It is also very close to bottoming out in its current journey along the ecliptic path, having recently entered Sagittarius. On Friday the 6th, Venus passes 10 degrees north of Mercury, the little planet so close to the Sun that it is not possible to see from North America. The evening sky still provides the best planetary view, with Jupiter and Saturn glorious to the west among the stars of Taurus. May. Daylight time has just been launched over most of the US and Canada. Time is really longitude dependent.
Standard time is local time at specified meridians.
If you are west of your meridian, the Sun seems to set late, while if east it will seem to set early. Much farther down is Pyxis, the Compass, all a challenge and nearly impossible to see under the glare of full Moonlight. Our Ursa Major, the Greater Bear, contains remnants of ancient Arabic constellations, the best-known example the star Alkaid, which refers to the leader of the daughters of a funeral bier. Southwest of the Dipper's bowl lie three obvious pairs of stars that represent the bear's paws, but to the Arabs were the tracks of leaping gazelles. Before long, the helium will fire up to fuse to carbon, and the star will dim some and stabilize as a class K giant.