Vox
London
Five planets are about to align in an astronomical marvel that hasn’t been witnessed for 10 years. Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Mars, and Jupiter will all be visible in the sky today. They will stay for about a month, treating stargazers to an astonishing show.
The best way to see them is just before dawn, with the most beautiful view in the UK predicted to come on early on the morning of February 25. Dr Robert Massey from the Royal Astronomical Society said: “There will be a dance of the planets, and now is the time to get out and have a look.
“It will be well worth getting up for. “People will struggle to see Mercury, it will probably just look like a star but if we get good weather we should be able to see Venus, Saturn, Mars and Jupiter well. But people should have a shot at seeing them altogether.
“Venus will be very obvious in the south east and Saturn will be a little bit higher up to the right. Further over at due south, you’ll see Mars and way beyond in the south east will be Jupiter. “They won’t be in an exact straight line, because you virtually never get that in astronomy. They will be more scattered.” Predictably, a planetary alignment is often taken to be a sign that doomsday is on its way.
Dr Massey added: “If you have binoculars you will be able to see Jupiter’s moons and the red tinge of Mars. You probably won’t be able to see Saturn’s rings but it will have a funny shape because of the rings which you should be able to pick out.
“If you are using binoculars it’s important not to look towards the sun when it rises.” The stars Antares and Spica will also be visible in the same patch of sky. Uranus and Neptune are the only two planets that will not be on show. And if you fail to catch the alignment this month, it will be happen again in August of this year although the late days of summer are likely to make it even more difficult to see in Britain. After that, the five planets will not be seen together again until October 2018.