Mercury, Venus and Saturn to delight stargazers in a parade across the sky
Alongside a crescent moon, Mercury, Venus and Saturn will become visible to stargazers just before dawn on Friday morning.
According to NASA, the planetary phenomenon will be clearest about 45 minutes before sunrise, low in the eastern sky and appearing near the moon. Venus and Saturn will be the easiest to spot — but for those with a clear view of the horizon, Mercury can be observed hanging low and bright in the cosmos.
This planet parade — when planets align in the sky and become clearly visible to the naked eye — is one of a handful to occur this year.
In February, stargazers enjoyed a rare occurrence: All seven of Earth’s planetary siblings dotted the night sky at once.
And later this year in August, four planets — Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn — will become visible.
The phenomenon accompanies other April treats for astrophiles. This week, the Lyrid meteor shower has taken over the night sky, casting shooting stars and fireballs darting overhead.
And NASA says that Messier 3 — a sprawling expanse of dazzling stars some 34,000 light-years from Earth — is also visible this month. For those looking to observe the ancient globular cluster, which NASA estimates is between 11 and 13 billion years old, the agency says to look “a third of the way from Arcturus to Cor Caroli,” two notably bright stars.
“Through binoculars, Messier 3, or M3, appears as a small, fuzzy, star-like patch of light,” the agency says on its website. “With a small telescope, you’ll see a more defined glow with a slightly grainy texture. And with telescopes 8 inches or larger, the cluster begins to resolve into hundreds of individual stars.”
Darlings on the split screen: ‘Pavements’ explodes the music movie
Movies about musicians love to hit the same melodramatic beats about fame and genius. Important but not quite famous, the '90s indie band Pavement is the exception that unbalances the formula.
How DOGE’s push to amass data could hurt the reliability of future U.S. statistics
DOGE's murky push to amass data at federal agencies could hurt the U.S. government's ability to produce reliable census results, economic indicators and other statistics in the future, experts warn.
COMIC: Don’t panic! 6 strategies to keep you calm in a crisis
In dire situations, stress can make us panic and impair our ability to make lifesaving decisions. Emergency response professionals share the tactics they use to stay cool and collected on the job.
Why the U.K. prime minister is calling for a bigger military to face Russia
Key NATO members are upping their defense posture in response to threats from Russia. Experts say the Trump administration's confrontational approach to the alliance is a factor as well.
Private prisons and local jails are ramping up as ICE detention exceeds capacity
The number of people in ICE detention has grown, and detention facilities are over capacity. So the government is intensifying its hunt for more space, and local police are playing a bigger role.
Word of the Week: This four-letter word doesn’t mean what it used to. That’s nice
Like any self-respecting four-letter word, "nice" has many connotations. Centuries ago, "nice" meant someone was ignorant; now it has very different meanings. And that, as they say, is "noice."
