VOA科学技术2025--The Planets Gather for a Show in the Evening Sky

 

All seven major planets form a kind of parade in the sky at the end of February. Although two of the planets are not visible to the unaided eye, all are on the same side of the sun during the evening hours.

This planetary grouping happens when the planets appear to line up in the night sky as seen from Earth. They do not form a straight line, but they do stretch across the evening sky this year.

The American space agency, NASA, says these astronomical¹ gatherings² are common. A parade of four or five planets visible to the unaided eye happens every few years.

A similar parade took place last June, but only two planets could be seen without the use of special equipment. Six planets were visible in January. Four were visible to the unaided eye. In recent weeks, Mercury joined the group.

Venus, Mars and Jupiter are all easily visible in the evening. Saturn³ is now very close to the setting sun and Mercury is close to the horizon, making both hard to see. Uranus⁴ and Neptune⁵ are the most distant planets. Uranus can be glimpsed with binoculars⁶ or a telescope under good conditions. But Neptune is now too close to the sun to be seen.

Seeing the brightest planets is easy. Go outside on a clear night after sunset. The planets will shine brighter than the stars. Mars is a bright, reddish-orange light appearing high in the constellation⁷ Gemini. Jupiter is very bright and a little lower than Mars toward the constellation Taurus.

Venus, in the constellation of Pisces, is the brightest natural object in the sky besides the sun and moon.

There are many stargazing apps available that can help identify the planets and bright stars.

The planets will slowly move lower and lower in the west throughout the spring.

I'm Mario Ritter, Jr.

Adithi Ramakhrishnan reported this story for the Associated Press. Mario Ritter, Jr. adapted it for VOA Learning English.

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Words in This Story

visible -adj. able to be seen by the eye

horizon -n. where the sky apparently⁸ meets the land

glimpse -v. to see something for a short time or with some difficulty

constellation -n. a group of stars that is defined by international scientific agreement

app (application) -n. a computer program for a specific purpose

1 astronomical   

adj.天文学的，（数字）极大的

参考例句：

• He was an expert on ancient Chinese astronomical literature.他是研究中国古代天文学文献的专家。
• Houses in the village are selling for astronomical prices.乡村的房价正在飙升。

2 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

3 Saturn   

n.农神，土星

参考例句：

• Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings.天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪，为什么只有土星有光环。
• These comparisons suggested that Saturn is made of lighter materials.这些比较告诉我们，土星由较轻的物质构成。

4 Uranus   

n.天王星

参考例句：

• Uranus is unusual because it is tilted.天王星非常特殊，因为它是倾斜的。
• Uranus represents sudden change and rebellion.天王星代表突然性的改变和反叛。

5 Neptune   

n.海王星

参考例句：

• Neptune is the furthest planet from the sun.海王星是离太阳最远的行星。
• Neptune turned out to be a dynamic,stormy world.海王星原来是个有生气、多风暴的世界。

6 binoculars   

n.双筒望远镜

参考例句：

• He watched the play through his binoculars.他用双筒望远镜看戏。
• If I had binoculars,I could see that comet clearly.如果我有望远镜，我就可以清楚地看见那颗彗星。

7 constellation   

n.星座n.灿烂的一群

参考例句：

• A constellation is a pattern of stars as seen from the earth. 一个星座只是从地球上看到的某些恒星的一种样子。
• The Big Dipper is not by itself a constellation. 北斗七星本身不是一个星座。

8 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。