In April, I wrote that you could observe four planets in a line. Well, folks, the show is getting better. Later this month, at dawn, Mercury joins the show. All five naked-eye planets align from the East to the South. But wait, there’s more. On April 24, a thin crescent Moon appears midway between Venus and Mars. 

On the 24th, the five planets begin rising in the East during the night. Saturn rises just before midnight. Jupiter rises at 1:48 a.m., followed by Mars at 2:33 a.m. The Moon rises at 3:27 a.m. As these continue drifting westward, Venus rises at 4:37 a.m., followed by Mercury at 5:17. The Sun rises at 6:36. The planets fade into the morning glory as the Earth spins eastward on its axis, causing the Sun’s rise. You’ve probably guessed that the Sun has been out there all night!

The astute reader will have noticed an amazing coincidence. The planets align in the order of their distance from the Sun. The westernmost and first to rise is Saturn, the most distant of the visible planets, and the easternmost and last to rise is Mercury, the closest to the Sun. Furthermore, the Moon replaces the Earth’s position in the order of planetary orbits around the Sun. Spread before your eyes is a model of the solar system. But that’s not all! The other two planets, which are too dim to see without optical aid, Neptune and Uranus, and there also. Uranus is positioned above Venus and below the Moon, while Neptune is between Jupiter and Saturn. All the planets, other than Earth, of course, are there. Even poor old Pluto is in its proper position far off to the West, about to set. Pluto was demoted in 2006 to a dwarf planet by the International Astronomical Union. I’ll never forgive them.

Venus to the East and Jupiter to the South are the brightest and unmistakable. They are both silvery in color. Mars and Saturn are dimmer but brighter than stars in the line of planets. They are more reddish or yellowish and should be easy to identify also. The challenge will be Mercury. Not because it is dim, but because it is close to the horizon. Timing is key. While the sky is dark, it will not have risen. You’ll need to catch it close to the horizon before the skies brighten.

If you take the initiative to crawl out of bed before daylight, you’ll be rewarded. If you need to dodge the weather, all five visible planets will be in their place for a few days on either side of June 24. The Moon will move daily through the group. On June 18, it’s near Saturn, near Jupiter on the 21st, and near Mars on the 22nd. Enjoy.