Astral Show For All Astronomy Enthusiasts

By Michael Todd
16:54, June 29th 2008
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Astral Show For All Astronomy Enthusiasts

Astronomers announced a very exciting series of events over the next few weeks. The celestial highlights include a meteor shower and the simultaneous appearance of the trio Mars, Saturn and the star Regulus.

Saturn and Mars are currently passing through the Leo constellation, very near of its alpha star, Regulus. The easiest one to spot will be Saturn, as it is the brightest and also the highest.

Mars with its well known red color, is the faintest of the trio and Regulus’ blue-white formation will also be very easy to observe.

Tomorrow night Mars will pass Regulus at a distance of just 0.7 degrees, image which will surely be worth watching. Not even 24 hours later, Mars will have also passed Regulus, closing in on Saturn. The distance will keep getting smaller and smaller until July 10, when the two planets will be apart, from our point of view, with only 0.6 degrees.

The optical illusion involved in the happening consists in the two planets’ line of sight as seen from Earth, as Mars is 202 million miles away from us and Saturn considerably more, at 928 million miles away.

Adding a little extra to the show, on July 5 and July 6 a descent moon will appear in the picture, with all four lining up in a straight line for everyone to see.

August will also provide some entertaining moments, as Mars and Saturn will be joined by Mercury and Venus.

The unusual event will also be viewable with low-power telescopes and people with a thing for such events should definitely consider taking the time to experience the rare occasion.



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Tags: Mars, Saturn, Venus, Leo
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