Planets Aligned: Jupiter, Venus, Saturn And Mars Parade Across MI

MICHIGAN — Over the next several days, Michiganders will have a decent shot to see catch a stellar view of four planets, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn and Mars over the state's early morning sky.

The alignment of four planets just above the horizon can be viewed easily in the eastern sky without a telescope through the end of the month, according to NASA, weather permitting.

Over the next seven days, metro Detroit's skies look relatively clear, outside of two rain chances, the National Weather Service said. After a clear and dry Friday, clouds will move in Saturday night, bringing rain that will bleed over into Sunday.

Monday looks to be clear, but Tuesday looks like a rainmaker, the National Weather Service said. After Tuesday's rain, Wednesday and Thursday were shaping up to be pretty good days to catch the view of the aligned four planets.

Stargazers should try to catch it on Saturday morning, especially in metro Detroit before the rain moves in. The two brightest planets, Jupiter and Venus, have an “ultra-close” conjunction, the space agency said.

The best time to see the planetary parade is about an hour before sunrise. Sunrise is around 6:28 in metro Detroit.

The last time Jupiter and Venus have appeared this close together was on Nov. 24, 2019.

“Of course,” NASA explained, “the planets are actually far apart in space, and only appear to move closer, or farther apart, in the sky as our view of them across the solar system changes from month to month.”

This conjunction isn’t as impressive as the grand conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in late 2020, but the planetary lineup is “still really impressive” and will “make for thrilling sights in the morning sky,” NASA said. “So definitely try to catch them if you can!”

While you’re scanning the sky, you may still see a few stray shooting stars from the Lyrids meteor shower, known for producing fireballs with bright dust trails that can last for a few seconds. The monthlong Eta Aquarids meteor shower is also underway. It peaks May 4-5.

The meteor shower favors the Southern Hemisphere, where it produces about 60 meteors an hour, but it's a decent show in the Northern Hemisphere, too, and viewers in this part of the world can expect to see about half that many. Comet Haley is the parent of this meteor shower, which has been observed since ancient times.