Hey Space Placers!
Move that body outside before dawn to enjoy a planetary parade and the SUMMER, yes, SUMMER constellations.
With Daylight Saving Time making dawn later it is pretty easy to get up in the predawn hours and step outside to see the sky treasures awaiting you.
Face south and you will see brilliant and beautiful Venus on the left in the East and reddish-orange (and getting brighter!) Mars on the right in the West. Right in the middle of the two is yellowish-white Saturn.
UPDATE: I decided to add in Mercury for your viewing pleasure although it will be a bit of a challenge as it always is. Go out about 30 minutes before sunrise and look about two fist-widths to the lower left of Venus you should be able to see Mercury hugging the eastern horizon looking yellowish-white and fairly bright. If you have binoculars it will help. A clear view of the horizon is required as Mercury is low in the sky.
If you have dark skies you will see the summer Milky Way in the South flowing through the constellations of Scorpius and Sagittarius - very beautiful.
Now face the east and look for the Summer Triangle high in the sky. You will see three bright stars forming a triangle - Vega is the brightest at the top with Deneb to the lower left and Altair to the right.
With Spring 7 days away and the cold still gripping much of the Northern Hemisphere, get an early preview of the stars of summer currently graced by the 4of the 5 visible planets.
Bundle up, grab your coffee and enjoy!
Sky Guy in Single Digit Wind Chill VA
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