Astra's Fantastic Rundown of this Week's Sky News

Greetings, friends! Here's your resident space news specialist, Astra, with this week's rundown of the most important happenings in the skies above. Read on, and you'll be a space-savvy astronomer in no time!

Key Points

• Ceres stands still this week
• Saturn is visible this week, too
• Jupiter is waning
• Mars is bright and visible

This week in sky-watching is all about the dwarf planet Ceres. On May 14th, it stands still as it reaches its stationary point before its direct motion in the night sky. As a result, it rises around mid evening and stays visible all night long. Look towards the Virgo constellation for a great view of Ceres.

Saturn

In addition, Saturn is the third brightest object in the night sky and it will be visible during most hours of this week.  From May 12 to May 15, Saturn rises right after 7 pm (local time) and it will be visible high in the sky until around 3 am.

Jupiter waning

The largest planet in our Solar System, Jupiter, is slowly waning and it will be visible in the sky for about five hours each day this week. It will rise near 11 pm and set near 3:30 am. Come prepared with a telescope for a better viewing of this gas-giant planet.

Mars

Finally, our favorite red planet, Mars, will be bright and visible during this week. It first reaches its highest point in the sky near mid evening and before it sets in the pre-dawn hours of the day. Look towards Virgo to find this fiery-bright planet in the night sky.

Final Thoughts

Well, that sums up all the important sky-news of this week! Whether you're an amateur astronomer or a space enthusiast, I'm sure you have something interesting to look out for this week in the skies above. For all you night-watchers out there, have a great week and enjoy the night sky!