Astronomy Picture of the Day

Saturn, Mars, and the Beehive Cluster


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#89311 by @ 18.06.2006 00:00 - nach oben -
Saturn, Mars, and the Beehive Cluster


Explanation:

Grab a pair of binoculars and check out
Saturn and Mars
in the early evening sky tonight!

Looking west
shortly after sunset, your view could
be similar to this one - recorded on June 14.

But while this picture shows the two bright planets
(Saturn at left) separated by around 1.5 degrees and
neatly flanking M44, the Beehive Star
Cluster
, tonight should find those planets even closer together.

In fact, Saturn and Mars are scheduled to achieve their closest
alignment near sunset,
approaching to within about half a degree.

The Beehive will still stand out in the distant starry
background.

Still got those binoculars in hand?

You might
as well
look for
Mercury and Jupiter too.




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