YORK, Pa. — Some recent buzz online has people talking about a parade of planets visible in the sky on Monday morning, June 3rd. And while six planets might appear to line up, in reality, it's going to look much less impressive for those trying to see it.
In reality, only 2 of the planets will actually be visible to the naked eye according to Todd Ullery of the York County Astronomical Society. Ullery has been running the society's planetarium for nearly 2 decades. He says if you wake up early enough, you could see Saturn and Mars.
"Saturn and Mars will be the only ones that will be visible. Mars has a little bit of a reddish tinge to it and it’s a little bit brighter than Saturn right now. There’s no real bright stars in that area of the sky so they will stand out by themselves," he says.
Jupiter and Mercury will be in the sky that morning, but will be too close to the horizon and overwhelmed by sunlight to see. Uranus and Neptune will also be there, but you'll need a telescope and some experience to try and spot them.
So this event might not be the best for sky watchers, however, there are some more impressive celestial events happening this summer! Ullery says he has his sights set on the nova, which will appear anytime between now and September.
While this event might not be very spectacular, Ullery says that there are other celestial events that you should keep an eye out for this summer, including the appearance of a new star, or nova.
"This is a star that erupts every 80 years and we’re expecting it to happen again this summer where a star that wasn’t visible before without a telescope will become as bright as the star Polaris," he tells FOX43. "And it will last about a week or so and then fade away. And our sky doesn’t change that often so this is an opportunity to see a new star for at least a couple days.”
Once the nova appears, it will be visible when you look east at sunset for about a week.
Something else to keep an eye on is another chance to see the aurora.
“The sunspot group that caused the May 10th aurora has returned from the back of the sun and it's already giving off x class flares, which are the strongest kind. And in a couple more days it will rotate to be Earth facing and if it gives off more flares, we will have a good chance of seeing more auroras again," says Ullery.
Other headlines this summer include the Perseid meteor shower, which is always a spectacular show. There will also be another opportunity to view Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn in the evening sky in August and September.
Ullery encourages everyone to keep an eye on local trusted resources for the best info on any astronomical events that are coming up. And if you're looking to learn more or get involved with the York County Astronomical Society, they host a public star watch every month at their observatory at John Rudy County Park. Their next event is Saturday, June 8th.