Every morning in late October, Venus, Jupiter, and Mars will rise in the east an hour or so before the sun. Together, they form a triangle in the pre-dawn sky. Venus and Jupiter are the brightest vertices – visible even after the black pre-dawn sky turns cobalt blue. Once you find them, you will have little trouble locating the dimmer Red Planet, which completes the triangle while the sky is still black.
Although any morning in late October is a good time to look, the six day stretch from Oct. 24th – 29th is the best. That’s because during this time, the triangle of planets will shrink until it is less than 5 degrees wide.
Typical binoculars can see a patch of sky about 6 or 7 degrees wide...
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