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Set an early alarm to catch the remarkable collection of planets that congregate in the predawn sky this spring. Venus, Mars, and Saturn are up together, located in eastern Capricornus the Sea Goat.
Mars rises first on April 1, shortly before 5 A.M. local time. It’s followed by Saturn and Venus within few minutes of each other, all about two hours before sunrise. Venus will be most obvious if you have any early morning haze, as it is a dazzling object at magnitude –4.4. Saturn, at magnitude 0.7, lies less than 4° to the right (southwest) of Venus. Mars is a relatively dim 1.1 and stands 2.4° to the upper right (west) of Saturn. Note that the Red Planet is too small for decent telescopic views. It will reach opposition at the end of the year.
The distance between Venus and Mars is just over 6°. As the three planets clear the horizon over the next hour, they’re a sight to behold. By the start of nautical twilight, around 5:45 A.M. local time for latitudes near 40° north, the trio stands nearly 10° high in the eastern sky. Capricornus has never looked so bright.
As April progresses, Venus and Mars continue to trek eastward against the starry background, while the more distant Saturn barely moves at all. By April 5, Mars and Saturn meet, moving from 30′ apart on April 4 to 24′ apart on April 5. Mars spans 5″, while Saturn’s disk is 16″ wide, even though Saturn is more than five times farther from Earth than Mars. Note their color contrast — the ruddy surface of Mars reflects sunlight differently than the yellowish clouds of Saturn.
Beginning April 4, Venus moves into Aquarius and continues its eastward path, extending its distance from the Red Planet. Mars crosses into Aquarius April 12 and lies 9.5° west of Venus on that date, while Saturn stands 5° west of Mars. A waning Moon joins the scene on April 24, less than 9° from Saturn. The following morning, April 25, the Moon has shifted east and lies below the line connecting Mars and Saturn, with the planets standing 8.5° northeast and northwest of the Moon, respectively. Venus and Jupiter are just 5° apart the same morning, offering a tantalizing prelude to an amazing conjunction a few days later.
On April 27, a 26-day-old crescent Moon sits 4° below Jupiter, with Venus 3° to the gas giant’s west. The planetary pair rises in a dark sky around 4:30 A.M. local time, followed by the crescent Moon 20 minutes later. As civil twilight begins, the planets stand 11° high in the eastern sky, with the beautiful Moon, earthshine illuminating its dark hemisphere, hanging below them. Jupiter shines at magnitude –2.1, compared with Venus at magnitude –4.1.
Don’t forget to grab binoculars or your telescope that morning, because there’s another planet in the same area: Neptune sits less than 24′ from Venus. At magnitude 7.8, Neptune is a binocular object and the advancing twilight will cause it to fade out of view, so catch it within an hour of Venus rising. A telescope will show the pair nicely, Neptune’s bluish glow contrasting spectacularly with the brilliant white of Venus, whose 66-percent-lit gibbous disk spans 17″. Neptune is just 2″ wide and is difficult to resolve at such a low altitude.
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