Jupiter, Saturn, and Venus string out across the predawn sky in mid-March, but they appear most evenly spaced on the 13th.
The three morning planets — Jupiter, Saturn, and Venus — appear equally spaced before dawn.
Of the three planets, Venus and Jupiter are the two brightest. In fact, they are the two brightest points of light in the entire sky. Venus shines at a glaring magnitude –3.9, while Jupiter reaches a respectable magnitude –2.0. The two beacons lie 50° apart, while fainter Saturn (at about magnitude 0.6) lies exactly midway between them.
As a bonus, once you’ve connected the planetary dots, you can move on to the bright star Antares, which sits slightly below and about 15° to the west of Jupiter. The red supergiant star is one of the brightest stars in the entire night sky, currently glowing at about magnitude 1.0.
If clouds interfere with your view tomorrow morning, don’t despair — to the naked eye, the alignment holds for a few days.
For more quick and easy observing tips, check out The sky this week from March 8 to 17.
