London, Europe Brief News – The five so-called naked-eye planets — Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn — are having a rare solar system reunion right now.
In the morning hours throughout June, early risers have been able to catch the five planets in the sky from low in the east to higher in the south. This is what astronomers refer to as conjunction.
What makes this event even more unique is the planets are visible in their natural order from the sun. Not since December 2004 has this occurred, according to Sky & Telescope magazine.
he conjunction is best seen on Friday but will remain visible until Monday from most parts of the world.
The last time this conjunction happened was 2004 and it won’t be seen again until 2040.
The planets will appear “like a string of pearls spread out from close to the horizon”, explains space scientist and chief stargazer at the Society for Popular Astronomy Prof Lucie Green.
It is also a special event because the planets will appear in the order they are positioned from the sun.
That isn’t always the case for planetary conjunctions because of our perspective from Earth looking into the solar system, Prof Green says.
On Friday a crescent Moon will also join the line-up, appearing between Venus and Mars.
Start by looking for the planet furthest away, which is Saturn. Then count back through the planets until you find Venus, which is usually very bright.
The final planet in the line-up should then be Mercury. Prof Green says it took her many years to see it because it’s a hard planet to spot. “It is very satisfying if you can see this faint twinkling planet,” she says.
