Spectacular Planetary Event Visible Early Monday Morning - Next One Will Be 22 Years From Now

 

It isn't often that a planetary event occurs that won't happen again for decades- in this case until 2040.  But such will be the case early Monday morning - roughly 45 minutes before sunrise,  when Venus, Mars and Saturn appear very close together near the horizon. The top graphic shows the view from my planetarium program (Cybersky) registering at 5:30 a.m. local time. Venus is at the top, followed by Saturn then Mars - slightly off to one side - and the crescent Moon.  A more observer -oriented (horizon- based) perspective is shown below with the relative positions the same:

Physically, of course, the 4 objects aren’t really close together at all.  It is merely how they appear in terms of the angular distances in the sky.  See e.g.

Revisiting Simple Angular Measurements....

Venus will be actually be some 69 million miles distant from earth while Mars will be 169 million miles away. Saturn will be 978 million miles away.

But from the perspective of earth, their positions as they orbit around the Sun will make them appear so close together that they will be visible within the same binocular field.  For readers interested in seeing this sight all 3 objects ought to be easy to pick out.  Venus is always the brightest (which is why it's so often mistaken for a "UFO") while Saturn is between Venus and the Moon and slightly brighter than Mars. Mars is reddish in color, hence the nickname, "Red planet". 

 This alignment is well worth it to get up early and check out, as we plan to do, with our trusty 7 x 50 mm binoculars.  But you don't really need any optical instrument to see the splendid sight, just your two eyes. And if you miss it, it won't appear again until September 6, 2040.