Rare Celestial 'Smiley Face' To Light Up PA Skies This Week

It may seem the universe is smiling down on the Philadelphia region during a rare triple celestial conjunction that will look like a smiley face from Earth in the predawn hours of Thursday and Friday.

And luckily for us, The National Weather Service forecast calls for clear conditions Thursday as well as Friday. That will make for good viewing of the "smily face conjunction."

During the so-called “smiley face conjunction,” Venus and Saturn will appear as two eyes over the thin crescent moon that looks like an upturned smile. To see the spectacle, look low in the eastern sky about an hour before sunrise.

But be aware, the window to see the smiley face conjunction is short.

The alignment occurs around 5:30 a.m. Eastern Time, about an hour before sunrise. The spectacle will be visible low in the eastern sky from anywhere in the world with favorable viewing conditions. Mercury may be visible as well.

If you’re lucky, you may also see a few meteors streaking across the sky. The predawn hours are ideal for shooting star chasers. The Lyrid meteor shower will be a couple of days past its peak and will continue through April 26. It’s known for fast meteors with glowing trains.

The ancient Eta Aquariid meteor shower began April 19 and runs concurrently with the Lyrids. This shower is the more prolific of the two, offering about 30 shooting stars an hour. These fast meteors also leave rains that can last anywhere from several seconds to minutes, according to NASA. The shower peaks overnight May 4-5 and rambles on until month’s end.

Also according to NASA, Earth’s hothouse twin planet Venus will continue to rise low in the east before dawn, looking a little higher each morning through the month. All month, Mars shines bright and looks reddish in the nighttime sky all month, according to the agency.