Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Aries (Ari)  ·  Contains:  Extremely wide field
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A new string of planets graces the morning sky, Niall MacNeill
A new string of planets graces the morning sky, Niall MacNeill

A new string of planets graces the morning sky

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A new string of planets graces the morning sky, Niall MacNeill
A new string of planets graces the morning sky, Niall MacNeill

A new string of planets graces the morning sky

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The planets continue to amaze, lining up along the ecliptic in the morning sky to the East. You may have noted that their positions have changed, mostly due to the motion of the Earth in its orbit. Mercury, which is always close to the Sun has joined the party and can be seen low to the horizon. Above it is bright Venus and considerably higher we have Mars and thence Jupiter. Saturn could be found further along the ecliptic but out of the field of view. Jupiter has risen higher than Mars because the former takes 12 years to orbit the Sun and is moving slowly, such that its position more strongly reflects the orbital motion of the Earth and the Earth is catching up its position in its orbit more quickly. However, Mars only takes two years to complete an orbit so its position in the sky changes more slowly as the Earth more slowly catches it up. I hope that makes sense.
The planets now take up positions in line with their orbital positions from the Sun. Version B is the mouse-over annotated to show the planets.
The colours of morning sky were just gorgeous and I am convinced that the purple tint is a result of the dust that went up into the stratosphere from the Tongan volcano.
You can see that the shutter on my observatory was open and I was imaging Jupiter at the time.
It is hard getting up to the winter cold in the morning here in Australia, but what a time to be up and about seeing these glorious sights.

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    A new string of planets graces the morning sky, Niall MacNeill
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A new string of planets graces the morning sky, Niall MacNeill