Dance of the Planets...Worthwhile seeing

[Sazerac]

For weeks to come, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will keep together in close formation shortly after sunset in Western skies.

But during that time, Mercury, the first planet will gradually drop from the dance, hidden by the glare of the sun, while the latter four continue moving around each other into the summer.

The dancing planets form picturesque displays. On Monday, Mars, Saturn and Venus made a close-knit triangle. On Friday, Venus and Mars will hover within one-third of a degree of each other. To compare, the tip of a finger extended at arm's length is two times as wide.

Perhaps the most anticipated show comes May 14 and includes an entirely different performer. Venus will pass within a fraction of a degree of the moon. At the time the moon will appear as a slender crescent, but the dark portion will glow with "earthshine," or sunlight reflected off our planet.

The Venus-Moon duet is "a sight you will never forget," wrote Jack Horkheimer, director of the Miami Planetarium, on his Web site: http://www.jackstargazer.com

"If you have any way of photographing this event please do so because it's simply the kind of celestial picture that will take your breath away."

A close line-up of the five naked-eye planets like this one happens only once every generation or so. A similar planetary grouping will not take place until 2040, according to Kelly Beatty, executive editor of Sky & Telescope Magazine.

To view the show, Beatty suggests looking in the direction of where the sun sets about 45 minutes later. To see Mercury, which hangs extremely low in the sky, a clear view to the Western horizon is necessary. Binoculars can help to compensate for sun glare.

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Do check it out! [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]

Cheers,
-Saz

[Epona]

Thanks for posting that!

Sounds cool, wonder if anything like that will be visible here.

[DiabloRex]

Then I clicked this thread I feared it was a musical or something like that... [img]graemlins/biglaugh.gif[/img]

You know of some website that lists the time on when to see this phenomen around the world?

[Bruce The Aussie]

darn this living in london. i'll never got to see it as it's almost always overcast, due to the smog of factory's. DARN!!!

quick question. on overcat nights do's the sky glow kinda red in your area (question directed to all)

[Redblueflare]

Yup, my physics teacher told me about this. I wonder if i'll be able to notice it without any sort of telescope though. Bruce over here we don't have that sorta thing. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[Epona]

I want to see it! Fortunately I'm going out of town next week, so my view won't be blocked by high-rises. And I'll be on the south coast, so the moon will be over the sea! [img]smile.gif[/img] Goody! Hope the weather bloody improves.

[Cyril Darkcloud]

Originally posted by Redblueflare: Yup, my physics teacher told me about this. I wonder if i'll be able to notice it without any sort of telescope though. Bruce over here we don't have that sorta thing. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

The planets should be readily visible without any equipment such as telescopes or binoculars. Venus and Jupiter when they are visible in the night sky are the two brightest starlike objects. With reasonably clear skies and good view of the western horizon you should have no trouble seeing this. The exception would be Mercury which is notoriously difficult to see as it follows so closely behind the sun.

Unfortunately for me the night skies have benn quite overcast these last few days and so it hasn't been possible to see much of anything.

[Talthyr Malkaviel]

For once I'm glad of living in the country where the stars aren't drowned out with light or strange fumes... [img]tongue.gif[/img]
I'll have to see if I can get a look see at that.

[Madman-Rogovich]

yea livng in a small ass hick town aint so bad cos there aint no light pollution... i could make out at least 2 planets a couple of nigts ago IT WAS RAD!!