Late spring and early fall are the best time of year to skygaze with children. The days are short enough that nightfall can come before bedtime, and warm enough that you're not shivering too hard to look through a telescope or binoculars - which reminds me of the January I stood outside on Jones Beach at 3 a.m. for about an hour hoping to see the last space shuttle night launch only to get back in the car to hear that NASA had cancelled the launch at the last minute. I went home and drank about a dozen cups of hot chocolate!
May is a good month for planet watching. Venus is going to be very visible in the west just after sunset as it heads towards what should be a beautiful transit across the face of the sun in early June.
The moon and Venus are going to be very close together in the early evening on May 22 and 23.
Mars will be visible to the south at dusk and will move westward throughout the night.
For more information and to see maps of the night sky, check out: http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/visible-planets-tonight-mars-jupiter-venus-saturn-mercury
Also, if it's the end of the year test time for your middle school or high school aged children and they need to study the planets, or you have a younger child who enjoys learning about the planets, check out the following links for solar system games and further info:
http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/menu/solar-system/
http://www.kidsastronomy.com/fun/make-a-solar-system.htm
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forkids/kidsclub/flash/index.html
http://pds.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/
Although we won't be able to see it on the east coast, there is going to be an annual solar eclipse tomorrow - meaning that the moon will pass in front of the sun giving viewers on Earth an effect similar to looking at a ring of fire. One National Park in Arizona is going to be showing the event over the Internet. Check these links for more info:http://travel.usatoday.com/destinations/dispatches/post/2012/05/national-parks-solar-eclipse-may-20/683045/1
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/eclipse-2012.html
