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Planetary Alignment Soon?

J

Justin_Anstey

Gone But Not Forgotten
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Apparently, there is going to be an alignment of Mercury, Venus, Mars and Saturn (with Jupiter nearby) in the western sky, which will be best seen on 27 April '02.

-J
 
What significance do the astrologers make of this?

When will be the best hours to see this - perhaps Rynner, our resident astronomer, could give details?

Carole
 
The attached image (taken from SkyMap Pro) shows the western sky about an hour after sunset on the 27th. Bottom right is the sun, below the horizon (the thicker curved line). Top left is Jupiter, in Gemini. In order from Jupiter downwards, the other planets are Saturn, Mars, Venus, and Mercury.

To see this at it's best choose a place with a good view to the western horizon (no buildings, hills, etc in the way), and away from street lamps. West is marked by the straight vertical line - the sun sets about 20 degrees north of west at this time of year in UK.

Venus will be brilliant, the first one you see as it gets dark - in binoculars, you'll find it well before dark.

Try watching a few days before and after as well - Mercury will move quite a bit.
 
carole said:
What significance do the astrologers make of this?
Click to expand...
Speaking as one of the board's resident astrologers - not a lot. The planets are all too far apart to make an astrologically significant grouping.
They make a pretty sight, though.
 
I've been looking at the planetary alignment in more detail, and there are several more interesting views to be had over the next couple of months. The following information applies to the UK, times about an hour after sunset (or more as the summer progresses), unless otherwise specified.

15 Apr (tonight) the new moon will join the line-up, about 4 deg below Mars. (For reference, the moon is about half a degree in diameter.)
16 Apr: Moon about three quarters of a degree to the right of Saturn.
18 Apr: Moon over 2 degrees from Jupiter (J. above and to the left). But the moon moves quite fast: getting on for 1 am the moon will be less than a degree ABOVE Jupiter (both bodies only about 10 deg above the horizon by then).

As April passes, Mercury becomes more easily visible, sunward of Venus but much less bright - binoculars should help find it in the evening glow. By the 27th it reaches magnitude -0.4, but Venus is far brighter at -3.9
29 Apr: Mercury is directly below the pretty little star cluster the Pleiades (Seven Sisters). The stars are not bright but they look great in binoculars, filling the field of view of a 7x50. Mercury is about a 'field of view' below the Pleiades, but they may not be easy to see in the twilight.
30 Apr: Mercury is about the same distance from the Pleiades, but has moved further south (ie, left)

During May the four planets bunch even closer and Venus gets higher in the sky.
10 May: Venus and Mars are in conjunction, less than two thirds of a moon diameter apart, with Mars (mag +1.7) below and left of the much brighter Venus (mag -3.9).

Then the moon comes back into the picture:-
13 May: New Moon is about 3 deg below Mercury. Saturn is about 6 deg to the left of Mercury, but becoming harder to see in the twilight.
14 May: The moon is in conjunction with Mars, just over a degree apart. Venus is over 2 deg higher than the moon.
15 May: The Moon is between Venus and Jupiter. (By the next day it has moved well above Jupiter.)

3 Jun: Venus and Jupiter are in conjunction, less than 2 deg apart. Venus (mag -4.0) much brighter than J (-1.9)
13 Jun: The Moon is less than a degree and a half to the right of Venus.

Clear Skies!
 
Annasdottir said:
The planets are all too far apart to make an astrologically significant grouping.
They make a pretty sight, though.
Click to expand...
But what astrological significance do you put on the conjunctions? For instance, today/tonight sometime, we have the Moon and Saturn in conjunction. (Of course, the moon conjuncts everything every month, but there are also planetary conjunctions coming up.)
 
Went out at about 20.40 & got a good view of the line up.

Jupiter, high & to the left, the moon close to Mars, Saturn off set below & to the left, Venus almost in the glow of the sunset. Mercury was not visible.

It really gave a good impression of the line of the ecliptic......
 
Unless Sky Map Pro has gone completely bonkers, David, the Moon was close to Saturn, tonight, not Mars. (Mars is nearly 10 degrees from the Moon, towards Venus.)

It was cloudy here tonight, so I couldn't check for myself.
 
Must admit rynner, that I didn't lug the telescope out & I havent looked closely at the sky for several weeks. So I was presuming that the planet close above the crescent moon was Mars.....

