Rare sighting awaits star gazers

Disna MUDALIGE

Mercury	Venus	Mars	Jupiter

A rare encounter of four planets, namely, Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter is visible to the naked eye during this month, Colombo University Physics Department Senior Lecturer Dr Chandana Jayaratne told the Daily News yesterday. He said that this spectacular event can be seen in the Eastern skies just before sunrise. From May 7 to 15, Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter will be within about five degrees of each other, he noted.

"The identification of these planets by the naked eye is very easy.

"From May 15 to 25, the three small planets will form a trio lying within five degrees of each other.

May 21 is the morning to look for Mercury, Venus, and Mars in their tightest pairing, at 2.1 degrees across. Venus's closest approach to Mars will occur on May 23, when Mars is one degree to the upper left of Venus. After this date, the planets stretch apart and form a line, with the Moon passing alongside of this line during the last days of the month", he remarked.