“Since you cannot do good to all, you are to pay special attention to those who, by the accidents of time, or place, or circumstances, are brought into closer connection with you.” -St. Augustine
When you look up at the sky, all the twinkling lights -- the stars -- appear to be fixed.
Image credit: The Curious Skywatcher, via http://curiousskywatcher.blogspot.com/2012/04/zodiacal-light-your-best-….
But littered among them are the non-twinkling wanderers: the planets. Just 11 days ago, the Mars/Venus conjunction occurred, giving us a spectacular view of two naked-eye planets separated by a mere half-a-degree. But tomorrow night, particularly for skywatchers in Europe and northern Africa, an even closer conjunction, of just 0.1°, occurs between Venus and Uranus, the closest one of the year.
Image credit: me, using the free software Stellarium, via http://stellarium.org/.
Don't miss it, and find out how to catch it for yourself!
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Nine planets. And don't give me any of that appeal to authority crap.
Eight planets, and don't give me any of that "It' always been nine!" crap.
Since I am not an authority, you will have to accept my definition.
@JCA #1: Pity you're so ignorant of astronomical history. By your own implicit definition, you should have said "Twelve planets." Or maybe "five planets." Or "seven planets." Since you clearly don't know what a "planet" is today vs. what a "planet" has been historically, you are clearly unqualified to make any assertion on the matter.