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Credit & Copyright: Jimmy
Westlake
(Colorado
Mountain College)
Explanation:
This weekend
three planets will grace
the western sky,
forming a lovely trio easily visible shortly after sunset.
Saturday evening in particular will find
Saturn,
Venus, and
Mercury all within a 2 degree circle
(about the size of your thumb held at arm's length)
above the western horizon.
Recorded last Sunday, June 19, this image shows the same
three planets arrayed along the
ecliptic plane above a Colorado
Rocky Mountain skyline.
Venus is easiest to pick out of the twilight, the brightest
celestial beacon below picture center, with Saturn
above and to the left of Venus, and Mercury closest to the
horizon, right of prominent Pinnacle Peak.
By Saturday, the
wandering planets
will draw even closer together.
For help spotting the planets here, put your cursor over the
picture.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Mercury - planetary alignment - conjunction
Publications with words: Mercury - planetary alignment - conjunction
See also: