Jupiter and Saturn have paid South Africa a visit and will be extremely visible in the night sky for the rest of May. These two planets can be spotted in the late night or early hours of the morning.
Tonight at 9:37pm there will be perfect visibility of Jupiter, and at 9:59pm there will be perfect visibility of Saturn. Jupiter and Saturn are the largest and second largest planet respectively in our solar system.
Racing stripes: Jupiter is huge, but makes a full rotation in just 10 hours. This creates powerful jet streams that divide its clouds into distinctive bands, as seen in this striking JunoCam image processed by citizen scientist David Marriott. Details: https://t.co/v71OOHdGj8 pic.twitter.com/k1C5AWasdF
— NASA’s Juno Mission (@NASAJuno) May 21, 2020
Jupiter will shine a brilliant silver-white and Saturn shines a yellow-white light but is not particularly bright. Some other planets will also be visible but not as notably as Jupiter and Saturn.
Take a look below for the exact times that these planets will present themselves, according to Time and Date:
| Planetrise/Planetset, Fri, 22 May 2020 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Planet | Rise | Set | Meridian | Comment |
| Mercury | Fri 09:11 | Fri 18:51 | Fri 14:01 | Slightly difficult to see |
| Venus | Fri 09:15 | Fri 18:45 | Fri 14:00 | Slightly difficult to see |
| Mars | Fri 00:46 | Fri 13:52 | Fri 07:19 | Average visibility |
| Jupiter | Fri 21:37 | Sat 11:39 | Sat 04:38 | Perfect visibility |
| Saturn | Fri 21:59 | Sat 11:56 | Sat 04:58 | Perfect visibility |
| Uranus | Fri 05:43 | Fri 16:31 | Fri 11:07 | Extremely difficult to see |
| Neptune | Fri 01:58 | Fri 14:26 | Fri 08:12 | Very difficult to see |
| Planetrise/Planetset, Sat, 23 May 2020 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Planet | Rise | Set | Meridian | Comment |
| Mercury | Sat 09:15 | Sat 18:54 | Sat 14:05 | Average visibility |
| Venus | Sat 09:08 | Sat 18:40 | Sat 13:54 | Slightly difficult to see |
| Mars | Sat 00:45 | Sat 13:50 | Sat 07:18 | Average visibility |
| Jupiter | Sat 21:32 | Sun 11:35 | Sun 04:34 | Perfect visibility |
| Saturn | Sat 21:55 | Sun 11:52 | Sun 04:54 | Perfect visibility |
| Uranus | Sat 05:40 | Sat 16:28 | Sat 11:04 | Extremely difficult to see |
| Neptune | Sat 01:54 | Sat 14:22 | Sat 08:08 | Very difficult to see |
| Planetrise/Planetset, Sun, 24 May 2020 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Planet | Rise | Set | Meridian | Comment |
| Mercury | Sun 09:19 | Sun 18:57 | Sun 14:08 | Average visibility |
| Venus | Sun 09:02 | Sun 18:35 | Sun 13:48 | Slightly difficult to see |
| Mars | Sun 00:45 | Sun 13:48 | Sun 07:17 | Average visibility |
| Jupiter | Sun 21:28 | Mon 11:31 | Mon 04:30 | Perfect visibility |
| Saturn | Sun 21:51 | Mon 11:48 | Mon 04:50 | Perfect visibility |
| Uranus | Sun 05:36 | Sun 16:24 | Sun 11:00 | Extremely difficult to see |
| Neptune | Sun 01:50 | Sun 14:18 | Sun 08:04 | Very difficult to see |
| Planetrise/Planetset, Mon, 25 May 2020 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Planet | Rise | Set | Meridian | Comment |
| Mercury | Mon 09:22 | Mon 18:59 | Mon 14:11 | Average visibility |
| Venus | Mon 08:55 | Mon 18:30 | Mon 13:43 | Slightly difficult to see |
| Mars | Mon 00:44 | Mon 13:46 | Mon 07:15 | Average visibility |
| Jupiter | Mon 21:24 | Tue 11:27 | Tue 04:26 | Perfect visibility |
| Saturn | Mon 21:47 | Tue 11:44 | Tue 04:45 | Perfect visibility |
| Uranus | Mon 05:32 | Mon 16:20 | Mon 10:56 | Very difficult to see |
| Neptune | Mon 01:46 | Mon 14:15 | Mon 08:00 | Very difficult to see |
| Planetrise/Planetset, Tue, 26 May 2020 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Planet | Rise | Set | Meridian | Comment |
