How to view rare 1000-year ‘planet parade’ over Aussie skies this weekend
They say nothing good ever happens after 4am, but for this freaky space phenomenon, it might be worth setting your alarm.
There are very few sights worth setting an alarm for before sunrise on Sunday morning, but you might want to make an exception this weekend.
A planetary alignment not seen in more than 1000 years is approaching. Aussies are expected to be able to view the rare event over our skies for a brief moment shortly before dawn on the 24th.
The event will see Mars, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn line up in a perfectly straight line, sending astronomers and horoscope writers into a fit of joy.
While it’s unclear whether it will be balancing anyone’s chakras anytime soon, ANU astrophysicist Dr Brad Tucker says the event, which last occurred in 947AD, is definitely not one to miss.
“It’s very rare that you say that the planets are aligning and they actually do,” he told Seven’s Sunrise on Friday.
“It does happen, but quite rarely.
“We often get Mars, Venus or even Jupiter joining, but the fact that they’re all aligned and evenly spaced in the early morning sky is not only rare, it’s a special treat because everyone can enjoy it as long as you have some clear weather.”
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Weather permitting, space-nuts have been told to look southeast before dawn on Sunday to catch the once-in-a-lifetime display.
While a handy telescope or set of binoculars will definitely help, astronomers say the phenomenon will be visible to the naked eye.
“The trick here is to go out in the early morning,” Dr Tucker said.
“What you want to do is go about an hour or an hour-and-a-half before sunrise, so about 4.30am to 5am local time.
“Look towards the east where the sun is rising, and what you’ll see is you’ll have Saturn on top, followed by Mars, then Venus — Venus is the really bright one — and then Jupiter.”
After Sunday’s display, Jupiter will appear to move closer to Saturn, with the Earth’s moon also making an appearance. Later in June, Mercury will also become visible for Earthbound stargazers.
“Then next week, the moon is going to get in on the action,” Dr Tucker said.
“On the 25th, the moon is going to be like the celestial fifth wheel.”
Jake Foster, an astronomy education officer at Royal Museums in Greenwich, described the rare event as a “planet parade”.
“These types of alignments in our skies, sometimes known as planet parades, only occur from our perspective here on the Earth,” he said.
“The planets themselves are not physically aligned in space during these events, meaning that the perceived alignment is unique to our perspective as observers on the Earth.
“This year, we are particularly lucky as we will witness an alignment of five planets visible to the unaided eye on June 24, with Mercury joining the other four visible planets as an added bonus.”
In other recent space news, American have scientists re-sent a message to space, signalling to universe that here is indeed life on earth.
The Arecibo message was first sent out in 1974 but NASA scientists haven’t given up on coming in contact with extraterrestrials.
Now, with an up-to-date radio, the message has been sent again including more precise directions on how to find Earth.
However Dr Tucker said the message is “almost more ceremonial than anything”.
“It’s more a sign, almost like an academic point, that if there’s another civilisation wondering ‘are they alone’, at least they know ‘hey, there is another civilisation out there’,” Dr Tucker told Sky News Host Andrew Bolt.
