2002 April 29
A great grouping of
planets is
now visible to the west just after sunset.
Over the next two weeks,
Mercury,
Venus,
Earth,
Mars,
Jupiter, and
Saturn -- the innermost six planets of our
Solar System -- can be seen in a single knowing glance.
The image on the left captured them all in one frame.
Connecting the planetary dots delineates the edge-on
ecliptic,
the plane in which the planets orbit the
Sun.
The shot was taken on April 23 near Chatsworth,
New Jersey,
USA, and even includes scattered
light from the Sun and the
Moon.
Besides the planets, the
Pleiades and
Hyades
open clusters
of stars are visible.