Planets Align: Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars & Moon To Appear February 26

By: Tariq Malik
Published: 02/25/2012 12:28 PM EST on SPACE.com

A cosmic team-up of planets and the thin crescent moon is dazzling skywatchers around the world this weekend, and the celestial sky show is just getting started.

The planets Venus and Jupiter dominate the western evening sky at sunset on Saturday and Sunday (Feb. 25 and 26), with the crescent moon hovering nearby. The planet Mercury joins the cosmic trio briefly just after sunset before slipping below the horizon.

The planet Mars is also making its own appearance in the evening sky, but rises in the east a few hours after sunset in its own solo celestial show.

The sky maps of Jupiter, Venus and the moon here show how the bright objects, as well as Mars later, will appear in the night sky. 

"This is a great weekend to watch the sun go down. Venus, Jupiter and the slender crescent moon are lining up in the western sky, forming a bright triangle in the evening twilight," astronomer Tony Phillips of the skywatching website Spaceweather.com wrote in an alert. "These three objects are so bright, they shine through thin clouds and even city lights." [Skywatcher Photos: Jupiter, Venus & the Moon]

Early skywatcher photos

Skywatchers have already been amazed at the sight of Jupiter and Venus shining together with the moon this week.

"To see the three brightest objects in the sky form a perfectly straight line in the west was a very beautiful and very powerful sight that I will not forget," skywatcher and nature photographer William Ott told SPACE.com in an email. Ott snapped photos of the planets and moons from a spot just outside Woodstown, N.J.

On Saturday and Sunday, the moon, Venus and Jupiter will appear as a skinny triangle of celestial lights. However, the triangle will have a slightly different configuration on each night.

Tonight, Jupiter, Venus and Mercury will align in a diagonal line (with Jupiter at the top) with the moon appearing just above and at the right of Venus. On Sunday night, the cosmic line-up happens again, but this time the moon will appear higher in the sky, just to the right of Jupiter.

"This arrangement will be visible all around the world, from city and countryside alike," Phillips explained in a NASA announcement. "The moon, Venus and Jupiter are the brightest objects in the night sky; together they can shine through urban lights, fog, and even some clouds."

If you are eager to see the planets and moon, but have cloudy or rainy weather, the online skywatching website Slooh.com will provide a free webcast of the planetary show on Saturday and Sunday each night beginning at 9:30 p.m. EST (0230 GMT) at this website: http://events.slooh.com/

Under an earthshine moon

Planets aside, the moon is offering a dazzling sight of its own. The skinny crescent moon offers skywatchers a good chance to see the ghostly glow of earthshine -- light from the sun that is reflected off of Earth to illuminate the dark portion of the moon in its current phase.

Meanwhile, Jupiter and Venus are steadily drawing ever closer together in the night sky.

By late February, the two planets will creep within 10 degrees of each other in the sky; close enough that you can block them with a closed fist held out at arm's length. On March 12 and 13, Venus and Jupiter will be so close they can be covered by just your fingertips, according to a NASA video.

f you snap an amazing photo of Jupiter, Venus the moon or any other skywatching target and would like to share it for a possible story or image  gallery, please send images and your comments to SPACE.com managing editor Tariq Malik at [e-mail].

You can follow SPACE.com Managing Editor Tariq Malik on Twitter @tariqjmalik. Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

• See Venus and Jupiter In HD With Just Your Naked Eyes
• Planets Venus and Jupiter Own the Night (Infographic)
• Photos: Moon & Venus Dazzle in Skywatcher Views (Jan. 2012)

Copyright 2012 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Comments

[Challi Leo]

06:45 AM on 03/14/2012

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[Rich Cash]

09:47 PM on 02/27/2012

I've been watching this alignment for the last 3 nights. Right now, they're almost in a straight line. Awesome sight!

