On this day

Rare gathering of three planets

by mdr on Dec. 09th, 2006

Three planets will have a rare get-together Sunday morning (Dec. 10th, 2006). Jupiter, Mercury, and Mars will all appear within one degree of each other in the east-southeastern sky 45 minutes before sunrise (sunrise is at 7:40AM CST, so about 7AM CST). If you're awake that early, check it out. They'll be visible to the naked eye or with binoculars. Three planets haven't been this close since 1925, and it won't happen again until 2053.

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Liza's picture
Liza says:

From an E-mail from Parke W. Kunkle, President of the Minnesota Planetarium Society:

"Jupiter, Mercury, and Mars dance in the morning sky over the next few days. Look very low in the SE at about 7am. Binoculars will help.

On Saturday, Dec 9, Mercury is at the top of a triangle with Jupiter to the lower left and Mars to the lower right.

On Sunday, Dec 10, Mercury and Jupiter are almost on top of each other with Mars to the lower right. Your extended thumb at arm's length will cover all three!

By Monday, Dec 11, Jupiter is at the top of the triangle, Mercury is lower left, and Mars is lower right.

Want a star map of this event? You will have to register but you can generate a star map for a specific date, time, and location."

posted on Tue, 12/12/2006 - 6:34pm

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