For the first time in a decade, five planets – Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, Venus and Mercury, are set to appear together in a rare astronomical alignment over the next few weeks and Malaysians will be able to witness it.
This celestial conjunction will last from today onwards until the end of February, with January 27 promising an extraordinary view as the moon will also come into alignment with the said planets.
Stargazers can start their watch after 8pm today, and the best time to be watching will be 8.50pm tonight. Don’t worry if you’ve got no telescope; binoculars are all you need!
Jupiter will be seen first, followed by Mars, Saturn, Venus and Mercury. When the moon comes into the alignment on January 27, Jupiter and Venus will be the brightest. Mercury will be the easiest to spot on the weekend just before Chinese New Year.
According to Jason Kendall, a member of the Amateur Astronomers Association of New York, an easy way to distinguish a planet from stars is to close one eye and stretch your arm out, then pass your thumb over a bright dot in the sky. If the dot dims out, it’s a planet, and if it blinks out, it’s a star.
This seems like a pretty exciting (and romantic) activity! Will you be keeping watch? 😉
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