Five planets are expected to align diagonally over the next few weeks, giving stargazers a new point of interest in the pre-dawn hours.
Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Mars, and Jupiter are all part of the celestial lineup, which should be visible to the naked eye
under a clear sky starting Wednesday, according to USA Today. The stars Antares and Spica may also be seen in the same part of the sky.
The website EarthSky.org reported that the planets will march in order for the first time since January 2005. Sky-watchers should be able to enjoy the view until Feb. 20.
"We expect people from both Earth's northern and southern hemispheres to see Mercury with relative ease by around Jan. 25," EarthSky.org writers Bruce McClure and Deborah Byrd wrote earlier this month.
"Mercury will be at its best in the morning sky for several weeks, centered around Feb. 7, 2016. At this juncture, Mercury rises about 80 minutes before the sun at mid-northern latitudes. At temperate latitudes in the southern hemisphere, Mercury rises a whopping two hours (120 minutes) before sunrise. As always, no matter where you live, binoculars help out with any Mercury quest," they continued.
Tanya Hill, an honorary fellow of the University of Melbourne and senior astronomy curator at Museum Victoria,
said on the website The Conversation that moon could be used as a good guide the find the aligned planets later this month.
"On Jan. 28, the moon will be right next to Jupiter," Hill wrote. "Come Feb. 1, the moon (in its Last Quarter phase) will be alongside Mars, then on the following morning it'll sit just below the red planet. On the morning of Feb. 4, the crescent moon will be near Saturn. Then on Feb. 6, the moon will be alongside Venus and on Feb. 7, a thin sliver of moon will sit below Mercury."
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