Canadians may be able to see four planets this weekend, no telescope needed. Here’s how
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/04/2022 (1307 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Early risers this weekend may be treated to a spectacle in the sky — the alignment of four planets and the moon, all visible to the naked eye.
Venus, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter are expected to form a row in the sky and align with the moon on Sunday. A fifth visible planet, Mercury, will join them later in June.
The event is best seen from the Northern Hemisphere, which includes North America and Europe, said Jan Cami, an associate professor of astronomy at Western University.
The planets will only be visible in the early morning, between around 5:20 and 6:30 a.m., he said. In this early twilight, look east to the sky, just above the horizon.
“If it’s clear in the morning, it’s impossible that you miss Venus,” said Cami. “It’s super bright, like the brightest thing in the sky except for maybe the moon.”
From there, the rest of the planets can be found — Jupiter close by, then further, the dull red of Mars and the yellow-hued Saturn. You can tell them from stars by their light, Cami said. Stars twinkle, planets don’t.
The last time five planets intersected was in 2020, said Cami. It happened again in 2016 and 2005. This is because every planet orbits the sun at a different speed and trajectory, he said; it takes years for them to “line up” perfectly from Earth’s perspective.
Sometime in early June, Mercury will also join the alignment, Cami continued. “But Mercury’s kind of really hard to see — it’s a lot fainter and closer to the Sun.”
Binoculars aren’t required, but with access, unlocks a trove of new details. For example, if you zoom into Jupiter and you might see its four moons, Cami said. If you’ve a steady hand, you could even catch Saturn’s rings.
Light pollution will make the planets harder to spot — though Cami said Venus and Jupiter are so bright, you could see them even from a busy city centre.
“By April 30, (Jupiter and Venus) would actually be fairly close together in the sky,” said Cami. “And so my forecast is at that time, if it’s clear, people will call in UFOs.”
Kevin Jiang is a Toronto-based digital producer for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @crudelykevin