Eight Planets and Moon Line Up

MIAMI (December 1, 1997 12:35 p.m. EST http://www.nando.net) -- Amateur stargazers can enjoy a rare display this week as eight planets line up in an array that won't be seen again from Earth for another century.

"There are five bright planets and two visible with binoculars all lined up like pearls on a string," plus the eighth visible by telescope, Jack Horkheimer, host of the public television program "Star Hustler," said Monday.

"It's quite beautiful, an exquisite grouping of the moon and planets," said Horkheimer, who also is executive director of the Miami Space Transit Planetarium.

He said some people note a similar display in May 2000, but he said the planets then will be so close to the Sun that they won't be visible from Earth.

In the array, appearing after dusk through Dec. 8, the planets will be lined up from west to east, beginning with Pluto and followed by Mercury, Mars, Venus, Neptune, Uranus, Jupiter and Saturn, with a crescent moon alongside.

Pluto, appearing north of Mercury, will only be visible by telescope, he said, and a good pair of binoculars will be needed to see Uranus and Neptune, off to the southwest below Jupiter.

The five brightest planets, he said, should be visible on clear nights even from urban areas.