Jupiter, the brightest point near the center of this image, will stand out this week.
Mariana Suárez/AFP via Getty Images
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Mariana Suárez/AFP via Getty Images
Jupiter, the brightest point near the center of this image, will stand out this week.
Mariana Suárez/AFP via Getty Images
This week, you have a chance to get to know some of our solar system neighbors and cut down on some of your device time.
Who are they? That all depends on the weather. But Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, Uranus and Mars will dazzle us this week.
What is the big problem? Over the next few nights, the planets are expected to align.
- According to Rick Fienberg, senior editor of Sky & Telescope magazine. And he says you won’t need a telescope – although some binoculars, an unobstructed view of the horizon and clear skies would certainly help.
- Jackie Faherty, an astrophysicist at the American Museum of Natural History, said it was neat, though nothing special.
- “I want people to want to go out and look up. I want people to get excited about looking up at the stars and planets. Right now, what’s happening is something you might not realize has happened quite a bit. a lot, it’s planets rising a lot. It’s not a particularly rare event, but it’s one that you should celebrate and you should want to go out and see.”
- What you see will depend largely on your location, as reported by Joe Hernandez of NPR. Those in the northern hemisphere may have a better chance of capturing these celestial vibes.
- Venus will be the brightest so it may be easier to spot. Red Mars will shine brightly near the moon, while nearby Uranus may be faint and only visible through binoculars.
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What are people saying?
Fienberg’s advice on getting a glimpse:
Wait until sunset then go outside and look down at the bright part of the sky where the sun just set with binoculars, and you’ll see brighter Jupiter next to dimmer Mercury.
Faherty on the recent growing public interest in all sorts of astronomical developments:
The Night Sky is a Netflix original. That was the original entertainment, and people lost that, because they were disconnected from looking up, and they enjoyed looking down at their phone, or tablet, or computer, or whatever. What. Because of things [can be] lights in the sky, when you accidentally look up, they will look outstanding to you.
Fienberg on the wave of interest in astronomy:
Most people don’t notice the night sky the way astronomy enthusiasts do, so they may not realize that some of the bright dots on it are even planets. So when all the planets are visible at the same time at a particular time of the year, it becomes a news story and people suddenly notice the planets.
So what now?
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