June 15th, special night - Stars & Planets

Something remarkable is about to happen in the evening sky. Three planets and a star cluster are converging for a close encounter ...



Thursday, June 15th, is a special night. En route to Saturn, Mars will pass directly in front of the Beehive...

In mid-June, Mercury leaps out of the glare of the Sun, soaring into the evening sky not far from Saturn and Mars. Greatest visibility occurs around June 15th, the same night Mars "explodes" in the Beehive. Mercury is easy to see even from over-lit cities...

Finally, the climax: On Saturday, June 17th, Mars and Saturn draw so close together you might think they're going to collide. (They won't.) Stick out your pinky and hold it at arm's length. The two planets will fit behind the tip with room to spare. Mercury, meanwhile, hovers just below: sky map. Wow!

Mark your calendar: ... June 15th & June 17th. Four sunsets, three planets and a star cluster--not a bad way to end the day.
NASA stars and planets, full text & source

[edit on 15-6-2006 by Ptolomeo]

Don´t miss it! Sounds great

I think I saw this!

It was either mercury or venus, mars was off to the left... anyways it just looked like a really bright star in the sky, but with binoculars you could see it looked like the bottom left cresent of a planet.
It was blurry, but unmistakebly a cresent-type shape.

Can't wait to see it tonight and tomorrow, I just wish I could get my hands on a telescope for the occasion!

Thank You for finding this! A very unique sight for me!

I am glad you have been able to enjoy it.

I will not be able to get out tonight to watch the sky
so please, keep us updated of what you see.

And thank you for sharing.

Yes, I will be watching. This is probably best viewed with binoculars, because it is too big to see all the planets and the beehive cluster with a telescope.

BTW, you may ask a mod to move this thread to space exploration forum, to get more interest.

Enjoy.

What direction should I be looking in to see this? It gets dark at about 10.30pm GMT.

Thanks in advance.

From here in Ohio, right at dusk, it should be in the western-northwestern sky above the horizon, toward the setting sun. The problem is though it will also set soon after, so don't bother looking after a couple of hours after sunset.

Saturn is easy to spot, it will be the brightest object, and mars will have a red hue to it. The beehive cluster will be nearby, and you will know it when you see it. Again to see them together they are best seen with binoculars.

Here is an image of the beehive cluster without Saturn nearby, so you can see more of the stars.

Thank you, Hal9000. I'll keep an eye or two out for it.

For anyone interested, here is where it will be located just after sunset toward the West.






This is a close up of Saturn, Mars and the Beehive Cluster.




Also, you will be able to see this for the next several days.

Enjoy.

Originally posted by Hal9000
Yes, I will be watching. This is probably best viewed with binoculars, because it is too big to see all the planets and the beehive cluster with a telescope.

BTW, you may ask a mod to move this thread to space exploration forum, to get more interest.

Enjoy.

Thank you for you contribution, Hal9000

Yes, please, Mod can you move this thread to SPACE EXPLORATION FORUM
I hope they are on time to see this unique moment

Thank you.