The rare sight of five bright planets lining up with the moon impressed sky-watchers around the world on Friday, with some preparing for more this weekend to see a planetary spectacle that won’t happen again until 2040.
Throughout June, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn lined up from left to right, in the order of their orbit from the Sun, before dawn in the southeast sky. Early Friday (June 24), the moon joined the planet’s parade in a spectacular sight captured by astrophotographer Wright Dobbs, a meteorologist with the US National Weather Service in Tallahassee, Florida.
Dobbs told Space.com in an email after sharing a photo of the five from St. Cloud, Florida on Friday. Dobbs is a veteran photographer of the night sky and you can see more photos on his Facebook page, (Opens in a new tab) Beside on Twitter (Opens in a new tab) And Instagram @wrightdobbs (Opens in a new tab).
Related: The rare alignment of five planets reaches its climax on Friday with the crescent moon
The photo was taken with a Sony a7ii and was made up of a three-photo panorama with a Sigma 14mm f/1.8 lens. Each image was overexposed at ISO 1600, f/6.3, 15 seconds.
“It’s certainly not the darkest place I’ve taken astrophotographs from, but I love what the auroras’ glow added to the display of planets in the morning sky,” Dobbs said.
Other stunning scenes poured in from social media.
Look: It’s hard to see here but if you look closely from left to right, you’ll see Venus, the Moon, Mars, and Jupiter! That’s just three of the five planets in alignment right now. Stylish stuff #Planetaryalignment #planetparadeGoodDayAtlanta pic.twitter.com/KeHn2WnJ4oJune 24, 2022
Five-planet alignment seen in Daanbantayan’ LOOK: In case you missed the five planet alignment earlier today, here’s a glimpse into the rare phenomenon in this image by photographer John Reco Estrera. : John Rico Estrera via Mica Sophia Marcellones pic.twitter.com/eiNqFoQ2LsJune 24, 2022
See planets align?
If you take a picture of the Five World Festival, let us know! You can send photos and comments in spacephotos@space.com.
While the parade peaked today (June 24), there is still plenty of time to see the planets in alignment, along with the moon.
The Moon has moved across the planet “meet and greet” in the sky before dawn, passing Saturn on June 18, Jupiter on June 21 and Mars on June 22. The moon will continue its tour with Venus on June 26, and then its tour with Mercury ends on June 27.
Related: Brightest planets in the June sky: How to see them (and when)
If you are looking for a telescope or binoculars to see the alignment of such an event, our guides to the best binoculars deals and the best telescope deals can help you right now. Our best cameras for astrophotography and the best lenses for astrophotography to get ready to capture the next star scene in the picture.
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