[DonMadrid1500]

03:57 AM on 02/27/2012

I have great views from my garden here outside of Madrid. Dark skies, unobstructed vistas for kilometers in all directions. (I'm up on a hill). I've been watching Venus and Jupiter for a few months now and it is really something. At dusk here, the crescent moon is a dark, death star looking disc against the brighter sky. My kids are pretty awestruck by the spectacle as well as me.

[eek]

10:24 PM on 02/28/2012

Yes! Really pretty so see. I didn't even know about this, but went outside at around 7pm EST and was wowed by how bright , clear and straightly aligned M,V,S were. Such a treat.

[CrazyCarl]

03:45 AM on 02/27/2012

The night of March 13th - 15th will be spectacular as well, since Jupiter will be right next to Venus as it slowly passes our sister planet. Check this out: Venus rotates so slowly that it actually orbits the sun faster than it makes a single rotation - so Venus' day is LONGER than it's year.

[BurtonDesque]

02:34 AM on 02/27/2012

The planets are always in a line. It's called the ecliptic.

[elgeezr]

02:31 AM on 02/27/2012

The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

[Electriq]

01:47 AM on 02/27/2012

I was wondering what I was seeing up there.

Fantastic sight.

[SonOfUgh]

01:31 AM on 02/27/2012

I saw Jupiter. Didn't see the rest. I live in a downtown with too many highrises and there was some annoying cloud cover too.

[Anne Duchard]

12:56 AM on 02/27/2012

I think we will see a different sky and spectacular view as the earth is approaching the center of the galaxy, the procession of the equinox .... leading to an alignment that only occurs every 24.000 years. We are alive to see this…It is exciting at the same time worry some, not knowing the implication.

[BurtonDesque]

02:32 AM on 02/27/2012

Free clue: The Earth is not approaching the center of the Galaxy.

The rest of your post is just nonsense.

[Anne Duchard]

01:16 AM on 02/28/2012

Burton are you afraid a black hole is waiting to swallow you at the center of galaxy?

[sLUCIDITy]

02:43 AM on 02/27/2012

"the earth is approaching the center of the galaxy,"

What the hell? Oh, you get your information from astrology nonsense do you?

[motherearth13]

12:45 AM on 02/27/2012

Awesome!

[OleProfessor]

12:26 AM on 02/27/2012

I've been seeing Mars for a few weeks now I'm out late every night with my Golden Retriever Butter, it is in the eastern sky just a tiny bit to the north and high in the sky around 11-12:00 Eastern time... You can clearly see it's red reflection... I live in the country so the stars are really clear and fill the sky on any clear night..I also see the Space Station really clearly early every night low in the western sky..

[Anne Duchard]

12:58 AM on 02/27/2012

I could not believe what I was seeing, just spectacular

[SPacific]

12:08 AM on 02/27/2012

This planetary show was great last night at the tip of the Monterey Peninsula...........

[Astrochologist]

12:06 AM on 02/27/2012

Awesome shots. Venus is in Aries, Jupiter and the Moon are in Taurus.

[Ug The Thug]

01:13 AM on 02/27/2012

Really ?......I did not know them planets could drive ?...: D
Awesome sky tonight though.

[SonOfUgh]

01:30 AM on 02/27/2012

It's a really, really big Taurus.

[CrazyCarl]

03:40 AM on 02/27/2012

Jupiter is in Aries - not Taurus.

[Astrochologist]

10:30 AM on 02/28/2012

Im going by tropical zodiac not sidereal.

[Cristancho]

12:04 AM on 02/27/2012

I completely missed the twilight show, but I just stepped out to see a brilliant Mars.

[CrazyCarl]

03:41 AM on 02/27/2012

You'll be able to see it every night for the next month. Though you'll have to wait another month to catch Venus & Jupiter with the crescent moon alongside....

[TaxpayingVoter]

11:55 PM on 02/26/2012

I took a walk not too long ago and saw them all minus Mercury.

It was really awesome. I've been watching them all week, really.