Venus, Saturn, Crescent Moon Align Friday, Forming Happy Space Emoji

Someone once said when we smile at the universe, it smiles back. Pre-dawn risers could witness that literally on Friday. A planetary alignment with a crescent moon is forecast to create a smiley face in space.   

A triple conjunction of Venus, Saturn, and a waning crescent moon is forecast to form a rare alignment. The trio will form a cosmic emoji. It might be somewhat cockeyed, but the smiley face formed will be complete with two eyes and a mouth upturned at the corners. It will appear briefly across the world low in the eastern sky shortly before sunrise. US viewers can catch it at about 5:30am. The cosmic event will occur after the peak of the Lyrid meteor shower. So early risers may also be treated to brief views of meteors streaking across the sky. That is, if the weather holds up.  

Mercury is also forecast to show up low on the horizon. It'll sit just below the space face. 

“Venus is higher above the eastern horizon with Saturn lower, and a thin, crescent moon a bit lower and a little farther north," NASA's Brenda Culbertson told KSNT-TV. NASA's Solar System Ambassador added, "The thin, crescent moon looks like a smile. To some people, the triangle of bright objects may appear as a smiley face.”  

The image won’t be perfect. The noseless “face” will appear slanted. Plus, the “eye” formed by Saturn will be dimmer than the one formed by Venus. 

Meanwhile, night owls late Thursday can watch the remaining fireworks of the Lyrid meteor shower throughout the night. The Lyrids peaked on Tuesday and Wednesday night. But NASA says the shower could still produce a few meteors each hour Thursday night and into Friday morning.  

Reflect: How do you think moments like seeing a special event in the sky might make people feel more connected to the world around them?

Photo of crescent moon from Unsplash courtesy of Garv Chaplot.