# Anyone else see all five planets visible from Earth?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-see-all-five-planets-visible-from-earth/105258
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [April 24, 2002, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-see-all-five-planets-visible-from-earth/105258 "2002-04-24T01:23:26Z")
**Posts on this page:** 13
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2002, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-see-all-five-planets-visible-from-earth/105258/1 "2002-04-24T01:23:26Z")
Wow, I live in Michigan and tonight was the night I’d been waiting for. I was just out and can see Mercury, Venus, Earth(duh), Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter at the same time.
Truly remarkable! Anyone else see this?
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### Author:  [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2002, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-see-all-five-planets-visible-from-earth/105258/2 "2002-04-24T01:57:07Z")
This seems to me more like a polling type of thread and as such belongs in IMHO.
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### Author:  [@Tansu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tansu)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2002, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-see-all-five-planets-visible-from-earth/105258/3 "2002-04-24T10:03:32Z")
Yes! I saw them all about three nights ago. I was so excited to see Mercury for the first time. A whole planet that I’d never seen.
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### Author:  [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2002, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-see-all-five-planets-visible-from-earth/105258/4 "2002-04-24T11:15:00Z")
Dang, I have never, ever found Mercury! You must have a clear shot at the Western horizon, I wager. I have never had any luck finding Mercury. Also, let’s not forget the moon was positioned in this alignment, too - just to augment things…
- Jinx
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### Author:  [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2002, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-see-all-five-planets-visible-from-earth/105258/5 "2002-04-24T13:52:12Z")
I’d heard something about this coming up on the radio but then could never Google any more info. Do you have a link to the story? Is it too late to see this still?
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### Author:  [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2002, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-see-all-five-planets-visible-from-earth/105258/6 "2002-04-24T16:16:18Z")
Yep. Saw them last night, too. I also saw that comet. Took me a bit to find it but I did. I didn’t expect much but it sure is a lot dimmer than that one about 5 or so years back (Hale-Bopp?) I need my binoculars to get a semi-decent look at it. Where I was (small city) it was very, very tough to see unaided.
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### Author:  [@Yossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yossarian)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2002, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-see-all-five-planets-visible-from-earth/105258/7 "2002-04-24T16:20:05Z")
**lieu** , check out this link:
[http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2002/24apr\_relax.htm?list151303](http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2002/24apr_relax.htm?list151303)
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### Author:  [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2002, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-see-all-five-planets-visible-from-earth/105258/8 "2002-04-24T16:24:50Z")
I caught it one night earlier this week (when I was up past sunset) and I’m sure I will be watching later this week.
It’s cool, très très cool.
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### Author:  [@Phobos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phobos)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2002, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-see-all-five-planets-visible-from-earth/105258/9 "2002-04-24T21:10:25Z")
Saw 4…well, 5 if you count Earth 😉
Trees, light pollution, and a lack of free time to find a different viewing spot have prevented me from seeing Mercury.
Anyone else get a feeling of vertigo when seeing how the solar system’s “up” is different than your “up”? (i.e., the line of the planets within the plane of the solar system vs. your position based on the tilt of the Earth’s axis and your latitude)
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### Author:  [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2002, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-see-all-five-planets-visible-from-earth/105258/10 "2002-04-24T21:46:10Z")
I saw them all last night Mahaloth. We had perfect conditions in Indiana and I watched them until Mercury faded out in the twilight. Truly a marvelous sight.
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### Author:  [@The\_Bad\_Astronomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bad_Astronomer)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2002, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-see-all-five-planets-visible-from-earth/105258/11 "2002-04-25T21:30:57Z")
Next month, the crescent Moon will slip into the lineup too. It’ll be nice.
Mercury is about halfway between Venus and the horizon. I saw it last night; fainter than Mars/Saturn but easy enough to spot.
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### Author:  [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)
#### Post date: [April 28, 2002, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-see-all-five-planets-visible-from-earth/105258/12 "2002-04-28T01:49:24Z")
My wife and I just went out at about 3/4 hour after sunset in 40 degree weather and had no trouble at all finding the five. Naturally, Mercury was the hardest, but there it was at 5 O’clock from Venus (which, as usual, was the easiest to find). Just above Venus was Mars, and Saturn was nearby, while Jupiter was much higher in the sky. The moon had not yet risen (and would have been very low in the opposite side of the sky), but there lots of street lights and other lights. Still Mercury was very clear. It is only the second time I have seen it (actually I saw it several mornings in a row about 2 1/2 years ago, but I count that as one). Anyway, this seeing all five at once is quite impressive.
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### Author:  [@BalmainBoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BalmainBoy)
#### Post date: [April 28, 2002, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-see-all-five-planets-visible-from-earth/105258/13 "2002-04-28T06:29:27Z")
Look at the sky maps on [spaceweather.com](http://spaceweather.com) to see the Grand Lineup in early May - all visible planets - together at last! - for the last time until 2060.