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Moon will align with 5 planets in rare space occurrence – how to see | UK | News


Astronomy expert Joe Rao advises anyone interested in witnessing the out-of-this-world sights to find a spot with an unobstructed view of the western horizon, with no buildings or trees to block the view.

He suggests the best place to be is looking out over a westward-facing shoreline which is wide open and flat.

And he says that anyone who does not have a pair of binoculars should buy some before Monday night because these will be “beneficial in your making a sighting”.

The time to start looking out for the spectacular display is around 20 to 25 minutes after sunset.

Then, with binoculars, it should be possible to see Mercury and Jupiter.

Mr Rao said: “Your best chance to pick both planets up is initially to slowly sweep low along the western horizon with the binoculars; then after you hopefully have found them, seek them out with your naked eye.

“Mercury will be to the right of brighter Jupiter. On the evening of March 27, they will be separated by just 1.3 degrees (just over one-finger width at arm’s length.)”

Venus, the so-called Evening Star, will be much easier to see on the night, and is always the first planet to look for when the sun goes down.

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On March 27, Mars will be 131.4 million miles from Earth so it will not be as bright as it has been in recent months.

But Mr Rao says it will be easy to identify where it is in the sky by looking up at Earth’s moon.

The Moon on Monday night will resemble a fat crescent and the bright yellow-orange “star” to its upper left will be Mars.

Binoculars will be needed to see the star cluster M35, which will be just off to the left of Mars. It’s in the constellation of Gemini the Twins.

 

The final planet to look out for on Monday night is Uranus.

It’s the second to furthest away from the Sun so is barely visible to the naked eye on very dark, clear nights, so the best way to see it will be to use Venus as a benchmark.

With binoculars it should be possible to see it to the upper left of Venus. It will look like a faint star but has a pale greenish tint.

Writing for Space.com, Mr Rao said: “There you have it: five planets, a famous star cluster and the moon.

“Think you’ll be able to sight all seven?

“A few will be easy but others will be more difficult. If skies are clear Monday evening, good luck and good hunting.”





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