| Tuesday, February 15, 2000 |
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By Emily Lu Staff Writer The planets are the brightest objects in our sky, excluding the Moon and the Sun. As you know by now, the planets’ brightness and non-twinkling appearancedistinguish them from other celestial bodies. You’ve become old friends with Jupiter and Saturn, and have seen them wander through the sky. Now you can learn alittle bit more! There are currently two other planets visible in the early evening sky: Mars and Mercury. Of the two, Mars is easier to see because it is higher and brighter. Marswill appear to be a bright reddish spot, about 30 degrees (three fists at arm’s length) down and to the right of Jupiter. If you follow a line down from Jupiter andMars, Mercury will be very low on the western horizon just after sunset. It’s usually difficult to get a chance to see Mercury, so you’ll be lucky if you get a clear night at twilight to see it this week. It’s a treat to be able to pick out these bright points in the night and to be able to identify them as other planets. Impress your friends by telling them about the nine planets that orbit the Sun and make up our solar system. Show them how Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn line up in the sky on an imaginary line called the ecliptic. (Incidentally, all the signs of the zodiac are on the path of the ecliptic). The planets appear in a line because they all travel on the same plane around the Sun. Imagine that! Understanding that there are whole other worlds out there is pretty amazing. There is so much that exists outside of this Earth. Seeing the planets is only the beginning.
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