While it's not a once-in-a-lifetime event, the next opportunity won't be till March 2041. There will be multiple opportunities for viewing, but the two choicest opportunities occur on June 24 (described above) and June 26, when Venus and the filament-thin Moon meet in conjunction. I encourage you to get up early at least one morning for a look. Yikes, I was barely four years old! Best dates skywatchers the last similar grand spread took place in July 1957. Turning to the evening sky, we saw similar planet lines in October 1997 and September 1995, but Mercury's elongation at those times was no more than 10°, restricting the view to sharp-eyed observers in tropical latitudes. This rare event last occurred in the morning sky in December 2004. During the present day lineup the planets were closest at 91° on June 3rd, but Mercury wasn't visible visually at that time because it was too faint (magnitude 2.3). The most compact line of planets in order of distance in more than a century occurred in November 1921 when they spanned an arc just 44° long. Standing under the spread will feel like looking out the window of spaceship Earth at our place in the cosmic order. Even more amazing, they'll be in correct order outward from the Sun starting with Mercury at the eastern horizon followed by Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and ending at Saturn. Like a peacock spreading its feathers, the solar system's five brightest planets will fan out in a beautiful display at dawn through early July. The Moon appears near Jupiter on June 21st Mars on June 22nd, Venus on June 26th, and Mercury on June 27th. As the Moon passes through, we'll see successive conjunctions or appulses. Use this sunrise calculator to plan your outing. To add Venus and Mercury, which nestle low in the solar glow, you'll need to observe closer to sunrise. You can start earlier - 60 to 90 minutes before sunrise - to spot Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. One of the prettiest mornings to view them will be June 24th, when a striking crescent Moon joins the crew. Louis-Gregory Strolger, Space Telescope Science Instituteī.All five bright planets fan out in order of their distance from the Sun across the dawn sky now through early July. Jane Rigby, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Grant Tremblay, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonianĭoris Daou, NASA Planetary Science DivisionĪlice K. Unwin, JPL, California Institute of Technology EditorialĮxecutive Officer / CEO, AAS Sky Publishing, LLC If you select a highlighted name from the following list, you'll call up a brief biography or other relevant information related to that individual. Several of S&T's editors over the years have been honored by the world's astronomers by having asteroids named after them, and our designers and artists have had their extraordinary talents recognized by their peers in the magazine-publishing industry. Its editors are virtually all amateur or professional astronomers, and every one has built a telescope, written a book, done original research, developed a new product, or otherwise distinguished him or herself. and Helen Spence Federer, has the most experienced staff of any astronomy magazine in the world. Sky & Telescope magazine, founded in 1941 by Charles A.
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