Rare Planetary Alignment Over Colorado Worth Getting Up Early To See

COLORADO — A rare alignment of five planets is coming to a peak alongside a crescent moon in June, and the best time to view it is before 5 a.m. Friday.

The procession of planets — Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, in that order — will be visible just above the eastern horizon during an hour or so before sunrise through the end of the month, according to AccuWeather.

If you’re putting skywatching on your agenda, the Accuweather forecast for most of Colorado's largest cities calls for a partially cloudy sky early Friday morning.

Best of all, the planetary alignment is visible without a telescope, though AccuWeather notes that Mercury may be hard to spot because it’s the dimmest of the planets and will be the lowest in the sky.

For the best chances to see all five planets, try to find a fairly flat open space without trees, buildings and mountains to get in the way.

The last time the five planets lined up was in 2004, and it won’t happen again until 2040, according to AccuWeather.

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