From the sea – Planets move around the Sun. Like Earth, this planet moves on its own in its orbit.
In that long journey, occasionally a number of these planets with the Moon will appear aligned when viewed from Earth.
Observers on Earth will see a scene like this. This celestial phenomenon can be observed on April 23, early in the morning.
Before the unusual alignment of the five planets seen in the solar system, four planets lined up behind the moon like ducks, in a row.
On April 23, Saturn, Mars, Venus and Jupiter will all be visible above the horizon in the early hours of the northern hemisphere.
Later, in mid-June, Mercury will join the planet’s parade.
Collect Live Science (20/4) Planetary alignment occurs when their orbits are in the same celestial region, when viewed from Earth.
This alignment of the planets does not occur regularly. The last time the five planets were aligned in the night sky was in 2020, the previous alignments occurred in 2016 and 2005.
Venus, Mars and Saturn have been neighbors in the night sky since late March. On April 4 and 5, the planet is very close when viewed from Earth.
Jupiter turned the three into a foursome in mid-April. Then, the Moon will appear in its last quarter phase to the right of Saturn on April 23.
Mars will be an orange dot below and to the left of Saturn, while Venus will be a brighter light below and to the left of Mars. Jupiter will be the lowest and far left in the sky.
Michelle Nichols, director of public observations at Chicago’s Adler Planetarium, says the way to distinguish the planets from the stars in the sky is by light.
“The stars are twinkling,” Nichols told Live Science. “Planets don’t.”
The planets are most visible in the Northern Hemisphere one hour to 45 minutes before sunrise. The moon will remain above the horizon until April 29, but the four planets will remain in their cosmic line until early July.
Mercury will appear in that line as early as June 10 in places with a flat eastern horizon, leading to the alignment of the last five planets.
The planets would appear to be lined up from east to south, Nichols said. Late June will provide the best viewing conditions for alignment.
Uranus and Neptune will also be in the Northern Hemisphere’s field of view during the alignment. Uranus will be between Mercury and Mars and will be seen in areas without much light pollution.
Telescope
Collect AccuWeather (20/4) Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn have lined up in the morning sky and will continue to shine in a row throughout the rest of April.
The quartet can easily be seen without a telescope in the eastern sky, and other celestial bodies will join as early as next week.
The crescent moon will appear near the four planets about an hour before sunrise on Monday, April 25, and Tuesday, April 26.
Neptune will appear near Venus and Jupiter on April 25 and April 26. However, it will be difficult to spot because the planet is too dim to see without the aid of a telescope.
New people using telescope will have help finding the distant world as it will appear directly between Jupiter and Venus.
Neptune will appear as a small blue dot, visible apart from the other planets and stars visible in this area of the sky before sunrise.
The planets will be worth seeing again on the morning of April 30 and May 1 because Jupiter and Venus are passing very close to each other.
Source: Livescience.com and Accuweather.com
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