May skies: A string of first-magnitude planets dominates mornings; Sirius is the star of the stars in the evening

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May skies: A string of first-magnitude planets dominates mornings; Sirius is the star of the stars in the evening

May’s first morning features a last-quarter moon, half full, in the southeast as twilight begins to brighten. Since the lower left half of the moon is illuminated, you’ll know that the sun is in the northeast, below the direction of the brightest twilight glow.  To the moon’s lower left, between the moon and the sun’s known position, look for a string of first-magnitude planets, in order of increasing distance from the moon: Saturn, Mars and Mer…