Parade of the three planets

Astronomical Photo Album on the Web

To foster interests of the public on astronomy, the Hong Kong Space Museum and the Hong Kong Observatory cooperate to compile an astronomical photo album on the web. Various kinds of astronomical photos are taken with the iObservatory at Lady MacLehose Holiday Village of the Space Museum, telescopes of the Observatory and other instruments or from the general public, and are publicized through the Observatory's website.

Main Page of Astronomical Photo Album on the Web

Parade of the three planets

Photo taken on 1 June 2013 by Matthew Chin

Mercury, Venus and Jupiter are three of the brightest planets in the Solar System. These three planets revolve around the Sun with different periods. When the three planets move to the same side of the Sun (See diagram 1), they can be observed at the same time from the Earth to form the astronomical phenomenon known as the "Parade of the three planets".