Five in a Row! See the Planets Align in the Night Sky

Five in a Row! See the Planets Align in the Night Sky

Five in a Row! See the Planets Align in the Night Sky









	This article was originally published in The conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com's. Voices of experts: Op-Ed & Insights.

		For the second time this year, the five brightest planets can be seen at the same time. You can catch them looking towards the western sky after sunset. The planets will form an ascending line from the horizon.

		Mercury and Venus are low to the west, with the bright Jupiter shining just above. Higher up in the northwest sky is Saturn, and completing the set of five is the red planet Mars, on top.

		On Friday, October 12, a beautiful crescent moon is found just to the right of Jupiter. Keep watching the planets night after night and you can follow the progression of the Moon.





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		As the Moon travels the Earth each month, its apparent motion in the sky is much faster than the slower motion of the planets in their orbits around the Sun.





						


After sunset in Australia, the five bright planets can be seen in the western sky this week.

            						    Credit: Victoria / Stellarium Museums 


		By Monday, October 15, the Moon will have moved higher into the sky to sit near Saturn, and a few days later, on October 18, the Moon will be associated with Mars.

		As Mercury and Venus are the inner planets, orbiting closer to the Sun than the Earth, we only see these two basses to the west after sunset, or low to the east before sunrise. They are the planets that follow or lead the Sun.

		In contrast, the outer planets of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn can travel through the sky, which is exactly what they have been doing since July. The trio has moved from east to west, and now they join Mercury and Venus to present the spectacle of the five planets.



		There are more in the store

		It may seem common, since the five planets have come back together in just a few months. But it is only possible because Jupiter and Saturn are currently on the same side of the Sun and, therefore, close to each other, relatively speaking.

		The five planets have joined twice this year and twice in 2016, but before that there was a decade when it simply was not possible. The two gaseous giants were too far apart.



	[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWUbmdaDf-k?wmode=transparent&start=0]



	See how the planets come together.

		When Jupiter and Saturn are paired in the sky, it is only a matter of time before the other planets fall into the correct configuration to unite them all.

		The next time this happens it will be in July 2020, but it will be harder to see compared to this week. The planets will spread across the sky instead of grouping in the west as they are now.

		So it's still special to see the five planets that come together. There is great satisfaction in being able to mark the five planets in a single view.



		To a challenge?

		Not only are the five easy-to-see planets visible in the evening sky, but they are linked by Uranus and Neptune to complete the planetary assembly.





						


Voyager 2 flew by Uranus in 1986 and Neptune in 1989, capturing stunning close-up images.

            						    Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech (Uranus) and NASA (Neptune) 


		These two ice giants that orbit beyond Saturn are modern planets. They did not know each other in antiquity because their discovery needed help of a telescope and a understanding of the seriousness To know how the solar system works.

		But although you can not see them with the naked eye, Uranus is low in the east at dusk and Neptune is higher, approximately halfway to Mars.

		The practiced observers, who see the sky from a place in a dark country, have been able to see Uranus at a glance, knowing exactly where to look. Through the binoculars, Uranus appears as a faint star, but a good telescope will show its slightly bluish disk.





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		It is better to wait until later in the night, when Uranus has risen, to try to observe it. But now is an ideal time, as the planet is approaching. opposition on October 24, when it will be at its best.

		Neptune is about the same size as Uranus but much farther away, which makes it harder to see. Even with a modest telescope, it appears as a bluish star, while the proper observation conditions and a high-quality telescope are needed to reveal the Neptune disk.

		Finally, and not to be left out, even the dwarf planet Pluto joins the crowd. It is too small and distant to be seen, but it is currently halfway between Saturn and Mars.

		Even with a high-quality telescope, Pluto only appears as a weak object similar to a star, and it will be a challenge for most (myself included) to find it in its current position among all the stars near the bright Milky Way.

		If you are ready for the challenge, a free astronomy program like Stellarium It is ideal to help locate the planets. But it is equally gratifying to enjoy

		The five bright planets, observed since antiquity, united briefly in the western sky.



	Tanya Hill, Honorary Member of the University of Melbourne and Senior Curator (Astronomy), Victoria Museums



	This article has been published again. The conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the Original article. Follow all the topics and debates of Expert Voices, and be part of the discussion, in Facebook, Twitter Y Google +. The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editor. This version of the article was originally published in Space.com.



	



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