NARIT encourages the public to view alignment of four planets



BANGKOK, 6 October 2015 (NNT) – The National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (NARIT) wants to inform the public that this 9-11 October, if you wake up very early in the morning, you can observe a special alignment of planets and the moon.

Just before daybreak from 9-11 October, if you look towards the east, a crescent moon will be seen right along an alignment of Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Mercury. The sight should be clearly visible if the sky is not obscured by clouds or haze.

Dr. Saran Potyachinda, NARIT deputy director, said that on 9-11 October, the public can view this planetary alignment, similar to the one that happened this past June. But this time it will occur just before the break of dawn if you look eastward.

“It’s a good opportunity to be able to observe four planets in our solar system with our bare eyes, all in the same direction, at the same time,” said Dr. Saran. The four planets include Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, and Venus. Saturn can be seen, too, but it will only be visible on the early evening of 9 October. Venus will be beside the crescent moon, and below that will be Mars, followed by Jupiter and Mercury. On the 10th, Mars and Jupiter will be situated right along the crescent moon, and on the last day, on 11 October, the moon will be situated right along Mercury.

During that time, Jupiter and Venus will be easily observable as they will be the brightest objects in the night sky other than the moon. Mercury will be a bit difficult to observe as it only be situated a little above the horizon, and the incoming sunlight might distort the visibility. If the weather is clear, though, the alignment should be visible throughout Thailand.

October is the period where the cooler season is approaching in Thailand, the sky is getting clearer, and it is the best time to observe the celestial sky. For astronomical information, the public may look up www.narit.or.th or the organization’s Facebook fan page by just simply typing in www.facebook.com/NARITpage.

-- NNT 2015-10-06

Unless the Indonesians stop burning their jungle, south east Asia will not be able to see the sun, let alone the planets.

If you miss it (because of the smoke) you can read about it in The Nation!