View five planets at once!

[Brian Cruz]

For the next week or so it's possible to see five planets at the same time just after sunset, an astronomical phenomenon that won't happen again until 2036!

http://www.space.com/spacewatch/planet_guide_040312.html

http://www.space.com/images/040305_planets_march27_02.jpg

I never have trouble finding Venus, but the light pollution in the NYC area makes the others a bit tricky. Hopefully people in darker areas can spot them all! BTW, point some binoculars at Jupiter and you'll almost certainly be able to observe its largest moons. With a good telescope you can see Saturn's rings.

[Rune]

Very cool stuff. Saturn, Jupiter, Mars and Venus are visible from where I live for a lot of nights but so far Mercury's always eluded me.

Fingers crossed that it just stops raining here then!

[Calhoun07]

And if you really look carefully, you will also see Uranus!

[Evil Dr. Reef]

Since I'm a loser, I eat stuff like this up.

[guinaevere]

This isn't loser stuff!! I noticed Venus & Saturn last night. I'll be checking the sky the next few nights to see this.

::sighs:: I miss going to planetariums. I have great memories of going to Richland College with my Dad on Sundays to their planetarium, and then walking around the campus, feeding the ducks and flying kites. He'd always dive his kite into mine & my big Bros, but it was fun all the same. :D

[Squall]

How can you tell those dots are planets with the naked eye? They'll look just like starts to my untrained eye... any suggestions? (Because I'm going to be outside looking on Saturday night! :))

[Tienshin]

Too much light pollution. I can't see them.

Damn you Boston!

[Kaner]

How can you tell those dots are planets with the naked eye? They'll look just like starts to my untrained eye... any suggestions? (Because I'm going to be outside looking on Saturday night! :))
If it twinkles (the light seems to fluctuate), it's a star. If it's a steady point of light, it's a planet. Venus is pretty easy to spot since it's the second brightest object in the night sky. You can use her as a reference for spotting other planets and how they should appear from Earth. I'll be checking this out over the weekend if I can manage to get out of town.

-JerkBox

[Carolina Red]

Cool, I'll have to check this out!

And if you really look carefully, you will also see Uranus! I take it you heard that being used on Pardon the Interruption the other day too. :p

[Caffeine King]

I remember once when I was 5, my father pointed out to me in the sky that you could see Venus. :p Random...

I probably won't be able to spot any of them... :sweat:

[Roman Legion]

If it twinkles (the light seems to fluctuate), it's a star. If it's a steady point of light, it's a planet.

Not entirely true, actually.

Twinkling is caused by light distorting as it travels through the atmosphere, so light from planets will twinkle just as much as star light. Sometimes, twinkling is actually more apparent from planets such as Venus, simply because the relative brightness makes the phenomenon easier to observe. It all really depends upon the viewing conditions, so there's no hardfast rule in terms of twinkling.

Given a clear night or a good pair of binoculars, I find a decent way to distinguish a planet to be observing the shape of the light. Since it's only lit on one side, a planet's light is often observably non-round.

--Romey

[TimTwoFace]

I love this space stuff - and if I'm not out driving (and if today's gorgeous weather holds out), I'll try to find all five. Collect the whole set, right? :)

I've always had trouble seeing planets in the sky, though. Last summer/fall, Mars was a synch, because it actually had a reddish/orange hue (and it was huge) as opposed to other stars. I think I've seen Venus, too. But as for the other three, I've never had any luck - at least I've never been sure as to weather I've seen them or not.

Thanks for the pic you supplied, Brian. I'll try to use that as a guide to find the planets tonight - if the hockey game's over by then, of course. :)

-Tim

[Sue_Jackson]

I won't be able to see it. It's been cloudy here all week. :(

[Kaner]

Not entirely true, actually.

Twinkling is caused by light distorting as it travels through the atmosphere, so light from planets will twinkle just as much as star light. Sometimes, twinkling is actually more apparent from planets such as Venus, simply because the relative brightness makes the phenomenon easier to observe. It all really depends upon the viewing conditions, so there's no hardfast rule in terms of twinkling.

Doh! I've been had!

-JerkBox

[Sparticus]

I've been able to spot Venus and Mars but I wasn't sure about the others. Awesome pic! ^-^

Last summer was the closest I've ever been to mars. :rolleyes:

[purplehairedwonder]

If it stops snowing/raining/hailing I'll definately check this out:) I'm a sucker for anything astronomy related.