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To: X Y Zebra who wrote (167)	4/30/2002 9:01:37 AM
From: X Y Zebra	Respond to of 268

liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov The Planets Line Up April 24, 2002 It's on the radio, in the newspapers and on TV: the planets are lining up! Everyone's asking, "Where should I look?" and, "Did I miss it?" Relax! Between now and the middle of May you can see the alignment as it slowly changes night by night. No binoculars or telescopes are required to see them. All you need are your eyes and a clear view of the western horizon. Right now, just after sunset, you can spot Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter -- the five brightest planets -- in a line stretching upwards from the western horizon halfway to overhead. It's an unusual and wonderful sight. But the best is yet to come in May. That's when Mercury, Venus, Mars and Saturn will be clustered together in the constellation Taurus. Jupiter will hover above them in Gemini, just one constellation away. Between now and April 30th, Jupiter (halfway up the western sky) and Venus (closer to the horizon) are the attention-getters. Giant Jupiter is bright, and Venus is even brighter. In fact, Venus is so dazzling that it is often mistaken for a UFO or a landing airplane. A line drawn between Venus and Jupiter will pass, more or less, through dimmer Mars and Saturn. Sky watchers who go outside just after sunset this week can spot Mercury, too. It's that "star" below Venus shining through the glow of the setting Sun. Mercury is climbing higher in the sky each night and, by May 1st, it will remain visible for more than one hour after sunset. The planets appear in the same area of the sky because of their positions in their orbits around the Sun. Click above to get a 3-D live view of the alignment. For beauty, you can't beat the week between May 1st and 7th. Throughout that week the red star Aldebaran, Mercury, Venus, Saturn and Mars will fit within a circle about 10 degrees across. (Ten degrees is about the width of your fist held at arm's length.) Each night will offer something different and beautiful: On May 3rd, for example, Mars and Saturn will lie a scant 2.5 degrees apart. On May 4th, Mercury reaches its greatest apparent distance from the Sun and makes its closest approach to the other planets. On May 5th, Mars, Saturn and Venus will form a triangle just 3 degrees on each side. And so on through the next week. more.... liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov