How to spot 5 planets and the crescent moon without a telescope this weekend:
Comet Neowise isn't the only cosmic phenomenon visible in the sky this weekend. On Sunday, July 19, skywatchers will be able to look up and spot five planets and the crescent moon — all without even using a telescope.
Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, as well as the moon, will be close enough and bright enough to spot with the naked eye on Sunday, NASA said.
To see the show, you'll want to set an early alarm. You'll be able to spot the five planets plus the moon about 45 minutes before sunrise if you have a clear view of the horizon, according to astronomer Dr. Jeffrey Hunt.
Four of the five planets will appear like extremely bright stars. Venus will be visible low in the east-northeast, Mars in the south-southeast, and Jupiter and Saturn in the west-southwest, the Griffith Observatory said.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 19 2020, @02:05PM (2 children)
We truly live in exciting times.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Sunday July 19 2020, @02:21PM
The Moon has a pretty low albedo. Maybe it will get even brighter once colonies start sprouting up across the surface.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 19 2020, @02:44PM
Time doesn't excite me anymore. Grateful for pornhub, 'tho.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday July 19 2020, @02:48PM (2 children)
What's wrong with the earth? ;^)
Hail to the Nibbler in Chief.
(Score: 4, Touché) by Opportunist on Sunday July 19 2020, @04:12PM (1 child)
45 minutes before sunrise, in other words, it's gonna be dark. How do you expect to see earth at night.
Duh.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday July 19 2020, @04:42PM
You win the internets today!
Hail to the Nibbler in Chief.
(Score: 3, Funny) by shortscreen on Sunday July 19 2020, @02:53PM
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 19 2020, @02:53PM (4 children)
Why wasn't this published a few days ago if we needed to do it before sunrise?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 19 2020, @03:00PM (1 child)
You didn't lose anything, nothing spectacular happened.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 19 2020, @03:22PM
I dunno, I thought it was pretty impressive when the Martians imploded Saturn.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 19 2020, @03:26PM (1 child)
Everything will still be there for a few days. Mercury will go back below the horizon in a week or two. The comet is more interesting (but much harder to see!)
Uranus is visible now as well, and it's visible without any equipment if you get to dark skies. It's too bad that most of these sorts of articles just assume that nobody will be able to see it so it's not even worth mentioning.
(Score: 2) by Opportunist on Sunday July 19 2020, @04:15PM
Ok folks, the game is on, who finds the most tasteless joke to this statement?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 19 2020, @03:51PM (2 children)
Begin with ordering the #2 Taco Bell value meal. Any of the value meals will suffice. Next, wait no more than 15 minutes and when you feel the urge to fart, go ahead and let that baby rip, it will be completely dry and safe I promise. Next pull your underwear down and observe the almighty Crescent Moon. Volia! I was lying about the dry part, and I'm not sorry, sorry for that. Haha
Stay tuned next week for more fascinating tips on spotting other celestial bodies, including but not limited to Uranus!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 19 2020, @04:17PM (1 child)
There's a celestial body sunbathing in my neighbor's backyard right now.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 19 2020, @04:59PM
Pics or it didn't happen.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 19 2020, @04:24PM (4 children)
1- Wait until the bright thingy outside is gone
2- Go outside only if you've already mastered your doorknob operation class
3- Look up... with your eyes open
(Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Sunday July 19 2020, @05:26PM (1 child)
Instructions unclear. Still waiting for the street lamp to vanish. :-)
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 19 2020, @05:50PM
Just keep staring at it.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 19 2020, @05:58PM (1 child)
I'm still looking at the bright thingy outside with my bare eyes.
I'm still staring at it, but how do I know when to stop?
Sincerely,
Donald J. Trump
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 19 2020, @07:22PM
That's Hillary's evil stare. Don't look too long or you'll see Satan.