Data Index. Venus, Jupiter, Mercury and Mars come together for once-in-a-generation early morning view. By Daily Mail Reporter Updated: 11:02 GMT, 13 May 2011 Until now, Venus lit up the morning sky in solitary splendour. But this week, the brightest planet, which appears an hour before sunrise, will be joined by its closest rival Jupiter, usually an evening fixture. More incredibly yet, Mercury and Mars are visible in the vicinity in a rare temporary alliance low in the eastern sky. The astronomical phenomenon is unlikely to occur again before 2040. Rare: Seen in the early morning over Sydney, Venus (centre) is joined by evening fixture Jupiter (left), as well as Mercury (right) and Mars (bottom) in convergence unlikely to occur again before 2040. Our incredible photograph, taken over Sydney, Australia, was taken at dawn and shows the four planets in the midst of a month-long 'summit meeting'.
Usual sight: Venus - the brightest planet - shining alone in the morning Saturn, the only other planet visible to the naked eye, remains holding the fort in the evening sky. Branson Discusses Virgin Galactic, Space Travel: Innovators. Www.SolarMonitor.org. U.S. Snowstorm Seen From Space: Wild Weather Captured By NASA (PHOTOS) *See Photos Below* This is what the snowstorm blanketing much of the country looks like right now. The storm, which is covering a third of the U.S., is captured in the following images by NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA's Terra satellite as well as the GOES-13 satellite. From NASA: Visible and infrared images and animations of the storm's clouds and movement are created every 15 minutes by the NASA GOES Project at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. using data from GOES-11 and GOES-13, the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites. The GOES-13 and GOES-11 satellites that cover the eastern and western U.S., respectively, are operated by NOAA.
The photos give a more complete picture of just how much of the country is covered by clouds (much of which includes snow), in stunning detail. For full coverage of the snowstorm in Chicago, check out HuffPost Chicago's Liveblog. From GOES-13 via NOAA: From GOES-13 via NASA: Space Exploration Technologies Corp. - SpaceX. Japanese scientists seek to harness solar power in space.