Rare Five Planet Visible Dawn Parade Jan. 20 Through Feb. 20

Summary: A rare five planet visible dawn parade Jan. 20 through Feb. 20 recurs in 2016 from late July through mid-August and then does not return until 2020.

uncommon celestial spectacle of the solar system's five visible planets (from Earth's perspective) in predawn/dawn skies Jan. 20 to Feb. 20, 2016: NASA/JPL-Caltech, Public Domain, via NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory

New Year 2016 opens with a rare five planet visible dawn parade Jan. 20 through Feb. 20 that last occurred in January 2005, will next recur from late July through mid-August in 2016 and then will not occur again until 2020.

The southeast-to-southwest arc traced by the rare five planet visible dawn parade Jan. 20 through Feb. 20 dominates the sky between 6:00 and 6:30 a.m. local time. Jupiter rises first in the early evening’s southeastern sky, appears to the south after midnight and holds sway in the southwestern skies at dawn. Mars rises after midnight in the east and claims the southern sky at dawn. Dawn finds predawn risers Saturn, Venus and Mercury in the southeastern skies.

The five visible planets are identified easily in their pre-dawn parade. Each one claims a night in 2016’s leap month of February for prominent placement near Earth’s moon.

“The planets are easy to distinguish when you use the moon as your guide,” writes Jane Houston Jones on Jan. 28, 2016, for February’s installment of “What’s Up?” by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. “Look for reddish Mars near the moon in the early morning of February first. Then, on the third, the moon passes near butterscotch-hued Saturn. On the sixth the moon, Mercury and Venus make a pretty triangle before sunrise. Then it’s Jupiter’s turn to pose with the moon on the 23rd. Through a telescope, Jupiter’s pale yellow is transformed into bands of cream, ochre and tan. Finally, the moon passes Mars again on Leap Day, February 29th.”

Mercury’s transition from evening to morning skies, after passing between Earth and the sun on Jan. 14, serves as harbinger of the rare five planet visible dawn alignment Jan. 20 through Feb. 20. The fastest planet’s appearance, albeit a low hugging of the southeastern horizon, on Jan. 20 converts January’s planetary quartet into a quintet.

The rare five planet visible dawn parade Jan. 20 through Feb. 20 displays a range of planetary brightness. Venus shines as the brightest of the five visible planets. Gas giant Jupiter holds second place. Gas giant Saturn is the third brightest planet. Fourth-place Mars and fifth-place Mercury close the lineup of planets that are visible to unaided human eyes.

Jason Kendall, adjunct professor of physics at New Jersey’s William Paterson University and board member of the Amateur Astronomers Association of New York, shares a tip for distinguishing between planets and stars. With one eye closed and an arm outstretched, slowly pass the thumb over a bright object in the sky. A star blinks, or winks, out as the thumb passes over it. A planet dims, or fades, out as the thumb covers more and more of its light.

Viewing of the rare five planet visible dawn parade is not restricted to unaided eyes. Binoculars clarify Mercury, enrich Saturn’s goldenness and reveal Jupiter’s four largest moons (Callisto, Europa, Ganymede, Io). A small telescope captures Jupiter’s four largest moons as well as Saturn’s rings.

“It’s not super-often you get to see them all at the same time in the sky, it’s like seeing all of your friends at once,” Jackie Faherty, astronomer at the American Museum of Natural History and the Carnegie Institution for Science, tells Nicholas St. Fleur, science journalist for The New York Times. “There they are, the other rocks or balls of gas that are running around the sun.”

Bruce McClure notes that all five remain visible until Mercury's disappearance in the dawn after mid-February: EarthSky @earthskyscience via Twitter Jan. 29, 2016

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

five planet lineup: NASA/JPL-Caltech, Public Domain, via NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory @ https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/a-planetary-quintet-is-dancing-across-the-skies

Bruce McClure notes that all five remain visible until Mercury's disappearance in the dawn after mid-February: EarthSky‏ @earthskyscience via Twitter Jan. 28, 2016, @ https://twitter.com/earthskyscience/status/692924896381378560

For further information:

Beatty, Kelly. "Get Up Early, See Five Planets at Once!" Sky and Telescope > Astronomy News > Observing News. Jan. 18, 2016.
Available @ http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/observing-news/get-up-early-see-five-planets-at-once-01182015/

EarthSky‏ @earthskyscience. "First time we can see 5 planets at once since 2005! Who's getting up tomorrow before dawn?!" Twitter. Jan. 28, 2016.
Available @ https://twitter.com/earthskyscience/status/692924896381378560

Friedlander, Blane P., Jr. "All five visible planets putting on morning shows." The Washington Post. Jan. 30, 2016.
Available @ https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/all-five-visible-planets-putting-on-morning-shows/2016/01/30/5d6dcb16-c6aa-11e5-8965-0607e0e265ce_story.html

Hill, Tanya. "Five bright planets in the morning sky." Museum Victoria. Jan. 22, 2016.
Available @ http://museumvictoria.com.au/about/mv-blog/jan-2016/five-bright-planets-in-the-morning-sky/

McClure, Bruce, and Deborah Byrd. "June 2016 guide to the 5 bright planets." EarthSky > Astronomy Essentials.
Available @ http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/visible-planets-tonight-mars-jupiter-venus-saturn-mercury

"Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter & Saturn all align for first time in 11 years." RT > News. Jan. 23, 2016.
Available @ https://www.rt.com/news/329918-five-planets-align-visibly/

NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "What's Up for February 2016." YouTube. Jan. 29, 2016.
Available @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOo_qBNWpbc

St. Fleur, Nicholas. "How to View Five Planets Aligning in a Celestial Spectacle." The New York Times > Space & Cosmos. Jan. 19, 2016.
Available @ http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/20/science/space/five-planets-align-mars-jupiter-mercury-saturn-venus.html?_r=0

"The Sky This Week, 2016 January 27 - February 2." U.S. Naval Oceanography Portal > News, Tours & Events > Sky This Week.
Available @ http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/tours-events/sky-this-week/the-sky-this-week-2016-january-27-february-2

"Washington, District of Columbia, United States." Gaisma > World > Americas > Northern America.
Available @ http://www.gaisma.com/en/location/washington-district-of-columbia.html