Faint Neptune joins Venus and Saturn to form a planetary triangle in the pre-dawn sky on April 28
The predawn hours of April 28 will see a planetary triangle form in the night sky, as Venus makes a close approach to Saturn following a conjunction, while Neptune, invisible to the naked eye, will sit just a few degrees away towards the horizon.
Saturn and Venus will be below the horizon for viewers in the U.S. when they reach the point of conjunction in the hours before their appearance on the morning of the 28th. A planetary conjunction occurs when two worlds share the same right ascension — a value similar to longitude that is used by astronomers to chart the locations of objects in the night sky — when viewed from the night sky from Earth.
At this point the planetary duo will be separated by a little under 3.5 degrees in the sky, according to stargazing website in-the-sky.org (the width of your first at arm’s length equals about 10 degrees).
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To catch Saturn, Venus and Neptune at play, stargazers need only find a clear, unobstructed view of the horizon, and look eastward in the hour preceding sunrise on April 28.
Venus will be visible as a bright magnitude -4.42 morning star near the horizon, while Saturn will appear just a few degrees away to the bottom left, significantly dimmer than its planetary neighbor.
Neptune will be altogether invisible to the naked eye, but can be picked out with a decent pair of binoculars, or a telescope, appearing as a small blueish green point of light below and slightly to the left of Venus. However, as always the utmost care must be taken to never point a pair of binoculars or telescope at the sun, or to look directly at the stellar body with the naked eye.
Mercury will also be present close to the eastern horizon in the hour before dawn, but will be quickly hidden by light from our rising sun.
Looking to explore the solar system for yourself? well our guides for the best binoculars deals and the best telescope deals now can help. Our guides on the best cameras for astrophotography and best lenses for astrophotography can also help you prepare to capture the next skywatching sight.
Editor’s note: If you want to share your planetary photographs with our readers at Space.com, please email them to spacephotos@space.com.
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