Rare planetary alignment will occur this week

Fans of astronomy, mark your calendar.

This Saturday five planets -- Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter -- will put on what promises to be a spectacular celestial show, as they align in the northwest, eastward across the sky.

Astrological fears

And while Chinese astrology often portends earthquakes and floods under such circumstances, scientists yesterday assured the Taipei Times that such concerns are unwarranted.

"There is no scientific reason to expect any dire consequences due to the event. It should just be a fantastic show," said Wu Chih-kan (吳志剛), a researcher at the Taipei Astronomical Museum.

"The phenomenon is going to be spectacular," Wu said. "And you will be able to see it all with the naked eye."

To admire the view, Wu said that one should go to an open area after sunset and look up toward the northwest. "[The sight] shouldn't be hard to see, you should be able to spot them [the alignment of the five planets] easily about 10 degrees above the horizon."

Wu added that the planets should be easily distinguishable from other celestial bodies.

"They will appear to be bigger and brighter than the surrounding stars," he said. "Mercury will be the one closest to the horizon and approximately one fist above Mercury will be Venus, which will have a white color, the brightest of the five planets."

"The next in line will be Mars, appearing in red and then Saturn, appearing in pale yellow," added Wu. "The furthest will be Jupiter, appearing in bright yellow."

Wu said that the grouping of the five planets is just a prelude to a grander alignment on May 8, "when the five planets will be at their brightest and Mercury and Jupiter will converge in an area of the sky less than 34 degrees wide."

Wu said that the degree of convergence of the planets is what determines the spectacularity of the event.

convergence

"The last two times the five planets aligned was in 1984 and 1998," Wu said. "However, the degree of convergence of the planets during those events were not as high as this time around."

Wu said that an even more spectacular alignment would take place on Sept. 8, 2040, "during which, the five planets will converge in the sky in a line merely 9 degrees wide."

Wu added that the imminent planetary alignment would gradually break up by May 12, when the alignment will have completely disintegrated.

For Taipei astronomy fans, Wu suggests the open area by the Taipei Fine Arts Museum as an excellent place to get a great view of the celestial sight.