Mars and Saturn: Doing a little dance , page 1

For those interested skywatchers: Mars and Saturn will be doing a little dance in the evening sky over the next couple of weeks.

Mars and Saturn Get Together

Two bright planets will approach each other in our evening sky during the next couple of weeks. Both worlds are now visible about one-third of the way up from the western horizon as darkness falls.

June 30:

On the evening of June 30, you'll see Mars just above and to the right of Regulus, while Saturn sits above and to the left; the trio will resemble an arrowhead that night with Saturn making the arrow's tip.

July 1

On the evening of July 1, Mars will appear perched almost directly above Regulus. The color contrast will be quite striking, especially in binoculars: Mars appears yellow-orange, while Regulus is bluish.

July 5

On July 5 looking low in the western sky about an hour after sundown, you'll see a waxing crescent moon, with Regulus, Mars and Saturn all oriented in a straight line in that order, from lower right to upper left. Mars will be situated almost exactly in between Regulus and Saturn. On the following night, the moon will have shifted eastward, forming a broad triangle with Regulus and Saturn, while Mars will have moved noticeably closer to Saturn.

July 9-11

During the evenings of July 9 through 11, watch how the faster-moving Mars closely interacts with the much slower Saturn. Despite the difference in brightness, they still should make for a rather eye-catching pair in the western twilight glow about an hour after sundown. On the 9th, Mars is situated about one degree below Saturn. On the 10th, they are closest together, separated by 0.7 degree; Mars now appears just below and to the left of Saturn. On the 11th, Mars has moved noticeably farther away to Saturn's left.

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Enjoy. And don't forget that the Perseid meteor shower will peak in mid-August.

Rush