Friday night We will have the rare opportunity to see The seven planets of the Solar System in the night sky at the same time. Actually our ability to see them will depend on several factors such as light pollution and that we have a telescope (or potent prismatic) to be able to see the farthest, Uranus and Neptune planets.
It will also depend on the time you do in our area.
Overcast night. The meteorology will not accompany those who want to take advantage of Friday night to see the alignment of the planets, at least if they are fulfilled The forecasts that advance the State Meteorology Agency (AEMET).
According to Aemet in Your prediction For Friday, “the presence of A Southwest storm From the Peninsula it will leave a predominance of cloudy or covered skies, with weak rainfall affecting most of the southern peninsular, Cantabrian and Pyrenean environment. ”
The areas where we find the greatest possibility of clear skies are in the northwest peninsular and in some areas of the Cantabrian coast. Galicia, León and the Basque Country will be the autonomous communities where more probabilities are to be able to enjoy this astronomical event.
And the islands? Visibility will also be something better in the Balearic Islands. According to Aemet’s forecast, little cloudy skies could be seen or with cloudy intervals. In the Canary Islands, on the other hand, the agency explains that “the tail of a front associated with Borrasca will leave cloudy skies or covered with rainfall in the north of the islands tending to send, and cloudy intervals in the rest.”
A persistent storm. The situation will last to Saturday, when cloudy or covered skies will also predominate. The responsible storm Of all this, installed in the peninsular south, it will also leave rainfall and even snow in some mountain ranges of the country.
In summary, the weather will make it difficult to see Friday’s planetary parade, at least from Spain. It is the big problem that this astronomical event occurs in the middle of winter.
How to see alignment. Having a clear sky on our heads is not the only requirement to see planetary alignment in all its splendor. We must also ensure that light pollution does not spoil the show. For this we must get away from the big cities. It can also help us close our eyes before looking at the sky to “get used to” our eyes into the dark.
To identify the planets we can Help us from different applications that allow us to distinguish them from each other and from the stars that illuminate the night sky.
Not everyone equally. Not all planets will be visible with the same ease. Five of the seven planets that will be visible on Friday night can be seen with the naked eye: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, due to their relative proximity or by their enormous size can be seen without the need for binoculars or telescopes.
A pair of binoculars, however, can help us look at details such as Saturn’s rings or moons that accompany Jupiter. We will also need to be worth an optical tool if we want to see the two remaining planets, Uranus and Neptune.