Every Planet In the Solar System Will Appear This Week, Even Ex-Planet Pluto

This November, we may not have a meteor shower show, a blue moon, and only certain countries have the privilege of witnessing the Northern Lights. What we do have in a single week, however, is the appearance of every planet in our Solar System.

Some nearby planets such as Jupiter and Mars can be seen even without binoculars. However, the furthest planets like Neptune and ex-planet Pluto can be spotted with a telescope.

Jupiter and Saturn will be found near the crescent Moon and easily spotted in the sky's southwestern region. The two gas giants are also moving closer together each day and will appear the brightest right after the New Moon.

Meanwhile, Venus or the Morning Star and Mercury will appear near the Sun right before dawn. Venus will be shining brightly while Mercury will be slightly dimmer. Mercury will also progressively appear brighter throughout the month and will rise above the horizon.

Seeing With Binoculars and Telescopes

With a telescope or binoculars, viewers will be able to spot Saturn's rings as the planet shines a yellowish hue. Saturn's layers of rings are thought to be remains of shattered moons, comets, or asteroids that could not escape the planet's gravitational pull. The ring particles range from tiny specs of dust to giant chunks the size of a house or a mountain. NASA also notes that teach ring orbits at a different speed around Saturn.

Mars will be glowing red in the southeastern region of the sky right after dusk. It's also a great time to celebrate the 100 days until the NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover will land on the planet and look for ancient signs of life. At the same time, the Red Planet will be near the two ice giants Uranus and Neptune.

With a telescope or binoculars, stargazers will be able to spot Uranus, appearing as a light blue disk, a little north of Mars. Neptune will be a little more challenging for amateurs but will appear dim blue south of the Red Planet.

Star Clusters And Earthshine

During dark skies without too many stars, a telescope is needed to spot Pluto which would be nearby Jupiter. However, the brightness of the moon as well as the star clusters may hinder viewers from finding the planets. The New Moon on the 15th will be extra brilliant due to Earthshine when the Sun reflects light off of Earth, bounces off the moon, and back to Earth.

Amateur stargazers may also confuse the reddish glow of Mars with the red star Aldebaran, which shines near Orion's Belt, or the three stars that are aligned. Aldebaran is also known as the Eye of Taurus or the bull's eye in the Taurus constellation. Slightly east of Orion's Belt, viewers would be able to spot an ancient cluster of stars called the Pleiades.

Check out more news and information on Stargazing on Science Times.