Views from Port Erin, Isle of Man
Venus Setting - April 19
Closer.. Venus Setting - April 19
Even Closer.. Venus - April 19
Very Close-up Venus - April 19

On 19 April, I saw 4 planets plus the Moon between 8.30pm and 9.30 setting in the western sky. The order of appearance and magnitude was Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and finally Mars. I was surprised how hard it was to see Mars and along with Saturn these planets were not bright enough to capture on film.
The photos don't do justice to the brightness and clarity of Venus and Jupiter. These planets lay in a line (the ecliptic) in a 90 degree angle between the Sun and the Moon. Mercury may have been too close to the Sun [14 degrees] or obscured by clouds at sunset.
I was at the Marine Biology Station in Port Erin proved to be an excellent place for viewing planets. Port Erin is a west facing port and being in the Isle of Man, there is no light pollution or any form of airborne pollution.

Transportation Chaos Predicted here!
- Stellium in Gemini becomes critical at the full Moon

Analysis of the Concentrated Planetary Alignment

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by Robert Currey
- this article was written on April 14th 2002

From late April 2002, the five closest planets - Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn have been visible within an arc 50 degrees apart. This phenomenon might not be seen for at least a hundred years.

It will be more impressive and educational for star watchers. Just after sunset, it will be possible to see these five planets together with the naked eye near the western horizon. It will need to be a clear night and you will need to be away from the light pollution of factories or cities. But you can see this line-up from anywhere on earth. If you can see the Sun by day, you can see the planets by night! :-)

These five planets are sometimes described as the 'visible planets'. However, it is also possible to see Uranus with the naked eye as a tiny speck of light (looking like a distant star) and it is thought that ancient astrologers worked with this distant planet. But even if you can't see Uranus rising to the east this May, enjoy what might be a dazzling site of the more visible planets.

Though the site might be most impressive in early May with 4 planets closing in in the sign of Gemini, the new Moon on 12 May should be the most significant astrologically. At this time the planets are within 33 degrees apart forming a wide stellium, Mercury is about to turn retrograde (15 May) and Venus, Mars and Saturn in Gemini are opposite Pluto.

• This could be the start of a critical time for all forms of transportation and communication. Disruption to transport and postal systems world-wide either in the form of strike action or due to fuel limitations or by sweeping change.
• Airlines, courier services, transportation services, news media companies, satellite networks, journalism, immigrants and refugee status may alter irrevocably.
• Planets in mutable signs (as occurred last September 11) have been especially challenging for the USA. Limitations to travel by air and by car throughout continental USA can be expected.
• Militant fundamentalist religion will again be revealed for its inherent hypocrisy.

But many of the changes will ultimately prove to be constructive in bringing long overdue changes to iniquitous and inefficient situations and extreme and tenuous relationships.

• The concentration of planets in Sag and Gemini including Saturn make this an ideal period for intense studies like preparation for examinations. Children working for exams will feel a greater pressure to focus and get results than in normal years.
• Also, the alignment of Venus and Mars with Saturn in May makes for an ideal energy for marriage or setting up a formal or business partnership. Pluto adds an element of depth, a fated quality to the partnership.
• The alignment will bring legal matters and contracts to a head with items like divorce proceedings, litigation reaching a critical point with important revelations.