Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn to Align in Night Sky

Good news, amateur astronomers! A fascinating planetary conjunction of visible Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn together will begin on Wednesday.

All five planets aligned can be seen with the naked eye beginning January 20, 6:30 AM Eastern Time.  Mercury will be the first to rise, just before sunrise, which will occur at 7:32 AM.

If weather permits, people can enjoy the planetary alignment until February 20.

Jupiter will be first to rise in the evenings, whereas Mars, Saturn, Venus and Mercury will rise later at night and in the early morning hours.

Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, & Jupiter will be seen through the mornings for the next month across the southern sky pic.twitter.com/LVGILJZfL0

— WeatherBug (@WeatherBug) January 19, 2016

All the bright planets can be spotted without optical aid but binoculars will help you to better see Mercury.

Venus, the brightest planet, can be easily seen by looking toward the southeast.

The hours just before sunrise on 5 Feb are best time to look for Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Moon pic.twitter.com/HnBYkAdAkp

— Mark Thompson (@PeoplesAstro) January 19, 2016

The upcoming planetary alignment is possible due to the "planets disks that reflect sunlight and these relatively nearby worlds tend to shine with a steadier light than the distant, twinkling stars," according to EarthSky.org.

Mercury, #Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will be visible at the same time https://t.co/YMuo80yj87 pic.twitter.com/RWexrG6DL4

— Margit Bucko (@Margit560) January 19, 2016