| Mercury | Tue 09:25 | Tue 19:02 | Tue 14:14 | Average visibility |
| Venus | Tue 08:49 | Tue 18:25 | Tue 13:37 | Slightly difficult to see |
| Mars | Tue 00:43 | Tue 13:44 | Tue 07:14 | Average visibility |
| Jupiter | Tue 21:20 | Wed 11:23 | Wed 04:22 | Perfect visibility |
| Saturn | Tue 21:43 | Wed 11:40 | Wed 04:41 | Perfect visibility |
| Uranus | Tue 05:29 | Tue 16:16 | Tue 10:52 | Very difficult to see |
| Neptune | Tue 01:42 | Tue 14:11 | Tue 07:56 | Very difficult to see |
| Planetrise/Planetset, Wed, 27 May 2020 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Planet | Rise | Set | Meridian | Comment |
| Mercury | Wed 09:28 | Wed 19:04 | Wed 14:16 | Slightly difficult to see |
| Venus | Wed 08:42 | Wed 18:19 | Wed 13:30 | Not visible |
| Mars | Wed 00:43 | Wed 13:42 | Wed 07:13 | Average visibility |
| Jupiter | Wed 21:16 | Thu 11:19 | Thu 04:18 | Perfect visibility |
| Saturn | Wed 21:39 | Thu 11:36 | Thu 04:37 | Perfect visibility |
| Uranus | Wed 05:25 | Wed 16:13 | Wed 10:49 | Very difficult to see |
| Neptune | Wed 01:38 | Wed 14:07 | Wed 07:53 | Very difficult to see |
| Planetrise/Planetset, Thu, 28 May 2020 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Planet | Rise | Set | Meridian | Comment |
| Mercury | Thu 09:30 | Thu 19:07 | Thu 14:18 | Slightly difficult to see |
| Venus | Thu 08:35 | Thu 18:14 | Thu 13:24 | Not visible |
| Mars | Thu 00:42 | Thu 13:40 | Thu 07:11 | Average visibility |
| Jupiter | Thu 21:12 | Fri 11:15 | Fri 04:13 | Perfect visibility |
| Saturn | Thu 21:35 | Fri 11:32 | Fri 04:33 | Perfect visibility |
| Uranus | Thu 05:21 | Thu 16:09 | Thu 10:45 | Very difficult to see |
| Neptune | Thu 01:34 | Thu 14:03 | Thu 07:49 | Very difficult to see |
| Planetrise/Planetset, Fri, 29 May 2020 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Planet | Rise | Set | Meridian | Comment |
| Mercury | Fri 09:32 | Fri 19:09 | Fri 14:20 | Slightly difficult to see |
| Venus | Fri 08:28 | Fri 18:09 | Fri 13:18 | Not visible |
| Mars | Fri 00:41 | Fri 13:38 | Fri 07:10 | Average visibility |
| Jupiter | Fri 21:08 | Sat 11:11 | Sat 04:09 | Perfect visibility |
| Saturn | Fri 21:31 | Sat 11:28 | Sat 04:29 | Perfect visibility |
| Uranus | Fri 05:18 | Fri 16:05 | Fri 10:41 | Very difficult to see |
| Neptune | Fri 01:31 | Fri 13:59 | Fri 07:45 | Very difficult to see |
| Planetrise/Planetset, Sat, 30 May 2020 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Planet | Rise | Set | Meridian | Comment |
| Mercury | Sat 09:34 | Sat 19:11 | Sat 14:22 | Slightly difficult to see |
| Venus | Sat 08:20 | Sat 18:03 | Sat 13:12 | Very close to Sun, not visible |
| Mars | Sat 00:40 | Sat 13:36 | Sat 07:08 | Average visibility |
| Jupiter | Sat 21:04 | Sun 11:07 | Sun 04:05 | Perfect visibility |
| Saturn | Sat 21:27 | Sun 11:24 | Sun 04:25 | Perfect visibility |
| Uranus | Sat 05:14 | Sat 16:01 | Sat 10:38 | Very difficult to see |
| Neptune | Sat 01:27 | Sat 13:55 | Sat 07:41 | Very difficult to see |
| Planetrise/Planetset, Sun, 31 May 2020 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Planet | Rise | Set | Meridian | Comment |
| Mercury | Sun 09:35 | Sun 19:13 | Sun 14:24 | Slightly difficult to see |
| Venus | Sun 08:13 | Sun 17:58 | Sun 13:05 | Very close to Sun, not visible |
| Mars | Sun 00:40 | Sun 13:34 | Sun 07:07 | Average visibility |
| Jupiter | Sun 20:59 | Mon 11:03 | Mon 04:01 | Perfect visibility |
| Saturn | Sun 21:23 | Mon 11:20 | Mon 04:21 | Perfect visibility |
| Uranus | Sun 05:10 | Sun 15:57 | Sun 10:34 | Difficult to see |
| Neptune | Sun 01:23 | Sun 13:51 | Sun 07:37 | Very difficult to see |
Image credit: Twitter/ @NASAJuno
