PLANET PARADE

A planet parade– AKA an “planetary alignment”– is when you’re able to spot multiple planets in one section of the sky. This week’s alignment features six planets, including Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus.

If you’re up early enough (i.e. before dawn), then you can spot Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn without a telescope. Although the view won’t be as spectacular as edited photos might make them appear, it’s certainly a wonderful experience to see so many planets at one time. 

Luckily, there will also be a crescent moon hanging in the sky this week, so you can easily identify which planet is which by using the moon as a guide. On Wednesday morning, Jupiter will be closest to the moon, and then closest to Mercury on Thursday morning.

HOW TO GET THE BEST VIEW

Your best chance of seeing the planet parade with a clear view would be the hour before dawn in the east. The best time to spot the elusive Mercury is around 5:30am to 6:00am.

And while you can use binoculars to spot Uranus and Neptune, it is recommended to use a telescope if you want the best picture of them. Regardless, you’ll still be able to see the other four planets without any implements.

The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC) also lists some of their Vancouver Centre members’ favourite places they go to when they want to look at the sky listed on their website.

• Aldergrove Regional Park
• Boundary Bay
• Campbell Valley Regional Park
• Cypress Mountain
• David Lam Park
• Hope Slide
• Spanish Banks
• Trottier Observatory at SFU

Metro Vancouver has had the chance to see plenty of celestial events, but planetary alignments only happen anywhere from every few years to once in a decade. So, get ready to wake up early (or stay up late) to catch an out-of-this-world view of our solar system’s planets!

Source: 604NOW