Celestial Trio To Shine Together Before Final Sunrise Of March

The moon and Venus shine beyond joshua trees under a storm-scoured sky in Joshua Tree National Monument, in this Jan. 28, 2000, file photo. On March 31, 2022, just before sunrise, Mars, Saturn and Venus will appear together in the sky, visible from anywhere in the world. (David McNew/Newsmakers)

Early risers will be treated to a trio of planets at the end of the month, a planetary gathering that will continue to put on a show through the beginning of April.

Folks who have been out before daybreak over the past few weeks have likely seen Venus shining bright in the eastern sky before the morning light washes out the views of the stars and planets. Venus will continue to be the focal point for early morning skywatchers at the end of March as two other planets will also swing into the spotlight.

About an hour before sunrise, local time, on Thursday, March 31, Mars, Saturn and Venus will shine in tight formation in the eastern sky, an event that will be visible from anywhere around the world.

Planets are not to scale. The rings of Saturn cannot be seen without a telescope. (AccuWeather)

Venus will be the brightest of the three, outshining every star and planet in the sky. Saturn will appear in the middle of the trio with Mars glowing on the right side of the celestial formation.

No telescope will be needed to spot the planets as they are all bright enough to see with the unaided eye, but a bit of luck may be required in the form of cloud-free weather.

If cloudy weather is in the forecast for your area Thursday morning, there will still be a few opportunities to see the trio during the opening days of April, although they will appear slightly different than they will Thursday.

Jupiter, Venus, Mercury and Mars are seen in rare alignment over the Australian east coast on May 13, 2011, in Sydney, Australia. Four planets rarely align, occurring only once every 50 to 100 years, and has not been seen over Australia since 1910. File photo. (Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

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Experts say it will be worth working up early on Monday, April 4, and Tuesday, April 5, in order to enjoy views of the planets since Saturn and Mars will appear extremely close to each other.

This two-day event is known as a conjunction and is the first close meeting of these planets since March 31, 2020.

Mars and Saturn will be so close that they will appear in the same field of view of most telescopes, at least for folks who have the energy to set up a telescope before the crack of dawn.

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