Hey everybody, welcome back to the Elon Musk Podcast. This is a show where we discuss the critical crossroads that shape SpaceX, Tesla X The Boring Company. And Neuralink. I'm your host, Will Walden next month. In June, sky watchers are eagerly awaiting a brief planetary alignment. However, recent astronomical analysis suggests the anticipated sky show may not meet expectations.
Now, on the morning of June 3rd, 6 planets Jupiter, Mercury, Uranus, Mars, Neptune, and Saturn will all align along the elliptical path. Now, despite this alignment, experts caution that not all of these planets will be visible to the naked eye from Earth. Now, people who plan to rise early and step outside on June 3rd expecting to see the bloated disk of Jupiter or the rings of Saturn in a single glance will be at the very least, quite disappointed.
Now this. Attention on social media about the Pareto planets surged after the planetarium app Starwalk published an article encouraging users to view the alignment using its Sky Tonight stargazing tool. I use the tool, it's absolutely wonderful. And NASA explains that the planetary alignment, known as a conjunction, will stretch across the vast sky of the northeast hemisphere. However, visibility will be limited without the aid of telescopes or high-powered
binoculars. And if you're just getting into astronomy, I would suggest getting a pair of high-powered binoculars before investing in a high-powered telescope now. Star Walk's April 25th article noted that Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn might be seen with the naked eye. However, Neptune and Uranus will require optical aid such as a telescope or high-powered binoculars due to their dimness and how far away they are from the Earth. Now the visibility is scheduled for June 3rd.
Saturn's magnitude is 1.1, Neptune is 7.9 and late at night Mars magnitude is 1.1. Before dawn and at dawn Uranus magnitude of 5.8. Jupiter's magnitude is -2 and Mercury's magnitude is -1.4. They'll be very difficult to see Jupiter and Mercury now. Various factors will obstruct clear views of this alignment, and the proximity of Mercury and Jupiter to the Sun and their positions near the East NE horizon will likely be massed by the brilliant glow of morning
twilight. However, those viewing from a flat, unobstructed horizon may spot both planets using binoculars, such as a beach or a flat area with no hills or mountains around you, or trees. Now for Uranus, views on June 3rd will only be possible from very very dark, non light polluted skies according to experts right now, and similar to Mercury and Jupiter, Uranus is expected to rise just an hour before the sun, making it difficult to see due to the
twilight. Now Neptune, which is the farthest planet from the sun, is way too dim to be seen without specialized equipment. No chance of seeing that planet either, unless you have access to a dark sky, a star chart, and at least a very good pair of binoculars or a decent telescope. A Saturn will be more visible rising from the East SE horizon around 2:00 AM.
However, yellowish white tint will be faint and its rings will be invisible without a telescope and despite the limited views, Mars is expected around 4:00 AM. Eastern on June 3rd and you can view that with no equipment and Mars will shine with a relatively bright orange light. I suggest. Trying to see Mars every night if you can to get used to it before June 3rd. If you can see it in the sky, it has a a slight orange tint to it now.
Additionally, the moon will be in its waning Crescent phase, which is the final phase of its monthly cycle, revealing a thin sliver which is good for viewing of the sky. If it's a full moon, it brightens up everything. It's more difficult to see things in the sky if the moon is full, but if it's a tiny sliver, it'll be much easier to see this planetary alignment, and early risers will see a lovely waning Crescent moon hanging low in the eastern sky.
Now, planetary alignments along the elliptical path are not rare. The Northern Hemisphere last witnessed such an event on April 8th in 2023, and alignment involving Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Uranus, and Mars on March 28th. You're learning that planetary alignments are rare, but honestly we get one every few years now. The future alignments are worth noting as well, and that's September 8th. 2040.
A rare alignment of Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn and Mars will offer better viewing opportunities. One of the notable planetary alignments occurred in the late 1970s. The four gas giants Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune all lined up, allowing the Voyager spacecraft to conduct flybys, returning remarkable images, and discovering new moons and rings. Now, on June 3rd, 2024, this is in a few days, the alignment won't be as historic, but will
still be notable. The six planets will be visible in a 73° section of the sky, although they won't truly be in a straight line. Instead, they'll appear scattered at different paths, depths, positions and distances. Jupiter and Mercury will appear close near the horizon. Moving up to the northeast will be Uranus, Mars, Neptune, and finally Saturn. A Crescent moon will also be visible amidst the alignment. So look out for the Crescent moon. It's actually beautiful.
If you have a pair of high-powered binoculars or a decent telescope, you can get some really great views. If it's a Crescent moon, you can see the craters and you can see if you look at the side of the moon, you can see the ridges. Absolutely spectacular. Now. Mars and Saturn will be the easiest to spot with the naked eye. Mercury and Jupiter will be less conspicuous in Uranus and Neptune will need high-powered
binoculars or a telescope. The best viewing is about 20 minutes before sunrise while looking to the eastern horizon. For instance, in New York on June 3rd that means about 5 O 6:00 AM and Cape Canaveral where NASA is located 6 O 5:00 AM and Los Angeles at 5 O 2:00 AM. In other parts of the world the alignment will be visible before June 3rd in Sao Paulo, Brazil starts on May 27th, in Mexico May 29th and in Athens June 2nd and each location will have a narrow pre dawn window for
viewing. Dark skies away from city lights will offer the best views. Modern light pollution makes truly dark skies rare but worthwhile for such celestial events. And despite this initial hype, the planetary alignment on June 3rd will require effort and some equipment for optimal viewing, especially for distant planets like Uranus and Neptune. But I will not stress it enough. At least go check it out if you can if you're up that early,
because it's a sight to be seen. Hey, thank you so much for listening today. I really do appreciate your support. If you could take a second and hit the subscribe or the follow button on whatever podcast platform that you're listening on. Right. Now I greatly appreciate it, it helps out the show tremendously and you'll never miss an episode. And each episode is about 10 minutes or less to get you caught up quickly. And please, if you want to support the show even more, go
to patreon.com slash. Stage 0. And please take care of yourselves and each other, and I'll see you tomorrow.