Weather
Parade Of 6 Planets, Meteor Shower Combine For Predawn Spectacle Over FL
Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune will align in a giant arc just before sunrise over Florida. Here's when you can see it.
Florida skywatchers are in for a treat early Sunday morning if weather conditions allow it.
Six planets — Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune — will align in a giant arc just before sunrise. The first four planets in the lineup should be visible to the naked eye, but Uranus and Neptune will require binoculars or a telescope. A crescent moon joins the planetary parade, too.
Amateur Florida astronomers are not likely to catch a break: The National Weather Service forecast for the next several days calls for an 80 percent chance of rain at night.
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The best way to see the planetary parade is to find a dark sky with a clear view of the eastern horizon.
These are top sky-watching spots in Florida, according to Space Tourism Guide:
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- Alligator Alley
- Big Pine Key
- Chiefland Astronomy Village
- Doe Lake Campground
- Everglades National Park
- Fox Observatory at Markham Park
- From a Boat east of Miami
- Kirby Storter Roadside Park
- Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park
- Loxahatchee Refuge
- Myakka River State Park
- Pensacola Beach
- Sebastian Inlet
- St. George Island
- St. Joseph Peninsula State Park
Will The Moon Steal Perseids’ Thunder?
The most anticipated meteor shower of the year, the Perseids, is also building toward its Aug. 11-13 peak, so don’t be surprised if shooting stars add to the predawn spectacle. Under dark skies, about 100 meteors an hour are visible in normal years
The full sturgeon moon reaches peak illumination at 3:55 a.m. EDT Saturday, and that will be a problem for people hoping to catch the Perseids peak. It could wash out dimmer shooting stars, but keep in mind the Perseids meteor shower is famous for producing swift, bright meteors with numerous fireballs and persistent trains.
The Perseids continue until Labor Day, so there may be more chances to see them just before and after the new moon on Aug. 23.
Planetary Parades And Kisses
Dancing planets are reason enough to get up early, even if the Perseids don’t break through the arc.
The Farmers’ Almanac advises skywatchers to keep an eye on the two brightest planets, Venus and Jupiter. They will appear to kiss in the Venus-Jupiter conjunction, appearing side-by-side on Monday, Aug. 11, and closer together on Tuesday.
They’ll be only a couple of degrees apart, but will quickly spread out after the kiss. On Wednesday, Jupiter will stand above Venus.
Also Tuesday morning, the waning gibbous moon cozies up Saturn and Neptune. They will face south for about two hours before sunrise, with the moon about 3 degrees to the right of Saturn, according to the Farmers’ Almanac.
Another planetary parade lines up in the eastern sky about 45 minutes before sunrise on Monday, Aug. 18. The Farmers’ Almanac said Mercury will be the lowest in the sky and the hardest to spot, but above it and to the right are bright Venus and slightly dimmer Jupiter. Together, they’ll form a perfect arch with the waning crescent moon.
Also in the last half of the month, a slim crescent moon in the predawn sky will appear to kiss super bright Venus on Aug. 20. About 30 minutes before sunrise the following day, the moon will appear over Mercury, though it may be hard to spot, according to the Farmers’ Almanac.
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