Rare Planet Alignment in April and May

04-02-2002, 06:08 PM

Rare Planet Alignment in April and May

By Joe Rao
posted: 07:00 am ET
02 April 2002

Ancient readings

Ancient people probably took note of the fact that the planets,
resembling bright stars, had the freedom to wander in the heavens,
while the other "fixed" stars remained rooted in their positions.
This ability to move seemed to have an almost magical, god-like
quality.

It's no wonder the planets came to be associated with the gods.
Evidence lies in their very names, which represent ancient deities.
The skywatchers of thousands of years ago must have deduced that if
the movements of the planets had any significance at all, it was to
inform those who could read celestial signs what fate held in store.
Indeed, even to this day, there are those who firmly believe that
the changing positions of the Sun, Moon and planets can have a
decided effect on the destinies of individuals and nations on the
Earth.

But is there any chance that the impending planet lineup might have
any influence on our lives in any way?

"Forget it," says Michael Shara, an astrophysicist at New York's
Rose Center for Earth and Space. "No astrologer can predict from
planetary alignments or any other celestial configuration when a
specific event, good or bad, will occur on Earth."

Several planets are assembling toward a rare alignment later this
month, when five of them will crowd into a patch of sky small enough
that all will be visible in a single glance. The setup will provide
a planet-watching opportunity that won't be repeated for a century.

Even now, Jupiter, Mars and Saturn form a nearly straight line in
the west each night. By late April, Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Saturn
will all bunch up in the western sky just after sunset, with bright
Jupiter also nearby.

Three of the planets -- Venus, Saturn and Mars -- will crowd into an
even smaller patch of sky in early May.

The five-planet array is a "standout" of the 21st Century, says
Robert C. Victor, an astronomer who volunteers at the Abrams
Planetarium of Michigan State University and has specialized in
predicting and observing unusual configurations of the planets for
nearly four decades.

Victor said there will be only three other chances in the coming 100
years to see five planets so tightly grouped, in September 2040,
July 2060, and November 2100.

"But the groupings of 2040 and 2100 will have some of the planets
barely above the horizon as darkness is falling, so viewers will
likely have to resort to using binoculars," Victor said. "None of
these three groupings will be as accessible to casual skywatchers as
the upcoming spectacular gathering in late April and early May."

Anyone with a clear view of the western sky will be able to observe
the events as they unfold, night after night, with no equipment
required.

How it works

A wide variety of different conjunctions and configurations
involving the planets typically occur during the course of any given
year. It is highly unusual, however, when three or more bright
planets appear to reside in the same small area of the sky.

>From our Earthly vantage point and during much of the year, we can
readily observe Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn with our
unaided eyes as they revolve around the Sun. Each of these planets
appears to move against the starry background at their own speeds
and along their own tracks.

Because they move at different speeds and at varying distances from
the Sun, the positions of all five planets at any particular time is
unique to that particular moment.

All of these naked eye planets -- and the Moon as well -- closely
follow an imaginary line in the sky called the ecliptic, an
important reference point in many respects for astronomers and
skywatchers.

The ecliptic is the apparent path that the Sun appears to take
through the sky, over the course of the year, as a result of the
Earth's revolution around it. Technically, the ecliptic represents
the extension or projection of the plane of the Earth's orbit out
towards the sky. But since the Moon and planets move in similar
planes, these bodies, when visible in our sky, always stay
relatively close to the ecliptic line.

Twelve of the constellations through which the ecliptic passes form
the Zodiac; their names, which can be readily identified on standard
star charts, are familiar to millions of horoscope users who would
be hard pressed to find them in the actual sky.

Astronomical amnesia

Some people have suggested that the combined gravity of various
planets lined up could tug at Earth and create colossal tides or
even earthquakes. Scientists say there is no basis for this.

In May 2000, a similar planet line-up occurred. In its advance,
there were numerous astrological predictions of earthquakes, floods,
wars and other disasters. Despite all the ballyhoo, absolutely
nothing abnormal or unexpected happened that was in any way tied to
the alignment, scientists say.

"The planets in the night sky are always shifting in and out of
celestial liaisons," says Ed Krupp, Director of the Griffith
Observatory in Los Angeles. "Astronomical amnesia allows us to
forget the last time we saw them assembling for such a performance.
We also usually fail to recall that none of the influential magical
thinking attributed to the previous event ever materialized."

Victor, of the Abrams Planetarium, suggests even the most casual
skywatchers make a concerted effort to go out and look up this
spring, since planet gatherings will be few and far between in the
next few years.

The most compact gathering of Venus, Mars and Saturn that will be
visible in the western evening sky from May 3-10 this year is just
one of only five such planet trios easily visible in a dark sky
between the years 1980 and 2050. The best view, he says, will be
during the evenings of May 5th and 6th, when these three planets
form an eye-catching compact triangle.

The next time a tight planet trio will be seen in a dark sky will be
in early August 2010, again involving Venus, Mars and Saturn.