Anyone who has been awake before the crack of dawn in recent days may have seen an unusual sight in the sky, which Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery Planetarium manager Dr Martin George says has been generating extensive interest.
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"There's a lot of interest in the north-eastern morning sky before twilight at the moment, with three planets in a row forming a line aligned roughly from upper left to lower right," Dr George said.
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"In order from upper left, they are the planets Jupiter, Saturn and Mars. Jupiter is by far the brightest of the three and Mars is easy to identify because of its obvious reddish colour."
Dr George said while the planets would be clearly visible above our eastern horizon from about 1am, a great time to be looking over the next couple of mornings would be between 4am and 5am.
"The planets are much higher at that time, but we shall then also have the crescent Moon in the sky," he advised.
"Although on Monday at 5am will be better to give time for the Moon to be well clear of the horizon.
"If you look carefully, as the twilight starts to brighten you may spot tiny Mercury well below the Moon, near the horizon."
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Dr George said an interesting grouping of planets that captured public attention like this was visible "every few years or so".
"This grouping will gradually take on a different appearance as the days and weeks go by, because the planets are all moving around the sun at different speeds and distances.
"Currently, the apparent distance between Saturn and Mars is about twice that between Jupiter and Saturn, and Mars will steadily appear farther than the other two from night to night. A week from now, for example, Mars will be noticeably farther away but the three will still be in an approximately straight line."
Dr George said a much more rare solar system sight would be seen later this year.
"In December, Jupiter and Saturn will appear very close together in our evening sky.
"That event will be extra special as the two will appear closer together than at any time since the year 1623."