Manitobans are in for a planetary treat for the next few weeks — and a very rare one next month.
Danielle Pahud, director of the University of Manitoba Lockhart Planetarium, and an instructor in the physics and astronomy department, said that for the next month, shortly after sunset each day, six planets — Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune — will be simultaneously visible in the night sky.
On the night of Feb. 28, sky-watchers will be in seventh heaven when Mercury joins them — something that only happens once every 175 years.
Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun Files
On the night of Feb. 28, seven planets — Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune — will be simultaneously visible in the night sky, something that only happens once every 175 years.
“Hopefully, we can wait for a little warmer weather and clear skies,” said Pahud on Monday, noting it is also best to find a flat with no trees or buildings.
She cautioned that the planets will not be visible in a single line.
On Tuesday, after the sun sets, Venus and Saturn will be low in the southwest sky.
“Venus will be low, but it is the brightest in the sky,” she said.
To see Jupiter, our solar system’s largest planet, sky-gazers will have to look straight up while Mars, the red planet, can be seen if to the east.
Uranus is straight up due south while Neptune is near Venus and Saturn.
“They are not visible without binoculars,” said Pahud. “They will probably look the same as a star, “but planets don’t twinkle.”
She said many people call the event a planetary alignment, but she prefers planetary parade because they aren’t in a straight line.
“When most people hear alignment, they imagine all of the planets in a row, kind of a tight row, and that’s not the case,” said Pahud.
“The planets all orbit the sun in the same direction. The planets that are closer in, like Mercury, (their) orbits vary. They go all the way around the sun every few months and, the planets further out like Jupiter, are much slower. Jupiter specifically orbits the sun once every 12 years.
“They all orbit in the same plane, called the ecliptic, roughly on a flat surface. So when we look out at the night sky, this flat surface looks like an arc and it’s the same arc that the sun travels over a day.”
kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
Kevin Rollason
Reporter
Kevin Rollason is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He graduated from Western University with a Masters of Journalism in 1985 and worked at the Winnipeg Sun until 1988, when he joined the Free Press. He has served as the Free Press’s city hall and law courts reporter and has won several awards, including a National Newspaper Award. Read more about Kevin.
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