A moon, five planets | Otago Daily Times News Online



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Stargazers across Otago get to enjoy a heavenly treat this week. For the first time in a long time, it is possible to see all the planets simultaneously with the naked eye and the moon.

School holidays mean it's the perfect time to take your family to discover the brightest planets without leaving your garden!

Our journey begins, as it should, with Mercury. The deepest planet will probably be the hardest to find of our planetary prey because it is relatively weak and weak in the western sky. Look for a yellow "star" at about 10 degrees above the horizon. Mercury goes to bed just after 7:30 pm, so you'll have to go out early to find it. If you have a telescope, the planet looks like a tiny crescent moon.

Once you have spotted Mercury, you can not miss Venus, the brightest of the planets on display. A telescope will reveal a tiny disk slightly lit up more than 60%. Keener astronomers can contemplate the bright star Regulus, in the constellation Leo, halfway between Mercury and Venus.

Today, the crescent crescent moon (just five days after the new one) is approximately halfway between Venus and Jupiter. Owners of binoculars or telescopes can explore the sea of ​​tranquility, where, 49 years ago this week, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin entered another world.

After contemplating your lunar passion, our night tour goes to Jupiter. in the northern sky. The binoculars show the four big Jovian moons, and by the time our map is drawn, there will be two moons on either side of the planet, which will make it a remarkable celestial sight.

Saturn, whose magnificent ring network is still magnificent, is the next stop on our cosmic stay; it is currently in the middle of the Milky Way's star clouds, and at 18:30 it can be found 30 degrees above the eastern horizon.

Mars is the last leg of our journey. Early in the evening, the red planet is climbing down into the southeastern sky; a telescope will show that the surface of the planet is obscured by a huge dust storm.

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