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Stargazers in Polokwane: Coming week perfect to view planets

Throughout January, a rare planetary alignment will become visible in the night sky, promising a rare celestial delight.

POLOKWANE – Stargazers are looking forward to the opportunity to view some interesting movements of the stars, starting on Thursday (January 16), according to semi-professional astronomer, Magda Streicher.

Streicher undertakes intense cosmic studies on a high level through a 16-inch telescope and provides data on a semi-professional basis worldwide to augment astronomic databases.

According to Streicher, the five naked-eye planets – Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn – are often the brightest objects in the sky, and as they move in their orbits around the sun they are at times arranged in attractive groupings, with each other or with the moon, as seen through our line of sight from Earth, although never in a line so to speak.

The inner planets, Mercury and Venus, go through a complete cycle of phases like the Moon because they are closer in their orbits around the sun than earth.

The outer planets, those beyond the earth’s orbit in their paths around the sun, are best seen at opposition, which occurs when the planet is closest to earth and directly opposite the sun.

She explains that, being the innermost planet, planet Mercury is always near the sun, and can be seen only low in the east just before sunrise or low above the western horizon just after sunset, but usually very difficult to spot. The best time this year will be January 21 when it rises in the morning about two hours before the sun.

Planet Venus is the brightest starlike object in the night sky and shines brilliant as the evening star during January and February and was visible very close to the moon on January 3.

It re-emerges at the end of March as the Morning Star from April through December. Planet Mars also known as the red planet is visible in the evening sky through November. Mars was seen towards the east after sunset against the stars of the constellation Gemini and closest to Earth on January 12.

However, Mars is at apposition on January 16 when Earth comes directly between the planet and the sun. Planet Jupiter the largest planet in our solar system is one of the brightest objects in the night sky and visible in the evening sky from January until mid-June, and can be seen with ease high in the east. At times Jupiter is been confused with the planet Venus, they appear less starlike if compared with stars.

Streicher advises viewers to use binoculars to show the planet as a tiny yellow disc, and perhaps spot the Gaililean moons as starlike points on the side of Jupiter.

The lovely ring planet Saturn is visible in the evening sky during January and February and visible only as a pale-yellow star.

Every 14 years Saturn tilts cause us to see the rings edge-on as we cross Saturn’s ring plane. The lovely rings will slowly disappear as from March this year for a few months.

Saturn and planet Venus are prominent towards the west after sunset and the first to be visible before stars appear.

“Keep an eye on them as they move closer together during January with brilliant Venus just below Saturn,” she says. On the evening of January 18, they will be reaching their closest approach and level with each other on the evening of January 22 whereas planet Saturn will then move below Venus until it sinks in the western horizon towards end of February. The crescent moon will line up with the two planets on January 31, so keep the cameras ready.”

Faint to be seen with the naked eye but if spotted through binoculars it will have the looks of only a dim star. Planet Neptune and planet Saturn will be only a degree apart during June and July towards the morning sky.

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