In the Sky This Week – February 2, 2021
From now through next week, there will be an astounding mega-conjunction of Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn in the in the east-southeastern sky morning sky. The planets change positions quite a bit each morning, with Venus dancing with Saturn on Feb. 5th and 6th and then with Jupiter on Feb. 11th. Mercury joins the planet party on Feb. 8th, gaining altitude each morning until it appears much higher above the horizon than the other three planets by Feb 16th. This mega-conjunction would be even better if it was visible to us humans living on the planet, but that pesky atmosphere makes the planets invisible to all but the most determined daytime planet hunters (and I do happen to know some of those). On Feb. 16th Venus, Jupiter and Saturn are all aligned along the plane of the Ecliptic… and then there’s Mercury – hanging out high above Jupiter. Seen from this vantage point, Mercury’s orbital inclination is highly evident! Maybe … Continue reading →