Planets Aligned: Jupiter, Venus, Saturn And Mars Parade Above WA

SEATTLE — The Lyrid meteor shower winds down this week, but the early morning sky will still offer a stellar view of four planets — Jupiter, Venus, Saturn and Mars — for Washington stargazers willing to get up early and drink it in with their coffee.

The alignment of four planets just above the horizon can be viewed easily in the eastern sky without a telescope through the end of the month, according to NASA, weather permitting. Unfortunately, that last bit is a stickler for Washington: the National Weather Service says the current 7-day forecast is in flux, but it largely is predicting scattered showers and middling cloud coverage, meaning it could be hard to spot the sights if the clouds don't cooperate.

That said, Saturday morning might offer the best shot. The two brightest planets, Jupiter and Venus, have an “ultra-close” conjunction that day, the space agency said. The best time to see the planetary parade is about an hour before sunrise.

The last time Jupiter and Venus have appeared this close together was on Nov. 24, 2019.

“Of course,” NASA explained, “the planets are actually far apart in space, and only appear to move closer, or farther apart, in the sky as our view of them across the solar system changes from month to month.”

This conjunction isn’t as impressive as the grand conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in late 2020, but the planetary lineup is “still really impressive” and will “make for thrilling sights in the morning sky,” NASA said. “So definitely try to catch them if you can!”

While you’re scanning the sky, you may still see a few stray shooting stars from the Lyrids meteor shower, known for producing fireballs with bright dust trails that can last for a few seconds. The monthlong Eta Aquarids meteor shower is also underway. It peaks May 4-5.

The meteor shower favors the Southern Hemisphere, where it produces about 60 meteors an hour, but it's a decent show in the Northern Hemisphere, too, and viewers in this part of the world can expect to see about half that many. Comet Haley is the parent of this meteor shower, which has been observed since ancient times.