How to See All Five Bright Planets at the Same Time This Month
For the last month and a half, we, earthlings, have been treated to the night sky, on which we can indicate three planets at once: Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Starting this week, you can add Venus and, if using binoculars, Mercury. Here’s how to find all five bright planets in the sky in one go.
Download SkyView App
Of course, we can give you the approximate position of the planets in the sky, but apps like SkyView and its free brother SkyView Lite are very helpful. Just open the app and point it to the sky. Your camera recognizes everything it “sees”, including stars, satellites, constellations (with pictures) and, yes, planets.
Set an alarm
If you want to catch all five planets at the same time, you need to get up about an hour and six minutes before sunrise. Connect your city to Time and Date to find out when the sun rises in your city.
How to find Jupiter and Saturn
In mid-July, Jupiter and Saturn rise around sunset. Find Jupiter first; it is the fourth brightest celestial object, and on Wednesday (this is today) the planet will be at its peak of annual brightness. This is because Jupiter is in opposition this month, which happens when the Earth passes between it and the Sun. According to Forbes, in opposition, Jupiter will appear to be fully illuminated from Earth.
Once you find Jupiter, Saturn will become a bright object directly to its east. This year, the two planets have a “great conjunction”, which has not happened since 2000. Cyclic Great Conjunction , according to EarthSky , occurs when Jupiter and Saturn meet in the sky.
How to find Mars
The red planet will rise before midnight and sit low in the east. In fact, it is also approaching opposition – Mars will be even brighter than Jupiter in mid-October – so Mars is brighter than average this month.
How to find Venus
If you’re nervous about an early alarm, here’s the first culprit: By the end of July, Venus is rising in the eastern sky around 3:15 a.m., according to Space.com , and will shine at maximum brightness for most of the month.
How to find Mercury
Another reason you need to set an alarm is Mercury. This will become visible this week in the eastern pre-dawn sky.
Unlike the other four planets, you may need binoculars to find Mercury on the horizon; according to Earthsky. it rises so close to sunrise that it has to compete with this early morning glow.
Simultaneous observation of five bright planets visible to the naked eye is a rarity, possible only a few times in a decade, as Space.com reported when it happened in 2016. Enjoy the show – it’s nice to have something bright with expectations in 2020.