Thanks for the link to the S&T article, stargazer. I would dearly love to view this eclipse on Thursday morning. Alas! the forecast for here is heavy cloud cover and possibly rain. I could cry! The "ring of fire" would be so amazing to witness. If there is even the slightest chance of glimpsing something, I will be out there, believe you me!

Best news for this week: the forecast has completely changed for tomorrow morning. While thunderstorms will roll through our area this afternoon and possibly this evening, the night should clear a few hours before sunrise, and stay clear through the eclipse!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Guess where I will definitely be tomorrow morning when the sun rises?!   I must remember my eclipse glasses, camera, folding chair!

I read on Sky & Telescope that they have "chartered a flight into southern Ontario" to view this event. Coolio!