The moon is lined up to lead a parade of planets in the predawn sky on April 23.
Four planets are lined up behind the moon in preparation for an unusual alignment of the five visible planets in the solar system. In the early morning hours of April 23, the planets will be visible above the horizon.
Mercury will join the parade in June.
When viewed from Earth, planetary alignments occur when the planets are in the same region of the sky. The last time five planets aligned in the night sky was in 2020, preceded by alignments in 2016 and 2005.
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It takes time to develop these alignments. The planets Venus, Mars, and Saturn have been night-sky neighbors. On April 4 and 5, Mars and Saturn were so close together that they appeared less than the width of the full moon in the southeast early morning sky.
There are magnificent views of the dark sky in America.
In April, Jupiter turned the trio into a quartet. The last quarter phase of the moon will be on April 23. Mars will be an orange dot below and to the left of Saturn, while Venus will be a brighter light below and to the left of Mars. Jupiter will be the lowest in the sky.
The way to tell the planets from the stars in the sky is by the light, according to the director of public observing at Chicago's Adler Planetarium.
Nichols told Live Science that stars twinkle.
The planets will be visible in the northern hemisphere an hour to 45 minutes before sunrise. The moon will remain above the horizon until April 29, but the four planets will remain in their line until July. The final five-planet alignment will take place when Mercury appears in the line as early as June 10 in places with a flat, eastern horizon. The planets will move from the east to the south. The best viewing conditions for the alignment will be in June.
During the alignment, Neptune and Uranus will be in the northern hemisphere. The planets Mercury and Mars will be visible in areas without a lot of light pollution. It might be possible to see it with the naked eye in a dark sky, but binoculars will help in observing it. Neptune will need a telescope to view.
It is a great time to see the planets.
It was originally published on Live Science.
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