There is much ado about 2016, a usual effervescence that evolves every New Year in which every field on earth ponders about something, expects something to happen, make predictions about everything on earth. People of telescope, though regularly peep into the sky would come with something new for every New Year and nature has also been merciful to cater to their needs. So what’s new for 2016? Read here!
Much clutched by the gadgets and indulgent in the happenings around, very often we fail to look up at the sky which is a palette of wonders loaded with hues of miraculous sights.
Why should astro scientists have all the fun?
One should believe that nature now is brimming with its mercy to bring a fantabulous rare sighting of 5 bright planets aligned in a line to the naked eyes of mankind.
But this rare phenomenon is worth a pay; yes, thin away your cheese of sleep to wake up just before it is dawn to have this wonderful bright sky show all yours.
This January is the month blessed with this phenomenon. The drama has begun with Mercury becoming visible before the sunrise from 20 January 2016 to bring along other four planets in the same sky at the east after its occurrence earlier around January 2005.
Which are those five planets?
Mercury: The evening planet moving from evening to morning sky, has reached the “perihelion” (its nearest point to the sky) on January 08, which implies that this innermost and swiftest planet of the solar system has sped up all the way.
Having entered the morning sky, Mercury has joined the other four morning stars. Mercury could be viewed with relative ease around January 25 (four days from today), and is likely to be seen at its best around 06 February 2016 says earthsky.org.
Venus: The third brightest sky object after sun and moon is to appear humbly in the east before sunrise. Irrespective of the viewer’s polar station one can see Venus visibly prominent in the southeast sky.
Jupiter: The second-brightest planet, high before sunrise is to appear as the first planet in the sky. Jupiter rises in the east before midnight local time, at the beginning of the month. Jupiter actually is to rise around mid-evening approximately around 9 p.m. (local time) from both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
Mars: Will shine between Venus and Jupiter. Though not as bright as Venus or Jupiter, the modestly-bright Mars will be easily visible in the pre-dawn sky. The planets Jupiter Mars will shine high in the January pre-dawn sky.
Saturn: Will be visible near Venus before dawn. Saturn will shine as a morning planet throughout January. The ringed planet starts the month rising approximately two hours before the dawn from around the world, which will rise nearly four hours before the sunrise towards the end of the month.
You can easily view Saturn which appears golden in color with the eye alone and shines with an unfaltering light. To view Saturn’s rings use a small telescope as binoculars can’t reveal them.
All the five planets that have become visible since 20 January 2016 will remain so till 20 February 2016. In the past, it was from 15 December 2004 till 15 January 2005 all five visible planets appeared in the same sky together.
So pick up your cam… pre-pone your dawn…the show is already on!!!