4 planets aligning this month

MANILA, Philippines — Four planets will be seen lining up in the early morning sky these last days of April, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) announced yesterday.

“A celestial parade of four planets, lining up in a perfectly straight line before dawn, is observable on the last few days of April,” PAGASA said of the phenomenon involving Saturn, Mars, Venus and Jupiter.

Stargazers can feast their eyes on this astronomical event which coincides with the celebration of Global Astronomy Month (GAM).

On Wednesday, the alignment of the four planets was observed at 4 a.m. by the agency’s Space Science and Astronomy Section.

“This is an astronomical event known as the conjunction of planets or alignment of planets as being often called by the media,” PAGASA said in a video presentation.

The virtual telescope viewing session, which was presented in celebration of the GAM, is available for viewing through PAGASA’s Facebook Page.

“GAM is the flagship event by Astronomers Without Borders to encourage everyone to go outside and enjoy the beauty of the sky,” it said.

Earlier this month, astronomy enthusiasts also enjoyed two overlapping meteor shower events – the Lyrids meteor shower viewed from April 16 to 25 and the Puppids meteor shower from April 15 to 28.