The planets line up: 19 April 2002

Look to the west after sunset and you should be able to see three, possibly four, of the planets. Jupiter will be high in the sky and should appear to be the brightest object high in the west. Look down towards the right and you can see Saturn, Mars (dimly) and brilliant white Venus.

Also notable will be the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters - the cluster of stars to the right of Mars; the three stars of Orions belt (to the left near the horizon) and Aldebaran, the brightest star below Saturn.

This image was created for a viewer located in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, looking at the sky at 20:00 UT April 19 2002. Note that the size of the planets is not to scale.