[Az-Geocaching] 5 planets lined up...

[xWaterLilyx]

I am unsure where this was retrieved from, but it was
posted on a board I frequent. If you want I can
inquire about the original source. However, I thought
this  group might enjoy the tidbit, if something has
already been posted about this, sorry for repeating..

 
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Five planets (search) are
arrayed across the evening sky in a spectacular night
show that won't be back for another three decades. For
the next two weeks, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and
Saturn — the five closest planets — should be easily
visible at dusk, along with the moon.  

"It's semi-unique," said Myles Standish, an astronomer
at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (search) in Pasadena,
Calif. "They're all on the same side of the sun and
stretched across the sky and that's what is kind of
pretty."
 
Standish missed Monday evening's opportunity, but said
Tuesday that he will gaze up when he walks his dog
this week and next. He expects mountains and bright
city lights to hamper his view, however.

The planetary lineup will be visible to the naked eye
every night for an hour after sunset through early
April. At the end of the year, the same five planets
will reunite for a few weeks, but in the pre-dawn
hours.

Standish said this particular planetary grouping may
offer the best nighttime views until 2036. 
 
The orbits of the five planets take them to the same
side of the sun every few years or so. The conditions
have to be just right for all five planets to be
clearly visible at dusk or dawn; Mercury is often
tough to catch. Even rarer are so-called alignments,
where  the planets are clustered together in the sky;
this is not one of those.

Stargazers should look to the western horizon just
after sunset. Mercury, Venus, Mars and Saturn will be 
lined up in the sky with Jupiter close to the eastern
horizon. They will span about 135 degrees. Saturn will
be almost directly overhead. 
 
=====
xWaterLilyx & RTF
Team H20
Phoenix, AZ (Ahwatukee)
 
Geocaching Site: 
http://www.geocities.com/xwaterlilyxrtf/index.htm



=====
xWaterLilyx & RTF
Team H20
Phoenix, AZ (Ahwatukee)

Geocaching Site:  http://www.geocities.com/xwaterlilyxrtf

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