How to rarely watch Mercury, Jupiter and Saturn this weekend

This weekend, when Jupiter and Saturn appeared three planets at dusk, they were still relaxing together at the party last month Rare conclusion, Adding the lighter-flying Mercury to the upper part of the west high southwest range.

The planetary trio is a rare sight that can be seen with the naked eye after sunset in the next few days. Saturday night may be the best opportunity to see the three worlds come together.

“Astronomy” magazine reported that the entire planet will be visible in an area of ​​about 2.3 degrees that night (when they keep a certain distance from the arm, the width of the little finger and ring finger will merge). Mercury will be the lowest of the three in the sky, Jupiter will be the brightest, and Saturn will be the darkest.

Binoculars may help you get a better view, and even cheap backyard telescopes can provide a peek into some of the larger moons of Jupiter. When Mercury and Saturn disappear below the horizon, which may be a good thing, its color becomes darker.

To ensure that the entire trio is captured, the key is to go out immediately after the sun sets, because Mercury and Saturn will quickly fall below the horizon within an hour. Although the planets may be the closest to Saturday, they will continue to gather and move around in the next few nights, so you can play space games like you catch a Pokémon.

As always, if an amateur astrophotographer among you has captured any great images of a celestial gathering, please share with me on Twitter @EricCMack.

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