April has offered a unique celestial sight that anybody can view with their naked eye. It is not just for sky gazers with telescopes. This month, a unique alignment of four planets in our solar system will appear in the sky. Thereby, attracting skywatchers and space enthusiasts eager to see numerous celestial phenomena. The unique spectacle began on Sunday, April 17th, and will last through Wednesday, April 24th.
The planetary alignment of Mars, Venus, Saturn, and Jupiter will be visible to the naked eye and via telescopes.
“By mid-month, Jupiter is starting to rise in the pre-dawn hour, making for a quartet of planets, strung out in a line across the morning sky,” the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) noted.
According to NASA, Saturn looked to travel closer to Mars each day around the start of April. Venus, Mars, and Saturn create a trio in the southeast before sunrise.
NASA later stated that Jupiter began to rise in the pre-dawn hour by the middle of the month. A line across the morning sky begins forming by the movement of a quartet of planets.
When Jupiter is high enough over the horizon in the hour before daybreak, the exceptional glimpse will be easy to spot.
Four planets rare event
In a report, NASA revealed: “At the beginning of the month, Mars, Venus, and Saturn were all visible in the early morning. Now, the trio is joined by Jupiter, and the four planets can be seen by the naked eye in a straight line for the rest of April, as long as city lights don’t intrude.”
The rare event is due to all of the planet’s orbits around the sun lining up, according to NASA. Venus’ orbit around the sun is 225 Earth days, whereas Saturn’s is 29 years, according to the space agency.
According to NASA, the conjunction may be visible around the world in the early morning hours. One can see it by facing eastwards or toward the sunrise.