As many as four planets line up in the morning sky in April 2022 – it’s just a foretaste of an even bigger parade of planets in June.
Frankfurt – Anyone who looks east in the early morning, just before sunrise, may have already seen the planetary parade: the planets Venus, Mars and Saturn line up over the horizon like a string of pearls before they are swept away by the light of the rising sun. In the coming days, this parade of planets will be even more spectacular, because then a fourth planet will join them: Jupiter.
The largest planet in the solar system is currently still just below the horizon and only rises when it is already too bright – but that is changing. Already from around April 20th you can see the planet Jupiter with a clear view to the east, before the sun rises. Then four planets line up in this direction. The planet Saturn is highest and almost to the south-east, followed to the east (to the left) by the Mars*, then bright venus*. In addition, from April 20th, the planet Jupiter will be just above the horizon.
Planetary Parade in the East: Saturn, Mars, Venus and Jupiter line up before sunrise
Just a few days later, this planetary parade in the east receives a “visit” from another celestial body: the waning one moon* will join from April 23rd.
Jupiter, Saturn, Mars and Venus – this is how you recognize the planets in the sky:
- the Venus is the brightest “star” in the sky, it shines much brighter than all other celestial bodies (except sun and moon). If it is in the sky in the morning, it is also called the “morning star”.
- Of the Mars is currently not too bright to see, but should still be noticeable: it glows reddish. Hence its nickname “red planet”, which it had before humans first saw the planet’s surface with space probes.
- Of the Saturn currently has a similar brightness as the planet Mars – but Saturn does not glow reddish.
- Of the Jupiter It is the second brightest planet in the sky after Venus. However, its light is quickly overshadowed by the rising sun. It is currently the lowest of the four planets.
Venus meets Jupiter: Two bright planets come very close to the conjunction
The meeting of the four planets can be observed in the morning sky for about two weeks. Anyone who observes the planet parade every morning will notice a change over several days: the two brightest planets, Jupiter and Venus, are moving ever closer together. On May 1st they reach their closest apparent convergence and are then less than half a finger’s breadth apart. In astronomy, this meeting of two celestial bodies is called a conjunction. To the naked eye, this conjunction will look like two bright points of light in the sky merging.
In December 2020 there was a very special conjunction: the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn came very close in the sky just before Christmas* – with the naked eye they almost merged into one celestial body.
Astronomy highlight in June 2022: parade with all seven planets
The Planet Show in April and May 2022 may be a sight to behold, but in fact it is just a foretaste of what will happen in June 2022: a parade of all the planets in our solar system – except Earth. Before sunrise on June 24th, all seven planets in the solar system besides Earth will line up in the sky. The chain of planets then extends from east to south in the following order: Mercury – Venus – Uranus – Mars – Jupiter – Neptune – Saturn.
The narrow crescent of the waning moon will also be positioned between Uranus and Mars. You need binoculars or a telescope to see the planets Uranus and Neptune, for Mercury you need a bit of luck and a clear view of the eastern horizon. Such a parade of all the planets in the solar system is rare and a sight not to be missed.
Planet parade in the morning sky: Jupiter and Venus swap positions
If you compare the order of the planets in June with the order of the planet parade in April, you will see that two of the celestial bodies have changed places. After May 1st conjunction, Venus and Jupiter will swap positions, Venus will be lower in the sky while Jupiter is slowly moving up the sky, also overtaking the planet Mars. In fact, it is not the case that the planets come close or “overtake” each other in space – this effect is solely due to the earthly perspective. In space, the planets are very far apart and move in different orbits around the sun.
Space Newsletter
The sky above our heads is diverse and always good for special sights. Of the FR newsletter about astronomy and space travel* keeps you up to date on everything important.
In addition to the planetary parade in the morning sky, the month of April has another astronomy highlight in store: from April 14th to 30th you can see the Observe the Lyrid Shooting Star Stream*, most shooting stars are expected on April 22 – a time when the full moon* does not disturb the observation. (Tanya Banner) *fr.de and hna.de are offers from IPPEN.MEDIA.
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