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EYES TO THE SKY: A quintet of planets before dawn

This reasonably rare alignment of five planets is “essentially a quirk” of the universe, and is well worth seeing.
January 25 – February 7, 2016
View larger. For illustrative purposes, the moon appears larger than it does in the real sky. The green line on the above chart depicts the ecliptic – path of the sun, moon and planets across the sky’s dome. Courtesy EarthSky.org
View larger. For illustrative purposes, the moon appears larger than it does in the real sky. The green line on the above chart depicts the ecliptic – path of the sun, moon and planets across the sky’s dome. Courtesy EarthSky.org

Mt. Washington — The whole world, it seems, is abuzz with the promise of seeing planet Mercury complete the lineup of the five planets visible from Earth with the naked eye. Jupiter, Mars, Saturn and Venus have been luring us outdoors before dawn for months, most recently looking like colorful beads punctuating a long thread that is stretched on a diagonal from high in the southwest to low in the southeast. During the final week of January, Mercury joins the line. The little planet rises about an hour and a half before the sun, trailing Venus by half an hour. Mercury is up earlier everyday, rising further out of the sun’s glare by the first week in February. On the 6th, a thin crescent moon appears above the namesake of the messenger of the gods and to the left of Venus.

A friend from California sent an article to me from Australian Geographic, in which the author writes, “Dr [sic] Alan Duffy, research fellow at Swinburne University in Melbourne, said that this reasonably rare alignment is ‘essentially a quirk’ of the universe. All the planets sit on a flat plane but have different yearly cycles – so for all five visible planets to happen to line up is “something well worth seeing.” From New Jersey, a clip from NBC NEWS, “In the mood for a little predawn astronomy? You’re in luck: …..[until about February 20] you’ll be able to see with the naked eye five of the brightest planets in our solar system, all at once, every morning. ….. as long as you’re willing to get up early.”

This illustration shows the locations of planets throughout the solar system. Circular symbols are plotted for February 1st, and the curved arrows indicate each planet's motion through the month. During February the outer planets don't change position enough to notice at this scale
. Sky & Telescope diagram
This illustration shows the locations of planets throughout the solar system. Circular symbols are plotted for February 1st, and the curved arrows indicate each planet’s motion through the month. During February the outer planets don’t change position enough to notice at this scale
. Sky & Telescope diagram

Stay tuned for predictions of clear skies. Ideally, peel back the warm covers at 5:30 a.m. and allow about 15 minutes to climb into layers of wool and down, head to toe, with time to lace boots and reach for down gloves, too. If your route to an unobstructed view of the southeast horizon will be along roadsides, slip into a reflective vest. Dress fast as a fireman, but the fire you are rushing to is starlight and reflected sunlight on the planets, visible in the dark sky before their light is extinguished by the approaching sunrise. Sunrise is at 7:14 on the 25th and about a minute earlier every day going forward. To observe just the planets, plan to be outdoors an hour before sunrise.

Find an unobstructed view to the southeast horizon. Venus and Mercury aren’t visible over the hills at my location at 5:45, but the other planets and the stars of summer constellations shine bright. Scorpius the Scorpion is in its June position above the horizon. Locate its red heart, Antares, to the right of yellowish planet Saturn, with russet Mars a ways above, more southerly; take a leap to the southwest to land on brighter, whiter Jupiter. From January 28 through February 6 the moon will be our guide to the celestial bodies.

Mail Attachment 2It is gratifying to recognize and greet each of the bright objects along the slanted line by name. Venus rises at 5:10 a.m. on January 25 and 5:24 on February 7. At my location, Venus appeared above the trees in the southeast, like a small sun, at 5:55 close to publication date. Further east, another light is rising into view, smaller than Venus but significant: it’s Mercury. On the 25th, Mercury rises at 5:52 a.m. and on February 7, it will be 5:40.

Most morning stars and constellations are visible until about an hour before sunrise. The dimmer planets fade out of view a few minutes later. Jupiter and Venus can be seen, even from indoors, until about 15 minutes before sunrise.

Sources:

https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/news/2016/01/the-planets-are-about-to-align https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/get-early-month-see-bright-celestial-quintet-sky-n499701

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