5 bright planets to align visibly in the sky

Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will be simultaneously visible to the naked eye for the first time in more than 10 years.

Bonus: If you consider that you’re seeing Earth’s horizon while viewing the five bright planets, you actually will be seeing six planets with the naked eye at the same time. And, during the first week in February, stargazers will get an extra special appearance from the moon, which will make a close approach to the planets as it transitions from a full to a new moon. Whereas you should be able to spot Mars and Jupiter higher in the sky over to the south and southwest.

“These planets are visible in our sky because their disks reflect sunlight, and these relatively nearby worlds tend to shine with a steadier light than the distant, twinkling stars”, he explained. If the dot slowly dims out when your thumb passes over it, it’s a planet. The display is made possible by the uncommon alignment of all five planets along what is called the “ecliptic” plane of their orbits according to Jim Green, the planetary science division director at NASA.

Starting with Jupiter in the evening, each planet will rise at a different time to be present in the sky together just before dawn. Above Venus is Saturn not far to the east (left) of the bright star Antares in Scorpius the Scorpion. Mercury was the last to appear at around 6:17am. “There they are, the other rocks or balls of gas that are running around the sun”.