Before sunrise on July 19, five planets–Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn–and the crescent moon will all be visible in the sky at the same time. And better yet, you won’t even need a telescope to see them!
The five planets and crescent moon will simultaneously be visible to the naked eye 45 minutes before sunrise on Sunday, July 19, astronomy educator Dr. Jeffrey Hunt wrote in a blog post. They’ll be curved across the morning sky, so you’ll want to “find a spot with clear horizons in the east-northeast and the southwest,” Hunt advises.
Here is how to tell which planet is which:
Two hours before sunrise, you’ll already be able to spot Jupiter in the southwestern sky with the ringed planet Saturn above it and to the right. Mars, aka the red planet, will be visible in the southeastern horizon. Venus blazes in the eastern sky, and Mercury will be to the right of the moon–which will be very low in the east-northeast, reports Space.com.
You won’t need a telescope, but a pair of binoculars would allow you to get a real close up view of the Moon, Jupiter and Mercury – because they will be incredibly low in the sky!
If you are going to be using a telescope and want to know where to point it, check out all the info at When the Curves Line Up.