See five planets at once in Malaysian skies from tonight

Malaysians — along with most parts of the world — are in for a celestial treat as five planets align in a rare astronomical event from tonight until the end of February.

The rare alignment of Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, Venus and Mercury will be visible simultaneously before dawn during this period. The best display of this phenomenon is expected to be on Jan 27 when the Moon comes into alignment with the five and Jupiter and Venus will shine the brightest.

A senior lecturer at the National University of Singapore’s Department of Physics, Dr Cindy Ng told TODAY that four planets, with the exception of Mercury, had already been visible for several days. 

Mercury, she said, has just become visible, having moved far enough from the Sun. 

“Usually, we see the five planets in the night sky at different times of the night. It is thus a special event to observe all five planets in the night sky at one time,” she was quoted as saying.

Those who wish to see this rare event can begin their watch just after 8pm tonight (12.50pm GMT).

 




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