While we’re staying at home tonight, watching cute livestreams or turning your face into a Renaissance painting, might we suggest also poking your head outside and staring at the stars?
Tonight, Melburnians will be able to see five different planets from our solar system in the night sky. According to timeanddate.com, from April 1 to April 2 you will be able to see Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn pretty well in the sky over Melbourne.
There will be great visibility to see Venus which will rise at 11.32am on Wednesday and set at 9.03pm (the best time to see it is just after sunset). There will be fairly good visibility for Jupiter too, as it rises at 1.10am on Thursday and sets at 3.35pm (the best time to view it will be before sunrise). There’s average visibility for both Mars (Thu 1.41am rise and 4.04pm set) and Saturn (Thu 1.41am rise and 3.57pm set). Look out for them both just before sunrise. You might also be able to see Mercury, which will rise on Thursday at 5.24am and set at 6.16pm (view it just before sunrise).
The other two planets, Uranus and Neptune, will be very difficult to see, but if you have binoculars you might be in luck. Uranus will be fairly close to the sun so it’s visible at sunset only, while Neptune is very close to the sun and is “hard or impossible to see”. So... um, good luck!
It’s likely that because many people are staying at home, the air pollution will be lower which means the stars will be brighter (though you will still have to adjust for light pollution). Melburnians in the suburbs will have a better view, for sure.
Remember: Please stay at home to view the stars. You are not allowed outside of the house (unless for exercise, groceries, work or emergencies) so please plant yourself in your backyard or on your balcony for some stargazing.
Check out the info on timeanddate.com to see where exactly you should be pointing your noggin tonight.