Dusk of the Planets

A great grouping of planets is now visible to the west just after sunset. Over the next two weeks, Mercury , Venus , Earth , Mars , Jupiter , and Saturn -- the innermost six planets of our Solar System -- can be seen in a single knowing glance. The image on the left captured them all in one frame. Connecting the planetary dots delineates the edge-on ecliptic , the plane in which the planets orbit the Sun . The shot was taken on April 23 near Chatsworth, New Jersey , USA , and even includes scattered light from the Sun and the Moon . Besides the planets, the Pleiades and Hyades open clusters of stars are visible .