An ongoing space phenomenon has Edmontonians hoping for warm and clear night skies.
For the rest of February, several planets will be visible to the naked eye near sunrise and sunset.
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Frank Florian, the senior manager of the planetarium and space sciences at Telus World of Science Edmonton (TWOSE), told CTV News Edmonton why the out-of-this-world event is occurring.
“As the sun sets, you can actually watch four naked eye planets (that are) visible right now moving from west to east.”
“It’s not really an ‘alignment’ per se … It’s actually a grouping or ‘a parade of planets’ in the early evening sky,” said Florian on Tuesday.
He said planets will always appear to “line-up” in the sky, as all the major planets lie along an orbital plane of the solar system.
Venus, Saturn, Jupiter and Mars are all the planets which can be seen without a telescope, with Mercury joining the group around Feb. 24.
“In order to get all five up there, you need to look either before sunrise or after sunset, in order to see that,” he said, adding this planetary event occurs every few years.
Uranus and Neptune are also among the planetary grouping, but require a telescope to see.
Florian said people shouldn’t wait too long to witness the event as Venus and Saturn will start to dip toward the horizon, eventually disappearing from view.
“We’ve had a lot of people come out and … show a lot of interest in seeing the planets through telescopes. Unfortunately, our weather hasn’t been all that great to actually do that.”
The temperature outside must be warmer than -10 C with clear skies for optimal viewing at the TWOSE observatory, which is likely not going to happen for the upcoming weekend, he added.
Florian said TWOSE will update their website and post notices on their Facebook page about when the observatory will be open to view the event.
“When people see these planets through a telescope for the very first time and see the great red spot on Jupiter or the rings of Saturn, it’s always a crowd pleaser,” he said.
“They sometimes say, ‘Oh, you’re just holding up a picture, aren’t you?’ … (I reply) ‘No, that’s the real thing that you’re looking at.’”
Florian said those interested should have a look at the night sky before Feb. 26.
