In the early evening sky this weekend, the tiny planet Mercury, ringed planet Saturn and red planet Mars can be seen toward the west-northwest. Extending an imaginary line formed by these planets toward the east, the bright star Regulus can be seen in the west and Spica in the southwest, and finally the giant planet Jupiter high above the south-southwest. This "imaginary line" is called the Ecliptic, and all the planets in our Solar System appear to move along this line as they orbit our Sun.
(Shown about 45 minutes after sunset for mid-northern latitudes.)
