Before sunrise on July 19 five planets , Mercury, Mars, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn will be visible in the sky without a telescope.
Before sunrise on July 19 (which is Sunday), as many as five planets — Mercury, Mars, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn — and the crescent moon would all be visible in the sky at the same time. And you would not even need a telescope to see them. According to astronomer Jeffrey Hunt, who is also an educator and a former planetarium director, the heavenly bodies are supposed to make an appearance an hour before sunrise on Sunday. Hunt has also given tips on how to see the planets in the sky this Sunday.
“Forty-five minutes before sunrise, the crescent moon and five planets are visible curved across the morning sky on July 19, 2020. Find a spot with clear horizons in the east-northeast and the southwest. A binocular may help finding the moon, Mercury, and Jupiter,” Hunt wrote in a blog post.
During the next few mornings five planets would be visible but without the moon. Additionally, Jupiter is quickly leaving the sky. So, on successive mornings, Hunt advises enthusiasts to look for 3-4 minutes earlier each day. To recognise the planets, two hours before sunrise, you would be able to spot Jupiter in the southwestern sky with the ringed planet Saturn above it and to the right. The red planet, aka Mars would be visible in the southeastern horizon. Venus would blaze in the eastern sky whereas Mercury would be to the right of the moon — which would be very low in the east and northeast, according to Space.com.
“You may catch them in the sky until about July 25. Until about mid-August look about two hours before sunrise to see the four bright planets — Venus, Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter,” Hunt added in the blog post.
Notably, both Jupiter and Saturn are headed towards their Great Conjunction on December 21, 2020. One can look for them low in the southeast during the early evening hours of July and August 2020.
This news was originally published at timesnownews.com