It's so rare to get them lined up like this it gets hard to sort the closer ones out!!!!!!!!:(

In any case, it was a great sight to see!!!!!:D
 
rynner said:
But what astrological significance do you put on the conjunctions? For instance, today/tonight sometime, we have the Moon and Saturn in conjunction. (Of course, the moon conjuncts everything every month, but there are also planetary conjunctions coming up.)
Click to expand...
Sorry for not replying sooner, Rynner. Was just sitting doen to post something Tuesday night when my SO dragged me outside to view the sky. A wonderful sight, with Saturn glimmering right on the edge of the Moon's limb. After that, the computer lost its attraction for the evening! And I've been frantically busy since.
Anyway, to answer your question:
In astrological terms, the line-up isn't close enough to qualify as a mass conjunction - the planets have to be within 8-10 degrees for that. So astrologers aren't getting too excited about this particular alignment. However, a concentration of planets in one part of the sky does signify increased activity in one area of an individual's or country's life (yup, countries have birthcharts, too). For instance, in the
USA's chart , the line-up is in mainly the area of "relationships with others" - I think you can see how current world events fit in with that.
What astrologers are getting worried about at the moment are the happenings on May25th-26th, when an opposition between Saturn and Pluto (repression v revolution) occurs just hours before a Lunar eclipse (endings and beginnings). This set of aspects is likely to be especially significant for the USA, Israel and the UK. Book your holiday to Mars now?
 
I spotted Mercury (for the first time this elongation) last night at about 2100 BST, very low in the twilight sky.

I found it first with binoculars, but it is a naked eye object.
 
Another astrological question:

Pluto was discovered in 1930 and has covered less than one third of its orbit since then, so how can astrologers know what influence it has on things? Which authority lists its qualities, and on what evidence?

(This is quite apart from the question of whether it is really a planet at all: its orbit is very eccentric and inclined, and Pluto and its satellite Charon together has less mass than our moon!)
 
Alignment of the planets 'will shorten shop queues', says an astrologer
here

I seem to be talking to myself on this thread! Annasdottir's gone quiet - how about the rest of you? Do you think astrology is total bollix, a possibility, or are you a fervent believer?
 
its the end of the world i tell you!!!

im stocking up on cheesey pasta and campbells meat balls
 
Dammit, I forgot about it.

Did anybody catch it?

I'll try to remember to look tonight.

-J
 
Just had a good view of the planets.

Venus is unmistakeably bright, the first 'star' to come out. The next brightest object, much higher in the SW, is Jupiter.

I then found Mercury in binoculars, but by 2115 BST it was visible to the naked eye, below and right of Venus. This is one of the best appearances of Mercury I remember - some astronomers have never seen it!

About the same distance the other side of Venus (ie, up and left) is another pair of bright objects, Saturn and Mars. The colour difference is most noticeable in binoculars, Mars being a ruddy colour. Saturn is the brighter of these two.

It's perhaps easier to identify the planets as it gets dark, as they are all brighter than the surrounding stars so are the first things to be seen in the dusk. And then you can go to the pub!
 
Just a reminder that Venus and Mars will be in conjunction on the 10th (Friday).

Venus is 'rushing' across the sky - since my previous post it has moved to a position where tonight it makes an equilateral triangle with Mars and Saturn. Keep watching each night as it approaches Mars.

Mercury is still well visible, down and right of Venus, a naked eye object here tonight about 2130 BST. Mars and Saturn visible in bins at that time, naked eye somewhat later. (These visibility times will get somewhat later as the evenings lengthen.)

Clear Skies to you all!
 
15th May 10.15 pm...

Just been out in the gharden and there's a beautiful alignment of Jupiter, crescent Moon and Venus in the west! Wonderful!
 
The moon will be the other side of Jupiter tomorrow night.

Enjoy!
 
I don't know whether to thank you or curse you for that, Wastrel! I already have THREE astro progs on my computer, and I don't really want to clutter its little brain with another one...

However, as I'm doing a little project on Anglo-Saxon eclipses, and Celestia shows eclipse shadows (which none of my others do) guess I have to give it a try!

With any luck I'll find I can dump a couple of my other progs - the trouble is that so far each one has features that the others don't!

I'll report back.
 
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