[meteorite-list] Venus, Mercury, and Saturn

[MexicoDoug at aol.com]

Hola - Here's a nice easy family-friendly  astronomical event to see!

What ever you do, don't miss this natural  chance alignment right after 
Sunset among (Earth), Venus, Mercury, and Saturn  which I mentioned in a prior 
email in the list archives on June 3.

It  will be truly beautiful on June 25, 26, 27 and even 28.  Imagine three of 
 the brightest objects in the sky, with Mercury now to be at its easiest.   
No equipment (Though in binoculars or a low power scope they will still be  
beautiful in the eyepiece(s) - all in the field of view.

Less than two  degrees!  Thats four full Moon diameters.  Not to mention that 
 Venus-and Mercury will simulate a view from Venus of what the Earth-Moon 
looks  like from there at best timing the 26-27, that are what, less than a fifth 
of  the diameter of the full Moon away from each other.

I promise you won't  want to miss this, no special equipment needed.  Just 
watch where the Sun  sets, and wait for dark.  You will see the planets take 
form long before  the sky loses its light...
Brightest white planet = Venus -4
Middle yellow  planet = Mercury 0
Least bright golden planet = Saturn +1
Saludos,  Doug  
PS all this happens basically in Cancer, with Comet LINEAR  2005-K2 (the one 
that split by itself and gave the same show as Terra-Tempel 1  probably 
will:).  I say Terra-Temple 1 because it obviously will now be a  "comet" partly 
composed of copper from Earth).  K2 is currently the  brightest comet in the sky 
at 9 th magnitude.   K2 is 100 times  brighter than expected agter the 
"natural" explosion.  NASA and we can hope  for a repeat performance on Tempel, which 
would make it a nice binocular object  at 5th magnitude, but lets not count 
our comets before they hatch...