Sunday, May 01, 2011

The Planets Line Up with the Moon

Well at least they did. Actually, this morning was the last chance to see them lined up with the Moon. But then planets themselves will continue to be lined up for a couple of weeks:

Six Planets Now Aligned in the Dawn Sky
If you get up any morning for the next few weeks, you’ll be treated to the sight of all the planets except Saturn arrayed along the ecliptic, the path of the sun through the sky.

For the last two months, almost all the planets have been hiding behind the sun, but this week they all emerge and are arrayed in a grand line above the rising sun. Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter are visible, and you can add Uranus and Neptune to your count if you have binoculars or a small telescope.

[...]

While astrologers view planetary alignments as foretellers of disasters, modern amateur astronomers look forward to them as nothing more than grand photo ops.

If you go out any morning for the next four days, you’ll be treated to a view of the crescent moon and all but one of the naked eye planets.

Because the moon moves rapidly from one morning to the next, it will only be part of the lineup for the next four mornings, but the four naked-eye planets will be there for the next few weeks.

Venus is, as always, the brightest and most visible of the planets, and it can be your guide to spotting the others. About half way between Venus and the rising sun is Jupiter, the second brightest planet.

Mars will be a tiny speck just above Jupiter, and Mercury another tiny speck about half way between Jupiter and Venus. Uranus is slightly more than one binocular field above and to the right of Venus, and Neptune is much farther to the right, about 40 degrees away in Aquarius. The Moon will be just above Venus on Saturday morning, and just above Jupiter and Mars on Sunday morning. [...]

I read somewhere that ancient peoples thought it was a bad omen, because they believed the planets were gods. Ignorance believes all kinds of things.

The article also mentions that there will be no planetary lineup occurring in 2012, no matter what the New Age Dingbats claim. So enjoy it while you can ;-)
     

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Chas, you'd better believe that we are entering a New Age - you may not like some of its perceivesd (by you) ramifications, but the fact is that we are presently transitioning from the Age of Pisces into the Age of Aquarius. An astrological Age lasts for approx. 2160 years, thus the Age of Pisces began in approx. 150 B.C. An astrological Great Year lasts for approx. 25,920 years.

Chas said...

Really? Says who?

Anonymous said...

All the Great Astrologers said, since time immemorial. Do some research into Astrology re Ages of Pisces and Aquarius & you will find out.

Ingrid

Chas said...

That's a nice vague answer. :-)

I did some research on the topic before creating this post. One site I read said, the overlap was supposedly 250 to 350 years. It seems there are multiple opinions on the topic, hence my question.

It doesn't seem to me to be the kind of thing that is "provable" one way or another. Rather, more like the sort of thing that, if you believe it's true, then it becomes true for you.

I don't believe it, or disbelieve it. Nor does it bother me.