Bishop Museum to hold
party for planet-viewing
Islanders have an unusual nighttime opportunity through the first week of April to see five planets grouped in the same part of the sky.
Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter will be together again in the morning at the end of the year, said Carolyn Kaichi, Bishop Museum planetarium manager.
"But you'll have to get up before sunrise to see them," she said. "Now, in the evening sky, they're really easy to see, and it becomes more of a social event at night."
Residents are invited to an "Ultimate Star Party" 5 to 9 p.m. today on the museum's Great Lawn. It will be the last chance to see the five planets on parade in the night sky until 2016.
Planet watchers who can't go to the party should try to get a clear view with as much horizon as possible, particularly to the west to see Mercury and Venus, Kaichi said.
The other planets will be high enough to see from almost any location, but binoculars would help, she said.
Venus is bright enough that a trained viewer can see it just before dusk during the day, she said. "The others definitely need darkness. Mercury and Venus are two sunset planets."
Venus and Mars will be at their highest point on Monday, she said, and then they will get lower and lower in the sky. Mercury will disappear by the second week of April.
The five planets were last visible together in April 2002. "It happens in spurts," depending upon the revolution of the planets around the sun, Kaichi said.
"Coincidentally, when they are in the same area of sky, from our point of view on Earth, we can see them all at night or in the morning."
The Hawaiian Astronomical Society will provide telescopes at the museum party so people can get a close look at the planets.
Planetarium specialists will discuss the latest findings in planetary research and recent space programs.
