A Five Planet Dawn
Image Credit &
Copyright:
Jose Antonio Hervás
As January closes and in the coming days of February,
early morning risers
can spot the five naked-eye planets before dawn.
Though some might claim to see six planets,
in this seaside panoramic view
all five celestial wanderers were
found above the horizon along with a bright waning gibbous Moon
on January 27.
Nearly aligned along the
plane of the ecliptic,
but not along a line with the Sun, the
five
planets are spread well over 100 degrees across the sky.
Just arriving on the predawn scene, fleeting Mercury stands
above the southeastern horizon in the golden light
of the approaching sunrise.