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Spot the targets of Europe's space explorers
 
22 April 2002

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The planets line up: 3 May 2002
Look to the west after sunset and you may be able to see five of the planets. Jupiter will be high in the sky and should appear to be the brightest object high in the west. Look down towards the right and you can see Saturn, Mars (dimly), brilliant white Venus and, low on the horizon, Mercury.

Also notable are the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters - the cluster of stars below Mercury.

This image was created for a viewer located in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, looking at the sky at 20:00 UT May 3 2002. Note that the size of the planets is not to scale.

 
 
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The planets line up: 19 April 2002
Look to the west after sunset and you should be able to see three, possibly four, of the planets. Jupiter will be high in the sky and should appear to be the brightest object high in the west. Look down towards the right and you can see Saturn, Mars (dimly) and brilliant white Venus.

Also notable will be the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters - the cluster of stars to the right of Mars; the three stars of Orions belt (to the left near the horizon) and Aldebaran, the brightest star below Saturn.

This image was created for a viewer located in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, looking at the sky at 20:00 UT April 19 2002. Note that the size of the planets is not to scale.

 
  Where to look
 
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Relative positions of the planets: April 19 2002
To understand why the planets change their relative positions from night to night, think of them orbiting the Sun at different speeds. At present they are all on the far side of the Sun. In the evening, their orbits are carrying them upwards, while the Earth is moving downwards relative to the Sun. Mercury and Venus orbit faster than the Earth. As a result they make progress upwards in the evening sky. (After May 3 Mercury will reverse when it comes towards the near side of the Sun.) Mars, Jupiter and Saturn travel more slowly than Earth so the effect is to bring them down in the evening sky, until they eventually pass behind the Sun.
 
 
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Relative positions of the planets: May 3 2002
To understand why the planets change their relative positions from night to night, think of them orbiting the Sun at different speeds. At present they are all on the far side of the Sun. In the evening, their orbits are carrying them upwards, while the Earth is moving downwards relative to the Sun. Mercury and Venus orbit faster than the Earth. As a result they make progress upwards in the evening sky. (After May 3 Mercury will reverse when it comes towards the near side of the Sun.) Mars, Jupiter and Saturn travel more slowly than Earth so the effect is to bring them down in the evening sky, until they eventually pass behind the Sun.

Credits: ESA
 
 
Related links
Make your own sky chart with Sky and TelescopeMake your own sky chart with Heavens-Above GmbHThe positions of the planets (April 8 to June 3) Sky & Telescope animated chartsESA's Mars Express websiteESA's Huygens websiteESA's BepiColombo websiteSatellites in orbit
 
 
 
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