Venus, Saturn and Mars shine close before sunrise this week

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4-04-2022, 19:58

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INA - SOURCES

Three worlds practically hug each other in the night sky Monday and Tuesday (April4-5) if you get up a little early.

Cloudy Venus, bright Mars and ringed Saturn will all get together again in the southeast predawn sky after forming a celestial triangle in late March.

NASA notes that Mars and Saturn were only a couple of finger widths apart on Friday (April 1), but will be even closer by Monday.

On Tuesday, Saturn and Mars will reach their closest approach to each other, at only half a degree apart. (Mars will be shining redly, below the white-yellow Saturn.)

Venus will also be visible, NASA said, to the lower left of Saturn and Mars. "Venus will rise last above the east-southeastern horizon at 4:54 a.m. EDT, and will be about 10 degrees above the horizon as morning twilight begins about an hour later at 5:48 a.m.," the agency stated.

Besides the planetary show, there's a lot more to see in the night sky. On Monday, the bright Pleiades star cluster will be only five degrees to the upper right of the waxing crescent moon.

While the star cluster is visible with the naked eye, that will depend on how much light pollution interferes with the view. "You may need binoculars to really appreciate this star cluster," NASA said.