Jupiter, Venus and Mars treat sky-watchers to dazzing, rare trio

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Monday, October 26, 2015
The planets Venus, left, and Jupiter, right, with three of its moons visible, appear close to each other in the sky above tree branches after dusk on July 1 in Tacoma, Wash.
creativeContent-AP Photo/Ted S. Warren

Three planets are all visible at the same time, and the best view is Monday morning.

Jupiter, Venus and Mars can be seen in the same field of vision in the sky in October, ABC News reports. The closest grouping comes on Oct. 26, but the three planets will continue their showing throughout the week, reports Earth Sky.

The best time to catch them is just before sunrise. To find the early morning trio, look east, and you won't miss Venus, the brightest spot in that area of the sky.

Though the planets should be easy to spot with the naked eye because they're so bright, if you grab some binoculars or a telescope, you could also spot Jupiter's four major moons.

The planets appear right next to each other, though in reality they are millions of miles apart, according to NASA. And that's not the only trick our eyes play on us: Venus, the biggest and brightest from our perspective, isn't actually the biggest. Jupiter is actually 11 times bigger, but Venus looms larger in our sky because of its proximity to Earth.

The last time these three were so close together was May 2013, and it won't happen again until 2021.

An added bonus for planetary enthusiasts: Mercury, which does not appear often, can be seen along the horizon.