Updated March 28, 2023 at 2:58 PM ET
This week, you have an opportunity to acquaint yourself with some of our solar system neighbors and reduce some of your screen time.
Who are they? That all depends on the weather. But Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, Uranus, and Mars will dazzle us earthlings this week.
What's the big deal? Over the next couple of nights, the planets are expected to align.
Want more science journalism? Listen to the Consider This episode on the most successful global public health plan you've probably never heard of.
What are people saying?
Fienberg's tips on catching a glimpse:
Wait until the sun has set and then go out and look low in that bright part of the sky where the sun has just set with binoculars, and you should see brighter Jupiter next to fainter Mercury.
Faherty on a recent increased public interest in all types of astronomical happenings:
The nighttime sky is the original Netflix. It's the original entertainment, and people lost that, because they're disconnected from looking up, and they're very connected to looking down at their phone or their tablet or their computer or whatever. Because things [can be] bright in the sky, when you accidentally look up, they will look striking to you.
Fienberg on the waves of interest in astronomy:
Most people don't pay attention to the night sky the way astronomy enthusiasts do, so they may not realize that some of the bright dots up there are even planets. So when the planets are all visible at the same time at a particular time of the year, it becomes a news story and people suddenly pay attention to the planets.
So, what now?
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