London - BBC
Before the sun rose on Friday, five planets lined up in our solar system: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, a rare phenomenon that started from today and continues until next Monday, in most parts of the world.
Behind the light of the sun Mercury hides, but at the moment of conjunction, it decided to be the brightest among the five aligned planets. BBC".
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The planets appear “like a string of pearls sprouting from close to the horizon,” explains Lucy Green, an astronomer and chair of stargazers for the Society for Popular Astronomy: “a special event because the planets appear in the order they were placed from the sun.”
This is not always the case in planetary conjunctions because of our Earth-to-solar view, says Professor Greene, noting that the crescent moon also joined the lineup on Friday, appearing between Venus and Mars.
The viewer gets the best view in the Northern Hemisphere including the UK Between 45 and 90 minutes before sunrise Look east and very close to the horizon ideally from a high place such as a hill Large buildings or trees will block the view You will need to Get up early, because as soon as the sun rises it will obscure the planets.
The planets line up on Friday morning
© The planets line up on Friday morning The planets line up on Friday morning
Professor Green advises sky lovers not to use equipment such as binoculars or telescopes due to the danger of looking directly at the sun, but it can be seen with the naked eye.
She recommends: "Start by looking for the farthest planet, Saturn, and then go back through the planets until you find Venus, which is usually very bright."
The last planet in the lineup should be Mercury. Prof Green says it took many years to see it because it's hard to spot. "It's very satisfying to be able to see this faint shimmering planet," she says.
Observers in the tropics and the Southern Hemisphere should get better views because the planets will rise higher into the pre-dawn sky, but an early start will still be needed.