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Day 129: 236 days remaining

As if we needed a reason to remind you about Earth's orbit around the Sun, here's another chance for us to let you know about some cool planetary science. We don't orbit the sun alone - there are seven other planets, a dwarf planet and countless other asteroids and bits of space debris. And they all journey around the Sun on their own orbits. But this week something special is happening - several planets are going to be in close proximity to each other and are aligned in what's called "conjunction". And if you get up early you might just catch them.

Anyone up just before dawn looking at the sky, might get a glimpse of Mars, Jupiter, Venus, and Mercury. Although many millions of miles apart, from down here on Earth these four planets will appear as a close cluster in the sky. If you manage to catch this, or have already got a shot of it, then please don't keep it to yourself, no really, let us know. And if you missed it then there's a few more chances this week - at least until 12th May.

What can you expect to see? For tomorrow you should be able to see with the naked eye Jupiter and Venus within close proximity, so it's fair to say this is a rare sighting. You will most likely need to be up for around 5am (GMT), but I have been informed it's worth the fewer hours of sleep. Here's an example of what you might get to see, taken by Alan Dyer on 7th May:

Image © Alan Dyer San Pedro de Atacama

The photo above as with other great shots of this sighting were sent through to . The photo shows from top to bottom, Venus (the brightest), Mercury (to the right), Jupiter and Mars (just below and the faintest).

Let the 23 Degrees team know if you plan on sky watching this week and send in your photos. Good luck and remember to set that alarm clock.

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