Mars Venus and Saturn
On May 5, 2002, an unusual grouping of the three planets Mars, Saturn and Venus occurred. Those three planets formed a tight triangle in the constellation Taurus, easily viewed in the western sky just after sunset.
The Moon, Sun and planets all appear in a strip of sky called the ecliptic. It is a plane defined by the plane of the Earth's orbit and the Sun is always on the ecliptic, while the Moon and planets stay close to it.
The strip of the sky in which the Sun, Moon, and bright planets appear to move is called the ecliptic. The ecliptic is the apparent path that the Sun takes through the sky over the course of a year due to the Earth's orbit around it. It is also the path that the Moon and planets generally follow, staying close to this line in the sky.
When planets are in alignment it is only from our point of view, in reality they are millions of kilometers apart. It is like when you block the sun with your hand, it may seem like they are close but that is truly not the case.
yes, they do. The planets wander through the constellations of the zodiac, as do the moon and sun. They all travel on a very narrow path of sky called the Ecliptic - and the constellations along the ecliptic are the constellations of the zodiac. Zodiac is a Greek word that means "ring of animals".
On May 5th, 2002, an event called planetary alignment occurred in the sky. The three planets involved were Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars. They appeared close to each other in the night sky, creating a rare and beautiful celestial display.
Mars, Venus and Saturn.
On May 5, 2002, an unusual grouping of the three planets Mars, Saturn and Venus occurred. Those three planets formed a tight triangle in the constellation Taurus, easily viewed in the western sky just after sunset.
planets stay in the sky due to the pull of gravity
You can't
The positions of the Moon relative to the planets changes on a day-to-day basis, but for the past three weeks or so, Jupiter and Venus have been sharing the western sky in the early evening. Last week, the two planets were accompanied by a waxing crescent moon, bringing a special treat! Check out www.spaceweather.com to see the daily sights in the sky.
The planets shine because they reflect sunlight.
The planets most certainly ARE visible in the northern hemisphere.
because some of the planets reflect lights from the sun like Venus.
Galaxy
No. We know what the stars are. They are not planets. They are distant suns, many of which do have undiscovered planets.
Ancients distinguished between planets and stars in the night sky by observing that planets move relative to the fixed background of stars, while stars maintain their positions.