See Mars, Jupiter And Venus Over Milwaukee As Planets Align

MILWAUKEE, WI — Seeing four planets align is up to chance as cloudy skies threaten prime viewing times on Saturday.

Jupiter, Venus, Saturn and Mars are expected to visibly align early in the morning, giving southeast Wisconsin residents a chance to enjoy their coffee and stargaze as the Lyrid meteor shower winds down.

Forecasters say the four planets will align just above the horiozon and can be seen in the eastern sky without a telescope at the end of the month, according to NASA. But will Wisconsin's wacky spring weather permit it?

Prime viewing time is early Saturday morning, but here's a quick forecast of the rest of the week from the National Weather Service.

Monday: Cloudy, with a low around 34. West wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

Tuesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 45. West wind 10 to 15 mph. Tuesday night is expected to be partly cloudy, with a low around 28. North wind 10 to 15 mph.

Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 40. North wind around 10 mph becoming northeast in the afternoon. There's a slight chance of rain and snow after 8 p.m. Wednesday night.

Thursday: A slight chance of rain and snow before 8 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 45. East wind around 10 mph. There's a 20 percent chance after 8 p.m., and the night will be mostly cloudy.

Friday: A 20 percent chance of rain before 8 a.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 50. Southeast wind 10 to 15 mph. There's a 20 percent chance of rain after 2 a.m., and skies will be party cloudy. This will make viewing the planets more difficult, unless clear patches break through.

Saturday: A 50 percent chance of rain, mainly after 8 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 54. It's expected to rain that night, with mostly cloudy skies.

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 5:46 a.m. in the Milwaukee area.

The last time Jupiter and Venus have 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.