Four planets could be observed this end of the year in Quintana Roo

You will be able to appreciate Venus, Saturn and Jupiter and Mercury

Cancun, Quintana Roo, (December 23, 2021).- Starting on Tuesday and the remainder of 2021, Quintana Roo will have the opportunity to observe Jupiter and four of its moons: Callisto, Ganymede, Io, and Europa; as well as Mercury, Venus, and Saturn in their approach to the west through telescopes. 

José Jaime Herrera Cortés, president of the Astronomical Society of Quintana Roo AC, indicated that the last astronomical phenomenon was the partial lunar eclipse; however, to conclude 2021, the planets Venus, Saturn and Jupiter will be seen, and from the 28th, Mercury, which will be next to Venus in the afternoon.

“It will look very bright, it is a small orange dot and to the left the planet, Mercury, so we will be able to see four planets in the remainder of December: Mercury, Venus, Saturn, and Jupiter,” he added.

The bad news is that the details of this view will be appreciated by those who have a telescope, mainly to appreciate Saturn, whose rings can only be seen at this time or until the middle of next year.

“If they have good optics it is very possible that they will be able to see the moon that inhabits and surrounds the planet Saturn, obviously they are its rings and it is a good opportunity because every time Saturn goes by we are going to see it approaching the west because it is going to be so to speak, behind the Sun from our perspective and we will have to wait until mid-2022 to see Saturn again, ” he said.

This view (Saturn) can be appreciated in the early morning and if the telescope is directed towards Jupiter it will be possible to see the ‘giant of the solar system’, but also four of the 79 moons it has. These are Callisto, Ganymede, Io, and Europa, the Galilean moons, because in 1610 the astronomer Galileo Galilei, making use of a rudimentary telescope, was the one who made the observation and discovery of the moons of Jupiter.

Herrera Cortés considered this a good opportunity to see these planets in the afternoon with a telescope where Jupiter and Venus will be very bright when the sun sets, between 6:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. “It will be a great opportunity for those who have a telescope,” he said.

Source: La Jornada Maya