Volume 15 Issue 4	April 2009

Planet Watch -- Keeping Track of the Visible Planets

Mercury returns to the evening skies this month and quickly moves higher above the western horizon toward a neat rendezvous with the Pleiades toward the end of the month. Mercury reaches its greatest eastern elongation on the 26th. Venus shines brightly but low over the east horizon as it rises at about 0630 local time. By the end of the month it will become more noticeable in the hours before sunrise. Venus shines at a very bright -4.5 or so for a while this month - about as bright as it can get. Mars Mars rises at about the same time as Venus but is considerably dimmer than the cloud covered Venus. Mars move past the dimmer planet Uranus around the middle of the month, coming the closest on the 16th. With binoculars, and certainly with a telescope, the two are close enough (about 0.5 degrees) to be seen in the same filed of view. Jupiter rises around 6:00 a.m. local time and is situated amongst the stars of eastern Capricornus. An interesting observation this month could be in observing Jupiter every few mornings and note its passage by two of the brighter stars in Capricornus - Deneb Algeidi (mag. 2.8) and Nashira (mag. 3.7). Saturn was at opposition during March so it is still rising around sunset and is visible most of the night. At sunset Saturn is over the southeast horizon, and sets before sunrise.

Click Here For More Planet Information