Opinions

Jill Burke: Look up for an astronomical event you won't want to miss

A great astronomical event is now taking place in the predawn hours of the winter sky. Five planets -- Saturn, Venus, Mars, Mercury and Jupiter -- are visible simultaneously. That is, unless you live in Alaska.

Gazing to the heavens from the 49th state we get slightly cheated, left to admire a four-planet phenomenon. Our far northern latitude delivers the dawn before Mercury, the last planet in the sequence, peeks over the horizon.

Still, it's a great opportunity to grab the kids, bundle up and head outside. Not to mention that we've had a stunning run of northern lights, which is probably worth the trade-off of missing out on what's now the littlest planet in our solar system. Remember, Pluto had that distinction until 2006, when it was demoted to a "dwarf planet."

"Seeing at least four of them is worthwhile, especially when you can just go across the sky and see them all," said Peter Delamere, an associate professor of space physics with the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

With some incredibly good luck and good eyes, you might be able to catch the fifth planet, Mercury, but it's a slim chance. It rises last, in the morning after twilight has begun. As the smallest and least bright, it's also entering view at a very low angle to the horizon.

"We're plagued with our early twilight," Delamere explained.

The trick is to catch the planets while they are in transit, prior to sunrise, when too much daylight will obscure the view. For Alaskans, this narrow window begins just after 8:00 a.m., when Venus rises. Also known as the morning star, Venus is bright and easy to see on a clear day. Mercury rises soon after, about 8:18 a.m., but the sun is already well on its way to the horizon where it should come into view around 9:33 a.m.. If you start gazing at about 8:00 a.m., Delamere estimates you may have about 30 minutes to catch the planets together.

ADVERTISEMENT

For a general idea of where to look for the planets, follow the moon's path. From east to west you should be able to see Venus, Saturn, Mars and Jupiter. Four planets! As someone who's dragged kids out of bed in pajamas and sleeping bags to see 3 a.m. eclipses and snuggled up with them under many a meteor shower, I'm looking forward to a clear, dark morning to see if I can detect these four planets with a naked eye.

The five-planet event hasn't occurred since January 2005, and won't happen again until August 2016, which, in the land of the midnight sun is a poor viewing season. The good news is, the current planetary lineup will be with us for several weeks. They should be visible through mid-February, according to the astronomy website earthsky.org.

While the novelty is to view the planetary lineup with a naked eye, if you have access to a telescope, take it. Depending on the strength, you may be able to see Saturn's rings and even Jupiter's moons, Delamere said, adding "When they are so easily identified, why not take a look?"

The Old Farmer's Almanac, available online at www.almanac.com, is a good resource to find the rise and set times for the sun, moon and planets.

Nationalgeographic.com also has nice sky maps that show the planets and their nighttime path.

Happy hunting, and report back on your adventures.

The views expressed here are the writer's and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)alaskadispatch.com. Send submissions shorter than 200 words to letters@alaskadispatch.com or click here to submit via any web browser.

Jill Burke

Jill Burke is a former writer and columnist for Alaska Dispatch News.

ADVERTISEMENT