Every single planet in our solar system is visible, but you may have dig for some of them. Venus, Mercury and Saturn are seen in the evening; Mars, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune are found in the early morning skies. Let me take on our solar system siblings one by one.
Venus
(85 million miles away in May)
You have to be living in a cave around the clock not to have noticed that super bright star in the western sky in the evening. It’s our sister planet Venus. Believe me, planets can be as different as siblings in human families. The only sisterly thing about Venus and Earth is that they’re about the same size, roughly 8,000 miles in diameter.
Venus is a true hellhole. It’s so bright because it’s completely cloud covered, and these very poisonous clouds reflect about 60 percent of the sun’s light. Unlike Earth’s water vapor clouds, the clouds on Venus are made of sulfuric acid droplets, and they trap so much heat that the thermometer can easily reach over 1,000 degrees on the surface of our “sister.” Venus dominates the evening sky until it sets after 11pm.
Mercury
(104 million miles away in May)
The planet nearest to the sun makes its best evening appearance for 2007 this month. It’s definitely dimmer than Venus in the western sky after evening twilight, and it’s much closer to the horizon. Mercury is so close to the horizon early this month that it will be really tough to spot, but toward mid-May you shouldn’t have too much trouble seeing it. On May 15, Mercury will be roughly 30 degrees to the lower right of Venus, or about three of your fist’s widths held at arm’s length. Forget about seeing any detail on the planet’s surface. It’s just too tiny and far away.
Saturn
(860 million miles away in May)
This planet, with its ring system and swarming moons, is simply the best thing to see with your telescope. As I’ve told you many times, do whatever you can to catch at least a glimpse. You’ll love it, guaranteed. Saturn is also seen in the western sky after sunset, but it’s quite a bit higher in the sky than Venus, about 40 degrees to the upper left of Venus. This month is your last real chance to get a good look at Saturn, because by early June it will be starting out in the evening much lower in the sky, forcing you to look through much more of Earth’s blurring atmosphere.
Jupiter
(446 million miles away in May)
The giant of the solar system actually rises before midnight, but most of its prime time show is in the early morning hours, as it glides from east to west in the southern half of the sky. You can’t miss it. It’s by far the brightest star-like object in the sky after midnight. Jupiter and Earth are drawing closer to each other this month, making it another wonderful telescope target. Even in the smallest of telescopes you can see at least some of Jupiter’s many horizontal cloud bands and its four brightest moons.
Mars
(167 million miles away in May)
Mars and the Earth will make another close approach to each other this Christmas, but right now Mars is still pretty far away. With a diameter of about 4,000 miles, the only thing notable about it, with or without a telescope, is its ruddy hue. Mars rises directly above the eastern horizon around 4:30 a.m. and doesn’t get all that high in the sky before being obliterated by morning twilight.
Uranus
(1.9 billion miles away in May)
Like Mars, Uranus rises in the east in the early morning sky. Realistically, you’ll need the help of the moon next Saturday morning,as the waning crescent moon will be just over one degree to the lower left of Uranus. Scan that area with a small telescope or a good pair of binoculars and you may see a little greenish dot.
Neptune
(2.8 billion miles away in May)
Neptune is also an early morning riser, coming up in the eastern sky about 3 a.m. If you can spot Neptune, you’re really good. The waning crescent moon will pass about two degrees to the lower left of Neptune. It will be an even tinier green dot. Good luck.
So what about the tiny planet Pluto? Well, in case you haven’t heard, Pluto was declassified as a planet last year. Pluto got fired because larger planet-like objects have been found in what’s known as the Kuiper Belt beyond Pluto. My question is, why can’t these be planets too – but no one asked me. Pluto is a tough one to see anyway. It’s so far away it would be very difficult to tell it apart from a faint star with even the largest amateur telescopes.
Mike Lynch is an amateur astronomer and professional broadcast meteorologist for WCCO Radio in Minneapolis and author of the new book “Washington Starwatch,” available at bookstores and on his Web site, www.lynchandthestars.com.
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