Planets align: Venus, Mercury and Mars meet up with moon early Tuesday

2024-12-24 02:17:23 source: category:Contact-us

The moon is set to put on a show for star-gazers early Tuesday morning, appearing alongside Venus, Mercury and Mars.

A very thin crescent moon will appear low in the sky next to Mercury, Mars and Venus, according to Space.com, a news outlet that reports on NASA, space exploration and astronomy.

Venus will be the most visible planet of the three, while Mars will be less visible, possibly requiring binoculars to view. Mercury will be fairly bright and may be visible without any eye help in some areas with low light pollution and an unobstructed view of the horizon, the outlet wrote.

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How to watch the planets

First check sunrise times in your area, as the planets all will appear before the sun comes up. Venus will appear first, followed by Mercury, and then Mars will close out the show.

Venus will become visible about two and a half hours before sunrise. The pale yellow planet will be visible to the southeast.

The moon and Mercury will rise about an hour later, with the planet appearing above and to the left of Earth's closest neighbor. Thirty minutes before sunrise, Mars will rise above the horizon.

The planets will be visible to the naked eye, but if you do use tools such as binoculars or a telescope to observe the planet trio, never look in the direction of the rising sun because it can damage the eye.

NASA recommends to skywatch from a wide open area without tall trees or mountains nearby, since you can see more of the sky. In order to avoid light pollution, which washes out the fainter stars in the Milky Way, watch the sky from outside cities or urban areas with bright lights.

A large field, a wide valley, or the shore of a lake are all examples of great places to sky-watch and stargaze, according to NASA.

For more stargazing and sky-watching tips, NASA produces a monthly video on the highlights of meteor showers, changes in constellations and more.

Contributing: Reporting from Space.com

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