May Skywatching Delight: Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn Come Together for a Rare Cosmic Show!
Introduction For the first time in nearly 20 years, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will come together for a rare cosmic show. The planets will be aligned on May 30th with the moon appearing to pass between them. This celestial alignment is called an "opposition" because Earth's orbit around the sun crosses paths with that of another planet (or star). When this happens, we see the object from our vantage point as being opposite in its orbit around our Sun. In other words: when Earth passes between Mars and Jupiter during its journey around our Sun (which takes 365 days), we get an up-close glimpse at these distant worlds -- one that you can see through binoculars or telescopes! Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are all visible in the night sky this month. The planets will be at their closest to each other on May 9th and 10th. This rare phenomenon is called an "opposition" when a planet is opposite the Sun in our sky and thus appea...