Planets Aligned: Jupiter, Venus, Saturn And Mars Parade Across MA Sky

BOSTON — As the Lyrid meteor shower winds down this week, the early morning sky offers a stellar view of four planets — Jupiter, Venus, Saturn and Mars — for Massachusetts skywatchers willing to get up early and drink it in with their coffee.

The alignment of four planets just above the horizon can be viewed easily in the eastern sky without a telescope through the end of the month, according to NASA, weather permitting. Saturday morning will prove to be one of the best times to see the shower, as the weather will be only partly cloudy.

Here's a look at the latest Boston-area forecast from the National Weather Service.

Monday
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 44.

Tuesday
A chance of showers, mainly after 2 p.m. Cloudy, with a high near 61. Chance of precipitation is 40% during the day, but increases to 70% by night.

Wednesday
Partly sunny, with a high near 60 and a low around 40.

Thursday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 55 and a low around 40.

Friday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 56 and a low around 41.

Saturday
Partly sunny, with a high near 59, then cloudy at night with a low around 42.

Sunday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 62, then a chance of showers at night and a low around 44. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Try to catch it on Saturday morning, though. The two brightest planets, Jupiter and Venus, have an "ultra-close" conjunction, the space agency said.

The best time to see the planetary parade is about an hour before sunrise. Sunrise is around 5:40 a.m. in Boston on Saturday.

The last time Jupiter and Venus appeared this close together was on Nov. 24, 2019.

"Of course," NASA explained, "the planets are actually far apart in space, and only appear to move closer, or farther apart, in the sky as our view of them across the solar system changes from month to month."

This conjunction isn't as impressive as the grand conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in late 2020, but the planetary lineup is "still really impressive" and will "make for thrilling sights in the morning sky," NASA said. "So definitely try to catch them if you can!"

While you're scanning the sky, you may still see a few stray shooting stars from the Lyrids meteor shower, known for producing fireballs with bright dust trails that can last for a few seconds. The monthlong Eta Aquarids meteor shower is also underway. It peaks May 4-5.

The meteor shower favors the Southern Hemisphere, where it produces about 60 meteors an hour, but it's a decent show in the Northern Hemisphere, too, and viewers in this part of the world can expect to see about half that many. Comet Haley is the parent of this meteor shower, which has been observed since ancient times.