Watch the Moon and 3 Planets Line up at Dawn
It is easy enough to spot the moon, but it is much more difficult to determine which points in the night sky are planets. You see a particularly bright object and wonder if it is a planet, a particularly bright star, or perhaps an airplane. Well, in the next three days, planetary identification will be significantly easier than usual, thanks to the fact that just before dawn the Moon will align with Mercury, Jupiter and Saturn. Here’s what you need to know.
How to see how the moon is lined up with three planets
According to EarthSky, it all goes down (up?) At dawn on March 8, 9 and 10. Just find the lighted side of the waning crescent and it will point you directly to the location of the planets. Saturn will be at the top, Jupiter in the middle (and the brightest of the three), and Mercury at the bottom. While it is possible to see planets without any equipment, use your binoculars to get a better view.
Additional information provided by EarthSky:
Jupiter, the brightest morning planet, surpasses Saturn by about 12 times and Mercury by 7 times. Although Mercury is brighter by touch than Saturn, of the two worlds, it will probably be easier to see Saturn as Saturn rises first, then Jupiter, and then Mercury. Mercury is buried most deeply in the morning twilight, but try pointing your binoculars at Jupiter to look at Mercury below Jupiter.
This is one of those situations where you need to find out when the sun rises in your area and then get up and go outside to make sure you have a chance to see the moon and planets. (You can go back to bed after that.)
Using this tool from the Farmer’s Almanac , EarthSky calculated the approximate rise times of Mercury – the last of the three planets to rise – at various latitudes (assuming horizontal level):
40 degrees North: Mercury rises approximately 1 hour (60 minutes) before sunrise.
Equator (0 degrees latitude): Mercury rises approximately 1 2/3 hours (100 minutes) before sunrise.
35 degrees south latitude: Mercury rises approximately 2 1/5 hours (132 minutes) before sunrise.
So wrap yourself up, grab your binoculars, and head outside to have a look at this solid ruler.