Starship Asterisk*

Good Morning Planets from Chile

Explanation: On June 15, innermost planet Mercury had wandered about as far from the Sun as it ever gets in planet Earth's sky. Near the eastern horizon just before sunrise it stands over distant Andes mountain peaks in this predawn snapshot from the valley of Rio Hurtado in Chile. June's other morning planets are arrayed above it, as all the naked-eye planets of the Solar System stretch in a line along the ecliptic in the single wide-field view. Tilted toward the north, the Solar System's ecliptic plane arcs steeply through southern hemisphere skies. Northern hemisphere early morning risers will see the lineup of planets along the ecliptic at a shallower angle tilting toward the south. From both hemispheres June's beautiful morning planetary display finds the visible planets in order of their increasing distance from the Sun.

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Nice line up of planets!

orin stepanek wrote: ↑Fri Jun 17, 2022 11:24 am PlanetsfromChile__labelled_E-Schulz.jpg
Nice line up of planets!

What I find interesting is that they are in order of their solar orbits. How often does that happen?

bystander wrote: ↑Fri Jun 17, 2022 11:38 am

orin stepanek wrote: ↑Fri Jun 17, 2022 11:24 am PlanetsfromChile__labelled_E-Schulz.jpg
Nice line up of planets!

What I find interesting is that they are in order of their solar orbits. How often does that happen?

Neat! I also noted in Earth at the bottom! I really like how so many planets got lined up in this photo! Kudos to Elke Schultz

bystander wrote: ↑Fri Jun 17, 2022 11:38 am

orin stepanek wrote: ↑Fri Jun 17, 2022 11:24 am PlanetsfromChile__labelled_E-Schulz.jpg
Nice line up of planets!

What I find interesting is that they are in order of their solar orbits. How often does that happen?

Apparently it is quite rare. According to space dot com, the last time this 5 planet line up happened in the correct order was May 5th, 1864. So about every 150 years or so.

In one such alignment, Voyager 1 and 2 were launched to harness the gravitational forces and accelerate them tangentially toward the outermost planet.

De58te wrote: ↑Fri Jun 17, 2022 2:12 pm

bystander wrote: ↑Fri Jun 17, 2022 11:38 am

orin stepanek wrote: ↑Fri Jun 17, 2022 11:24 am PlanetsfromChile__labelled_E-Schulz.jpg
Nice line up of planets!

What I find interesting is that they are in order of their solar orbits. How often does that happen?

Apparently it is quite rare. According to space dot com, the last time this 5 planet line up happened in the correct order was May 5th, 1864. So about every 150 years or so.

(link added by me)

Wow, thanks. I assumed it was rare, but this may be more than I expected.

According to Sky & Telescope the crescent Moon will join the line-up between Venus and Mars on June 24th as a proxy for Earth. However, Mercury to Saturn will span 107°.

bystander wrote: ↑Fri Jun 17, 2022 3:39 pm

De58te wrote: ↑Fri Jun 17, 2022 2:12 pm

bystander wrote: ↑Fri Jun 17, 2022 11:38 am
What I find interesting is that they are in order of their solar orbits. How often does that happen?

Apparently it is quite rare. According to space dot com, the last time this 5 planet line up happened in the correct order was May 5th, 1864. So about every 150 years or so.

(link added by me)

Wow, thanks. I assumed it was rare, but this may be more than I expected.

According to Sky & Telescope the crescent Moon will join the line-up between Venus and Mars on June 24th as a proxy for Earth. However, Mercury to Saturn will span 107°.

Keep in mind that Jupiter and Saturn are only close together in the sky every 20 years. So I'm surprised an alignment like this happens even every 150 years.

What is that unmarked bright star/planet to the right of Saturn in the image?

hypatia wrote: ↑Fri Jun 17, 2022 8:35 pm What is that unmarked bright star/planet to the right of Saturn in the image?

Fomalhaut, Alpha PsA.

Thanks Chris.